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Movie Review:
Darin Beckstead's film, "Courage and Stupidity" is a cleverly done film incorporating a touch of comedy and somewhat historical accuracy detailing the events of Steven Spielberg's blockbuster hit, Jaws. This fan film takes an approach of what went on "behind the lens" and does it in an entertaining way.

The film takes place in the 1970s during the filming of Jaws. Steven, played by Todd Wall, shows through his body language and dialogue, the increased pressure from the studios to produce a shark movie with a robotic shark as the main prop. But on a rainy night, Steven and his friend George, run into trouble with the mechanical "star" which results in more delays and doubts that the film will ever be made. George Lucas is played by Aaron Fiore and with Todd's performance, both actors give a convincing performance of these two pioneering directors.

The film's pacing was a concern at first but after five minutes, I was able to get into the story and allowed myself to experience the stress that a director would go through with financial backers and restless actors nipping at one's heels. One particular scene which was the driving force for the movie was when George talks about the "fear of the unknown" and how Steven could pull it off without the mechanical shark being in every scene. To me this is the essence of storytelling and what brought forth the appeal to a movie like Jaws to the masses. Overall this film shows the reason why people go to the movies in the first place.

DVD Information:
The DVD contains the full film, a behind the scenes short, photo gallery, screen tests, story board brief, a short called "The Rain Towers" and the trailer. The "Behind the Scenes" short shows how much work the crew put into the film and a chance to see how a fan film comes into being. The "Rain Towers" featurette shows how the crew simulated a rain storm during a quiet dry night. The screen tests show how the clean shaven actors before transforming themselves into their respected directors.

Conclusion:
This is a unique opportunity to witness a film about a film come into it's own. The filmmakers took a unique approach in telling this story and I recommend Courage and Stupidity as an addition to one's DVD collection.

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