Elizabeth TaylorUncle Bob

(Spoiler Alert) As the nephew (Robert Oppel) of murdered victim Robert Opel sets out to uncover the real truth about those involved in this crime, he uncovers things that the police department did, including allowing the accused to escape...twice. Plus, a letter was handed to his mother during the trial, written by the suspect. That letter was given to her by the lawyer who was representing the suspect. The letter states, if you want to know everything come see me. Yet, in what could be deemed as a repugnant devious ploy, the prison has denied Robert Oppel prison access on several occasions even though the prisoner has granted him permission to visit. Many artists are interviewed including, friends, colleagues, wrinters, etc.

In the hands of a more experienced documentary filmmaker, this might have made for a decent short film. The subject matter just isn't compelling enough to construct a feature lenght narrative around. Instead, the filmmaker piggybacks onto other figures of the time (Harvey Milk, Anita Bryant, Divine, et at) both to give his film and its subject matter a heightened sense of importance.That alone would at least make the film interesting enough to sit through (and should have provided enough material to fill out the scant 80 min running time). Instead, Oppel sloppily re-enacts moments from his uncle's life and events going on at the time (ostensibly to save on footage? I can only assume, since every time they cut away to a "photo" of Robert Mapplethorpe, it was a stand-in with a huge RE-ENACTMENT stamped across it for a split second).Even worse, Oppel hasn't even hired real actors for these segments. He himself plays his uncle and a mix of friends and what I am assuming are people he pulled in off the streets play the other characters, the result being sub-elementary school play quality. These pieces are an absolute chore to sit through, they offer NOTHING of value to the story and I would guess that if you removed them all, you might find the film had been cut in half.The film isn't a total waste of time. it has a lot of fascinating archival footage, some extremely rare, so that alone makes it worth viewing. Just do it with the fast forward button very close by.

I've always championed the chutzpah of Uncle Bob to streak on that Oscar night. And, I must say ,this film offers images and facts that I had never known, even though I've lived in SF for over 30 years. Editing, pacing, historical footage are all fine, but the nephew's attempts to re-enact things that may or may not happened, with Charlie-Manson-like actors, tears it down. Plus, the gorgeous girlfriend of a martyr now stroking her fat rolls, petting her cat, and drinking white wine put me off somewhat. Maybe she should have been the martyr.

Very interesting look at the bigger picture of "the guy who streaked at the Oscars." He was an artist and activist and his death is still suspicious and San Francisco authorities are still stonewalling his nephew who is trying to get answers. This is not a glitzy, high-budget documentary portrait but more a loving expose/tribute to the producer's uncle.

his nephew wanted to be the star and he became one. a falling star. the tale was enough without all the hogging of the uncle's exploits and life. the initial story was interesting, but all the add-on nonsense was a failure and a bore.

Uncle Bob is a highly charged collection of interviews from radical artists and activist who fought the sexual revolution against the so-called liberal establishment in San Francisco & nationally.Uncle Bob was murdered by the establishment that killed Mayor George Moscone & Supervisor Harvey Milk. Fortunately his equally talented nephew Robert Opell discovered his roots, his passion for life, truth, & activism with probing artistic expressions in this film.Uncle Bob, shows how we all have a chance & the ability to stand & make dramatic marks on a country that has lost its way drenched in corporatism & blood.Take off your clothes and go for a walk...! Wake citizens up...!

I'd remembered the Academy Awards when he streaked out on stage, but the rest of the story I had no idea about. Very interesting and his nephew also made it entertaining. I think his uncle would have been very proud of him.

I remember this.. I was a kid still grade school because my mom used to watch Mike Douglas. The man that ran across the stage at the Oscars in the nude. Even back then people thought our society was to up tight.