Midnight in Savannah
(1997, seen on A&E on cable TV)
This two-hour documentary actually does the stories of Savannah much more justice than the theatrical release *Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil*.
Two things make this documentary superior to the forementioned movie. First, the facts are much more interesting than their dramatization. Second, more facets of the book are covered than the movie does.
In real life, and in the book, the trial of Jim Williams was actually four trials that covered eight years. Apparently, no murder trail has gone four rounds. In the end, Williams gets off on a technicality, with legal maneuvers that blame the policework--the forerunner of the OJ Simpson defense.
We also get to see a variety of points of view. Not just the other real people behind the characters in the novel, but also other Savannah citizens and their opinion of the book that has put their town on the map and made it a tourism center. Many old-time Savannah residents resent the negative effects of schlocky gift shops and trolley-style tour buses running around the old part of town.
Also, the documentary also does a better job of showing how beautiful the old part of town is. One would have hoped Clint Eastwood would have shown more of this in the theatrical movie.
If you have a chance to see the documentary, do. It is a nice counterpart to the book, which is also worth experiencing.
More movie reviews by Seth Bookey, with graphics, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2679/kino.html
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