Radical Wolfe

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2:05

Radical Wolfe

2023

1h 16m

Documentary

Biography

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

68%

Tomatometer

22 Reviews

73%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

From a beat reporter at the Washington Post to an overnight sensation as the leader of the New Journalism movement, Tom Wolfe was at the forefront of reshaping how American stories are told. Recognizing the importance of overlooked subcultures and communities, Wolfe documented everything from rural stock car drivers to hippies in Haight Ashbury to the Apollo Astronauts, and his ability to bridge cultural and class divides while tackling stories central to American Life was unique in fiction and non-fiction. With a distinctive and oft-imitated style all his own, Wolfe's body of work includes some of the most memorable and culturally impactful stories of the 20th century like The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and A Man in Full. Radical Wolfe is a deeply personal and illuminating look at the man inside the famous white suit, featuring conversations and interviews with those who knew him best, including Michael Lewis, Gay Talese, Lynn Nesbit, Terry McDonell, Tom Junod, Christopher Buckley, Niall Ferguson, and Alexandra Wolfe.

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Mark Jenkins

Washington Post

Oct 12, 2023

2.5/4

Dewey just doesn’t have the patience for a subtle approach. Sections of this informative but unimaginative movie are presented as hectic montages in an apparent attempt to mirror Wolfe’s speedy, ebullient prose.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Sep 25, 2023

The documentary is always lively. Archival clips zip by and nobody ever gets more than a sentence or two before the film cuts away, which means it never burrows in as often as you might want it to, considering the colorful, thick life on display.

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Owen Gleiberman

Variety

Sep 15, 2023

“Radical Wolfe” is only 76 minutes long, but as directed by Richard Dewey, it’s a highly entertaining movie that manages to pack in more or less every important thing you’d want to know about Tom Wolfe.

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Mary Ann Brussat

Spirituality & Practice

Dec 14, 2023

4/5

A spiffy documentary on the life and work of Tom Wolfe, who pioneered disruptive journalism and exposed American obsessions.

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Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

Oct 16, 2023

This movie inadvertently raises a different concern, namely: What's the point? Wouldn't it be better for all concerned if you just left that snake unpoked?

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Manuel Betancourt

FilmWeek (LAist)

Oct 4, 2023

He was a larger than life character clearly playing a role, and this documentary does a good job of laying that out... We never skim past the surface, but you do get an exhaustive understanding of his career.

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Steve R

@strauw Dec 21, 2023

When the movie begins with a relatively unknown author saying, "I grew up in New Orleans, not a particularly literary place," (yeah sure, it's only one of the most literary places on earth) you know immediately you're in the hands of a sloppy bullshit film maker. Or maybe he took his cue from Wolfe, using attention getting, outrageously false statements for shock value.

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David F

@dfulmer Dec 15, 2023

This documentary gives a wonderful overview of the life of the journalist and novelist, Tom Wolfe. It doesn't go too deep into any topic and it doesn't have much of a point of view, it's just a great biography full of pictures and recordings of its subject that shows you how he became such a treasured literary institution.

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Richard Dewey

Director

Tom Wolfe

Self

Jon Hamm

Narrator

Michael Lewis

Self

Jann Wenner

Self

Gay Talese

Self

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Synopsis

From a beat reporter at the Washington Post to an overnight sensation as the leader of the New Journalism movement, Tom Wolfe was at the forefront of reshaping how American stories are told. Recognizing the importance of overlooked subcultures and communities, Wolfe documented everything from rural stock car drivers to hippies in Haight Ashbury to the Apollo Astronauts, and his ability to bridge cultural and class divides while tackling stories central to American Life was unique in fiction and non-fiction. With a distinctive and oft-imitated style all his own, Wolfe's body of work includes some of the most memorable and culturally impactful stories of the 20th century like The Right Stuff, The Bonfire of the Vanities, and A Man in Full. Radical Wolfe is a deeply personal and illuminating look at the man inside the famous white suit, featuring conversations and interviews with those who knew him best, including Michael Lewis, Gay Talese, Lynn Nesbit, Terry McDonell, Tom Junod, Christopher Buckley, Niall Ferguson, and Alexandra Wolfe.

Director: Richard Dewey
Producer: Richard Dewey, Andy Fortenbacher, Chris Laszlo
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 15, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 31, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $39.3K
Runtime: 1h 16m

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