David Holzman's Diary

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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1991.

"A classic cult film of the 60’s, Jim McBride’s landmark “mockumentary” lives on today as a bizarro comedy, a diabolical puzzle, and a shrewd satire of the idea that film can ever tell the truth. It’s a major dispatch from the American underground, and echoes of it can still be felt. In HD."

— MUBI's take

David Holzman's Diary is a 1967 American mockumentary, or work of metacinema, directed by James McBride and starring L. M. Kit Carson. A feature-length film made on a tiny budget over several days, it is a work of experimental fiction presented as an autobiographical documentary. "A self-portrait by a fictional character in a real place—New York's Upper West Side," the film comments on David's personality and life as well as on documentary filmmaking and the medium of cinema more generally. In 1991, David Holzman's Diary was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress. being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.

Why It Rocks

1. It's notable for being a satire on cinema verite, with the "fake documentary" being shot in only five days on a $2500 budget, and yet it still manages to be incredibly well-done.
2. David Holzman's Dairy is a great early example of what's now known as a "mockumentary" and it led the way to popular films of its kind such as Rob Reiner's This is Spinal Tap and Christopher Guest's Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show.
3. L.M. Kit Carson gives such a natural performance the title character, one could mistake him for being real -- it's that convincing. The film's so far ahead of it's time that it duplicates, at times, the life of a present day blogger, this film also historically depicts real-life New York, its citizens, and the media overlay placed upon the populace as the Vietnam War raged like a mental wildfire in the consciousness of millions of those citizens and media figures.
4. This experimental film captures the essence of the filmmaker Jim McBride as artist while skewering it with its own devices: grainy black-and-white 16mm film, wobbly handheld camerawork, bizarre angles and lenses. It insightfully examines how we define reality, how our perceptions can cloud it, and whether it is really possible to show it on film.
5. It's surprisingly very thought-provoking and continues to be relevant today for its themes. For one thing, the lead decides to make a filmed "diary" of his life, but the filming slowly alienates him from his normal life including his girlfriend. In fact, there's even an extended monologue from one of David's friends around a third into the film that summarizes the theme incredibly well. This film asks the viewers, what's real behind the camera? How does the camera affect the outcome of the reality it's capturing?
6. There's a 2 minute long fast paced television screen sequence—which contains over 3,000 individual shots filmed off a black-and-white set, which may be the picture's most bravura bit, but it also underscores just how not media-saturated Holzman's New York City is. The television's either on, or it's not. Out on the street, you maybe hear a transistor radio. Otherwise, that's it. Seems like a quieter place.