American filmmaker Bruce David Klein has immense respect and fondness for Liza Minnelli. And it’s likely viewers of his superb new documentary Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story will come away feeling much the same way about the legendary star, who turns 79 on Mar. 12.
Featuring multiple candid talking-head interviews with lifelong friends, former colleagues and even ex-lovers – among them Mia Farrow, Michael Feinstein, Ben Vereen, Joel Grey, sister Lorna Luft, and the late Chita Rivera, in addition to Minnelli herself – Liza is also elevated by clips cherrypicked from some 25 hours of never-before-seen footage captured during the multi-hyphenate performer’s crowning years in the 1970s.
“Being offered that footage was a holy s**t moment,” howls Klein from New York, where Zoomer reached him ahead of his film’s Canadian premiere on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 at Toronto’s Hot Docs Cinema. It also screens on Jan. 31 at VIFF in Vancouver and Ottawa’s Mayfair Theatre, Feb. 2 at Toronto’s Fox Theatre and Feb. 8 to 11 at Toronto’s Revue Cinema.
In addition to that dazzling filmic trove, Klein has footage from Minnelli’s rarefied childhood on-set and on-stage with her famous parents, equally legendary Wizard of Oz actress-singer Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli – whose credits include 1951’s An American in Paris as well as 1944’s Meet Me in St. Louis, where he and Garland met.
Klein – who wrote, directed, and produced Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story – says the thrust of his film is two-fold. He hopes to show that the privilege afforded to Minnelli by her Hollywood upbringing “was a double-edge sword,” conferring both positives (native talent, insider connections) and negatives (heightened expectations, propensity to addiction).
“If you go back and watch interviews with her from the 1970s, people would ask her, ‘Will you ever sing as good as your mother? Can you dance as well as your mother?’” Klein says. “The expectations put on her because of her background were incredible. Understanding that is key to understanding Liza.”
Klein also hopes his film will act as a “corrective” to latent perceptions of Minnelli as mere tabloid fodder – due mainly to her brief, tempestuous 2002 marriage to concert promoter David Gest – by highlighting the enormity of her celebrity at her peak. Not for nothing, she is a member of the EGOT club, celebrating those rare few who possess an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar (one each) and Tony (four). She also boasts a pair of Golden Globes and a BAFTA Award.
“She was the ‘It’ girl of the 1970s, on the cover of Time and Newsweek the same week. Unheard of! To see that raw, unbridled talent in acting, dancing, and singing was mind-blowing,” says Klein, who first became aware of Minnelli as a kid when he observed her, fetchingly costumed, in a poster for her landmark 1972 film, Cabaret. (While he demurs on stating his exact age, Klein confirms he’s a Gen X-er).
Witnessing a Minnelli stage performance in 2008 at the Palace Theatre on Broadway convinced Klein her story needed to be told. “The audience went nuts in a way I’d never seen before,” he recalls. “Grown men and women were crying. At that point I realized she has this profound connection with people that went beyond them just liking her music and the way she dances. It was deep.”
A fascinating throughline of the documentary details how a young Minnelli – who lost her mother, with whom she had a “complicated relationship,” in 1969 at age 23 – crafted her audience-facing persona by consciously assembling a trusted set of mentors and then leveraging their expertise.
These included superstar French crooner Charles Aznavour, theatre greats, lyricist Fred Ebb and John Kander (also interviewed in the film), singer-dancer and actress Kay Thompson – who authored the Eloise children’s books, its title character purportedly based on Minnelli – and later, fashion designer Halston, who created her signature sequinned clothing, designed to hide perspiration stains when she was performing.
Halston also served as Minnelli’s sidekick at New York’s infamous Studio 54, where the pair were frequent guests. “And she gives credit to her mentors,” Klein confirms. “She says, ‘Fred Ebb, oh he invented me.’ Or ‘Halston, he invented me.’ You just don’t see that in celebrities.”
Those relationships helped curate a singular, bespoke identity for Minnelli, whose star turn in ace choreographer Bob Fosse’s Cabaret (he was also a mentor) earned the aforementioned best actress Oscar and BAFTA awards. Also in 1972 came Liza with a Z, a groundbreaking made-for-TV concert film developed with Fosse and Ebb that scored four Emmy Awards.
Says Klein, “Liza probably would not have agreed to do a film like Cabaret before her mother died. Judy represented classic Hollywood and Liza’s father was one of the great architects of the golden-age musical. And yet for her first big commercial movie Liza chooses Cabaret which, in effect, dismantles the golden-age musical.”
More recently, a recurring guest role on the TV sitcom Arrested Development from 2003 to 2013 placed Minnelli before contemporary audiences. Klein notes many of her other movie roles, particularly the comedy Arthur from 1981, have aged exceptionally well. “Liza had such a burst of genius in the 1970s and could never equal that,” he says. “How people know her often depends on their age.”
Of note, Klein interviewed Minnelli for his film after the 2022 Academy Awards, where she appeared in a wheelchair alongside Lady Gaga to announce that year’s best picture winner, Coda. The woman Klein captures in Liza: A Truly Terrific Absolutely True Story appears, by contrast, is spry and alert.
“With this film, I hope to feed the needs of Liza fans so they can have a moment with her and just be able to love her,” Klein says. “I also hope to reach people who maybe know the name but not really who she is. And I hope to create new fans. Also, to celebrate this genius process that she had.”
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