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Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton

Play trailer Poster for Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton 2013 1h 22m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews 74% Popcornmeter 50+ Ratings
The twists and turns in the life of James Broughton, a pioneer filmmaker.

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Ernest Hardy Village Voice His life was larger than fiction. Jun 17, 2014 Full Review Aaron Cutler Village Voice Even at its most on-the-nose, Big Joy serves the greater good of introducing viewers to its subject, whose voice rings clear throughout. Mar 18, 2014 Full Review Moira MacDonald Seattle Times "Big Joy," filmed with an irresistibly playful spirit, dances with words, film clips and images from a long and, it seems, mostly joyous life. Rated: 3/4 Oct 31, 2013 Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault A flavorful and affectionate documentary about a narcissist. Rated: B Jul 14, 2015 Full Review Richard Knight Windy City Times As spritely put together as its subject -- another winning aspect of this charming look at the life of a free spirit whose life and work are an important part of queer history. Jun 28, 2014 Full Review Jamie S. Rich Oregonian Even those who have no familiarity with Broughton should still find the movie fascinating. Broughton was a lover of life and embraced all means of expressing it. Rated: 3/5 May 20, 2014 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (6) audience reviews
scott f An infectious romp of a bio. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Watched this at the Woods Hole Film Festival, and really appreciated the intelligent editing. A pretty important story, told in an interesting way. Recommended! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member Who is James Broughton? James Broughton is a poet and poetic filmmaker that time has inexplicably forgotten. And yet, as this wonderful documentary shows, not only is his work delightful but also characteristically unique in its imaginative, often quirky and funny but always deep and personal. On top of that, he was also quite a fascinating character whose infectiously positive attitude is faithfully represented in this equally infectiously entertaining film. Big Joy, in fact, is one of those rare instances where a traditionally structured biographical documentary seems to truly and wholly connect with its character through an imaginative visual approach and a deep understanding of its subject's joie-de-vivre as well as his internal struggles. Furthermore, it presents a particularly intimate portrayal of his own journey of discovery in his coping with his homosexuality from its painful awakening to his full acceptance and celebration of his idea of universal love and sexuality. Intervies with his close friends and relatives, use footage from his films, lots of great stills from the time and priceless access to pages of his own personal journal allow us to get real close to the late artist. But what is perhaps even more remarkable, is the chance that Big Joy by Stephen Silha, Eric Slade, Dawn Logson offers Broughton to inspire a new generation of followers and artists, much like he did when he was alive. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting doc about an interesting artist of many mediums and all of them magical, whimsical and a little weird. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member A great movie about how being completely true to yourself comes with a price. And though it may be steep, it's the most important investment you must make in life. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member A movie about following your passions and becoming the person of your dreams, disguised as a bio-pic about groundbreaking poet and filmmaker James Broughton Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis The twists and turns in the life of James Broughton, a pioneer filmmaker.
Director
Dawn Logsdon, Stephen Silha, Eric Slade
Production Co
Frisky Divinity Productions
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 1, 2016
Runtime
1h 22m