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Auto Focus

Play trailer Poster for Auto Focus R 2002 1h 44m Biography Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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71% Tomatometer 164 Reviews 61% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter (Willem Dafoe). This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.
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Critics Consensus

Kinnear and Dafoe help make this downward spiral of one man's life a compelling watch.

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Critics Reviews

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David Ansen Newsweek 03/12/2018
The movie's themes are aptly captured in the double entendre of the title, suggesting both Crane's narcissism and the video technology that abets it...a lot of Auto Focus is coolly funny--it's a slyly satiric comedy of '60s manners. Go to Full Review
Tim Robey Daily Telegraph (UK) 10/19/2003
Another probing case history of male pathology from one of the most consistently interesting American film-makers alive. Go to Full Review
Linda Ruth Williams Sight & Sound 03/04/2003
An exemplary Schrader work, a painfully funny and misanthropic treatise on American masculinity and its sexualised image. Go to Full Review
Mitchell Beaupre Paste Magazine 06/24/2024
9.5/10
When you get to the final, haunting line of “men gotta have fun,” you know exactly why this is a Paul Schrader picture. Go to Full Review
Justine Smith Vague Visages 06/05/2024
Part biopic and part meditation on sexual addiction... Go to Full Review
Matt Brunson Film Frenzy 08/29/2021
3/4
A distant, even sterile, yet compulsively watchable look at the sordid life of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Julie D Aug 27 What makes the material work so well here is the perception that both writer and director choose to execute with its protagonist, which is not to provide overlying sympathy for him or his choices See more Shawna R Aug 25 A distant, even sterile, yet compulsively watchable look at the sordid life of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. See more Anson M Jul 29 A distant, even sterile, yet compulsively watchable look at the sordid life of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane. See more DanTheMan 2 Feb 1 Part biopic, part meditation on sexual addiction, Auto Focus may take its fair share of dramatic licence with the base facts of Hogan's Heroes star Bob Crane's life but remains a compelling watch with its light-hearted, almost campy tone; it's a film that gets to you like a low-grade fever, a malaise with no known antidote, a misanthropic treatise on American masculinity and its sexualised image. It can be painfully funny at times, but as the film goes on, Crane's personal life steadily implodes and professional life goes on the decline, a sense of darkness and desperation overtakes the film. Schrader directs with a very smooth hand, providing a good-natured and frequently amusing spin to eventually grim material that aptly reflects Crane's almost unfailing good humour. Even if you've never watched an episode of Hogan's Heroes, Auto Focus is worth a spin even if it's just for the flawless performances of Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. The film never does explain the whys behind Bob Crane's addiction, but it recounts the disease and its toll on the man in vivid, sometimes shocking and always fascinating terms. See more Alain E @AlainE Jan 1 Well presented biopic of a minor show industry personality whose career was ruined due to sexual addiction. Starting with the clever introductory credits, the movie is very well photographed. There is a certain amount of nudity, but nothing offensive. Overall a sad story. See more Gareth v 01/27/2024 A movie about the facade of one's life, and a man's downward spiral, that for the most part is a compelling watch. See more Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter (Willem Dafoe). This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.
Director
Paul Schrader
Producer
Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, Todd Rosken, Pat Dollard, Alicia Allain
Screenwriter
Michael Gerbosi
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co
Propaganda Films
Rating
R (Nudity|Language|Some Drug Use|Strong Sexuality|Violence)
Genre
Biography, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 18, 2002, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.1M
Runtime
1h 44m
Sound Mix
Surround
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