Esteemed cinema direct documentarists Donn A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus teamed up in the late 1970s to shoot this biographical portrait of legendary maverick automaker John Z. DeLorean. The film retains enormous historical interest given the period in which it was shot; filmed between 1979-1981, it presents DeLorean at a point immediately following his construction of the DeLorean Motor Company's Belfast automobile plant. The scene presented to the audience is a unique one: though the factory was continually surrounded by the bombing and gunfire of IRA and IRA opponents, the plant itself remained absolutely peaceful, an oasis of reconciliatory calm between autoworkers from both sides of the religious/political fence. Pennebaker and Hegedus approach the material with great respect for the visionary executive, his gull-winged DMC automobile, and his efforts in Ireland. Sadly, not long after the completion of this work, the plant experienced calamitous financial difficulty and went into Chapter 11, and DeLorean experienced a life-altering fall from grace that ended with accusations of massive financial misappropriation, arraignment by a federal grand jury, and temporary imprisonment, effectively bringing an end to DeLorean's entrepreneurial vision for the DMC.
by Sidney Jenkins
synopsis
