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William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill

Play trailer 1:31 Poster for William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill PG-13 Released Mar 22 1h 36m Documentary Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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84% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 95% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
From make-believe starship captain to a real-life rocketman, William Shatner has led one of the most unique and best-lived lives on the planet. And while the actor William Shatner may be recognizable around the globe, the man behind the masks is even more interesting than the iconic roles he's played. Join Legion M and the acclaimed documentary team at Exhibit A Pictures (Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist, Memory: The Origins of Alien, 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene) in producing this fascinating look at one of the most illustrious actors of our time.
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William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill

Critics Reviews

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Tom Ellen Empire Magazine Eschewing the linear approach, this erratic documentary occasionally drifts a little too close to self-indulgence. But it’s also a frank, funny and disarmingly deep portrait of a true screen legend. Rated: 3/5 May 31, 2024 Full Review Cath Clarke Guardian It’s perhaps less fun than you might have hoped for, though Shatner is undoubtedly charismatic, and a pretty decent raconteur. He’s often entertaining, if not always necessarily in the way he intended. Rated: 3/5 May 22, 2024 Full Review Brian Lowry CNN.com For an actor known for having led his crew as it boldly explored humankind’s final frontier, You Can Call Me Bill, somewhat disappointingly, takes its extensive access to Shatner and doesn’t go much of anywhere. Mar 22, 2024 Full Review Stephen Silver The SS Ben Hecht While there’s plenty of footage of Star Trek and his other acting work, there’s also a great deal of contemplative, existential worry from the now-93-year-old actor. Dec 6, 2024 Full Review Danielle Solzman Solzy at the Movies What filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe achieves with William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is reveal the man behind the facade that is William Shatner. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 28, 2024 Full Review Abe Friedtanzer Cinema Daily US For Shatner devotees, this film should be rewarding and enjoyable, and for other audiences, it’s an eye-opening extended conversation with an actor that leaves something to be desired as a feature film. Rated: B- Jul 24, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Carol R It was interesting but not what I thought it would be. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/09/24 Full Review Carol S A great overview of this amazing man's life. I've had the pleasure of meeting him twice. I told him I'd love to share a cup of coffee and some more conversation with him. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/25/24 Full Review tom z One of the best ways I have seen to capture all Of "Bill's" life. Can't wait to add it to my home collection. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/14/24 Full Review Dana V If you are a fan of "Bill" you will enjoy this movie. He is enlightening, sincere, and his life is so interesting! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 04/05/24 Full Review Jared I liked that the film was more than just a collection of historical data points, but also a thoughtful introspective into the mind and heart of an interesting human being. Definitely worth the time to explore and enjoy. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/01/24 Full Review Galen J Those of us who follow Bill are familiar with his comparison of outer space to death, honestly ad nauseum. I know he is 93 and that death understandably occupies him, both for himself and for the planet. But the movie just feels like it has a pall over it. If this is to be a movie about Bill's environmentalism, then focus on that. If it's a movie about Bill's career, then focus on that. Not only is there no clear running narrative, but the director admitted as much in the post-film q&a when he said that the "chapters" of the film stand alone. In the q&a, Bill repeated some of the things that are in the movie. I love Bill I think he's a treasure. I've never had a problem with him at a convention and have found him nothing but respectful to fans. I've watched so many performances and know I am not even close to what he has made. But he does have a reputation, as entertaining as his stories are, for saying what he wants to say regardless of what the question is, and the film might work better if those stories were more tightly edited around a linear telling of Bill's career. Personally, I would rather see a focus on Bill's career, for there isn't another quite like it. The film does have a remarkable amount of short clips, and the credits just for those roll for a while at the end of the movie. It's also curious that I can't remember even one costar mentioned by name, whether Nimoy, Spader, you name it. More interesting to me would have been chapters on early life, early years of career, Star Trek, 70s, renaissance with TJ Hooker and Rescue 911 in 80s, then Boston Legal and Priceline, then universally recognized legend, including the space trip. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/01/24 Full Review Read all reviews
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill

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Movie Info

Synopsis From make-believe starship captain to a real-life rocketman, William Shatner has led one of the most unique and best-lived lives on the planet. And while the actor William Shatner may be recognizable around the globe, the man behind the masks is even more interesting than the iconic roles he's played. Join Legion M and the acclaimed documentary team at Exhibit A Pictures (Leap of Faith: William Friedkin on The Exorcist, Memory: The Origins of Alien, 78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene) in producing this fascinating look at one of the most illustrious actors of our time.
Director
Alexandre O. Philippe
Producer
Jeff Annison, Kerry Deignan Roy, Bryan Talebi
Screenwriter
Alexandre O. Philippe
Distributor
Legion M
Production Co
Exhibit A Pictures, CCG Guardian Entertainment, Legion M
Rating
PG-13 (Some Language|Brief Drug Use|A Suggestive Reference)
Genre
Documentary, Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 22, 2024, Limited
Runtime
1h 36m
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