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Recounts a life-long tale of violently obsessive passion that has made headlines repeatedly over the decades. Burt Pugach was an...
Recounts a life-long tale of violently obsessive passion that has made headlines repeatedly over the decades. Burt Pugach was an ambulance-chasing lawyer and a night-club owning, Cadillac-driving, Manhattan playboy. When he first set eyes on Linda Riss in 1957, he had to have her. Impressed by his ardour and status, Linda went along for the ride, but ultimately fled into the arms of a nicer, working class guy. Burt, obsessed, paid thugs to throw acid at her face, to have her blinded. The case made headlines. Burt made headlines again when, having served his sentence, he appeared on national TV and proposed to Linda. This is where the story becomes truly breathtaking. There were many more headlines to come.
Both Linda and Burt are interviewed here, as are their friends and associates and a few outside commentators who have taken a close interest over the years. [source: NZFF08]
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78 %88 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
72 %5,647 reviewsAudience score rating
"Whoever coined the phrase 'truth is stranger than fiction' must have had this film in mind. Hollywood screenwriters wish they could come up with something like this (literally as it turns out, as a feature adaptation is slated for the future). The documentary itself tells a tale as old as time - boy meets girl, they fall in – then out – of love, boy disfigures girl's face with acid and goes to prison, 16 years later they re-unite and get married. Oh how I love a happy ending."
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Flicks
Flicks"While the competent filmmaking package lacks much of its own personality, the sheer fascinating strangeness of the people documented could earn the picture a minor cult following a la "Grey Gardens.""
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Variety
Variety"The overall vibe is morbidly entertaining, though something of a downer, partly because it's unclear if Mr. and Mrs. Pugach know that they are such sick puppies, partly because it's unclear if Mr. Klores cares that they are."
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The New York Times
The New York Times"For those who don't believe that truth trumps fiction for whacked-out depravity, mark this shockingly fierce and funny spellbinder as Exhibit A."
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Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone"At one point, Klores thought about making a feature film out of the material, but it's a good thing he decided against it. You could not make this stuff up."
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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times"Despite the inherent, shocking nature of the material, Dan Klores' narrowly focused, poorly paced documentary lacks a narrative thrust that could have made for a more compelling film."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"All told, Crazy Love is a rarity in documentaries; it's fun."
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Film Threat
Film ThreatCrazy Love | Details
- Runtime
- 92
- Genre
- Documentary
- Country of origin
- USA
