CRAZY WISDOM: THE LIFE & TIMES OF CHÖGYAM TRUNGPA RINPOCHEMovie Reviews
Story: Tibetan and English language documentary about the renowned Buddhist leader Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche who shattered notions about how an enlightened teacher should behave. Cast:Pema Chodron, Ram Dass, Allen Ginsberg, Robert Thurman, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Anne Waldman, Jeffery Paine, Diana Mukpo, Traleg RinpocheDirector:Johanna DemetrakasOpened:November 25, 2011From:Olive FilmsLength:1 hr. 29 min.
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Fair Reviews (Doc) NYC, LA
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche played in New York City and Los Angeles to fair reviews. • Rachel Saltz wrote in the New York Times, "...goes mushy when it should be critical, and leaves you with questions that it's not prepared to answer.... It would have helped to hear from people critical of [guru Chögyam] Trungpa and from traditional Tibetan Buddhists, who might put his teachings, his crazy wisdom and his followers in perspective." More Reviews Below...
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche Positive Reviews (9 Reviews, reviews below)
Rachel Saltz, New York Times: FAIR "...goes mushy when it should be critical, and leaves you with questions that it's not prepared to answer.... It would have helped to hear from people critical of [guru Chögyam] Trungpa and from traditional Tibetan Buddhists, who might put his teachings, his crazy wisdom and his followers in perspective."(Read the full review...) 266 words, 11/25/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "[Trungpa] may have seemed as much like the Man Who Fell to Earth as a Buddhist master, but the influence of the individual who, as one student said, 'taught by being a human being,' is here for all to see."(Read the full review...) 558 words, 12/02/11
V.A. Musetto, New York Post: WEAK(cg) "...a documentary hardly anybody has been waiting for.... plays more like a TV infomercial than an unbiased examination of the Tibetan's controversial life."(Read the full review...) 172 words, 11/25/11
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...those inclined to interest in Tibetan Buddhism will discover something here.... Watching footage of [Chögyam] Trungpa in later life, dressed as a banana republic generalissimo, I detected only charlatanism."(Read the full review...) 242 words, 11/23/11
KEY CITIES (0 Reviews)
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche has not been reviewed in Key Cities
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (3 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: MODERATE "...those inclined to interest in Tibetan Buddhism will discover something here.... Watching footage of [Chögyam] Trungpa in later life, dressed as a banana republic generalissimo, I detected only charlatanism."(Read the full review...) 242 words, 11/23/11
Joseph Jon Lanthier, Slant: MODERATE(cg) "...the testimonies [director Johanna Demetrakas] assembles do attempt to consolidate [the points of view] with [Tibetan philosopher Chögyam Trungpa's] spiritual objectives -- confusingly and poorly."(Read the full review...) 633 words, 11/22/11
HIGHBROW PRESS (2 Reviews)
Rachel Saltz, New York Times: FAIR "...goes mushy when it should be critical, and leaves you with questions that it's not prepared to answer.... It would have helped to hear from people critical of [guru Chögyam] Trungpa and from traditional Tibetan Buddhists, who might put his teachings, his crazy wisdom and his followers in perspective."(Read the full review...) 266 words, 11/25/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "[Trungpa] may have seemed as much like the Man Who Fell to Earth as a Buddhist master, but the influence of the individual who, as one student said, 'taught by being a human being,' is here for all to see."(Read the full review...) 558 words, 12/02/11
MOVIE INDUSTRY (5 Reviews)
Dennis Harvey, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The late Chögyam Trungpa's very colorful life makes for a most engaging narrative here, even if broadcast docu veteran Johanna Demetrakas and her collaborators take an acolyte's viewpoint that won't be as fully explanatory for lay viewers as a more detached perspective might have been."(Read the full review...) 490 words, 02/16/11
Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter: MODERATE "...offers a perceptive, if one-sided, perspective on Trungpa's impact on American spirituality and the arts, but is probably too rarified for the uninitiated.... the doc is overwhelmingly hagiographic..."(Read the full review...) 538 words, 02/17/11
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "[Trungpa] may have seemed as much like the Man Who Fell to Earth as a Buddhist master, but the influence of the individual who, as one student said, 'taught by being a human being,' is here for all to see."(Read the full review...) 558 words, 12/02/11
Jeff Farr, Cinema 24/7: GOOD(cg) "...covers the freewheeling life of guru Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, who made a splash in the United States in the 1970s and founded Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado."(Read the full review...) 483 words, 11/12/11
Rachel Saltz, New York Times: FAIR "...goes mushy when it should be critical, and leaves you with questions that it's not prepared to answer.... It would have helped to hear from people critical of [guru Chögyam] Trungpa and from traditional Tibetan Buddhists, who might put his teachings, his crazy wisdom and his followers in perspective."(Read the full review...) 266 words, 11/25/11
11.5 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's reviews are separated by an average 11.5 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (9 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's reviews cover 9.4% of potential readers (average is 68.2%). Volume:The film's reviews total 3,624 words involume (average is 19,979 words). Length:The film's reviews average 403 words in length (the norm is 512 words).
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche Coverage, Volume & Length (9 Reviews, reviews below)
Reviews Broke 28 Days Before Release (Norm is 0.2 Release)
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's reviews on average broke 28 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 0.2 hours after. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Crazy Wisdom: The Life & Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (9 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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