Rating: 
Summary: Twsited but interesting
Review: Greg Kinnear does a Great take on this Film.John Carpenter His Buddy has the Camera Work rolling&there are alot of twisted&freaky things going on through out the film.this Film doesn't fully showcase Crane's vibe among His Hollywood Peers.this Film only goes so far&Wastes the Solid Performance of Kinnear to me.Willem Defoe is Solid as well.dug the Ladies in this Film as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Performances. Incisive Portrait of Compulsion.
Review: Autofocus is the story of actor Bob Crane's rise to popularity as Colonel Hogan on Hogan's Heroes through his fall from grace in Hollywood and eventual murder, based on the Book 'The Murder of Bob Crane' by Robert Graysmith. Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) is a supremely likable guy with a family and a popular prime time sitcom, but also with a penchant for pornography and casual sex when he meets a man named John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe) on the set of Hogan's Heroes. Carpenter was a sales representative for Sony's cutting edge technologies when they were developing VTR technology, a precursor to videotape. Crane, a lifelong photography enthusiast, was quite taken with this new technology. Also being a huge fan of pornography, he took the opportunity that VTR provided to make an astounding number of pornographic 'home movies' of anyone who would let him. Bob Crane's philandering and sexual obsession, often encouraged and facilitated by John Carpenter, became pathological and seemingly out of his own control, eventually costing him his first marriage and damaged his ability to get roles in Hollywood. Bob Crane was murdered in 1978 . The movie asserts the most popular hypothesis as to who committed the crime. But the circumstances surrounding his murder actually remain unclear.Greg Kinnear gives the performance of his life as the affable, compulsive Bob Crane. I only know Bob Crane from television, but, based on what I've seen, Kinnear nailed Crane's mannerisms perfectly. Willem Dafoe is superb as bright, needy, and sleazy John Carpenter. Rita Wilson is admirable in her supporting role as Bob Crane's first wife Anne. Maria Bello plays his second wife, actress Patricia Olson. I don't like director Paul Schrader's decision to overdub a narration that is supposed to be Bob Crane speaking (even speaking from the grave at one point!). It is unnecessary, corny, and takes Bob Crane's words too far out of their context, I think. That is a minor point, since the overdubbing is only occasional. Bob Crane's elder son by his first marriage, Robert David Crane, cooperated with the making of this film. His younger son by his second marriage, Robert Scott Crane -young "Scotty" in the movie- did not and has voiced strong objections to how his father is portrayed in the film. He cites a long list of what he claims are the film's inaccuracies. (You can read his objections if you search for Autofocus on the Internet Movie Database.) I am not inclined to take his criticisms of the film seriously because, having seen the movie, I can say that the film simply does not imply many of the things that Robert Scott Crane claims that it does. He seems to think that Autofocus paints an overwhelmingly negative picture of his father without showing the positve aspects of Bob Crane's life and character. I disagree. Autofocus is not unsympathetic to Bob Crane. He is portrayed as a likable and extremely gregarious man who cared for his family and was a talented comic actor...but who had an addiction that destroyed at least one of his marriages and his career and may have caused his premature death. He would never admit that he had problem and so never tried to change his behavior. I don't think that that characterization of Bob Crane is in dispute. But the issue of accuracy which Robert Scott Crane raises is a legitimate one. Unless the subject of a biographical film cooperates in writing the film, the screenwriters and scriptwriters cannot possible know the details of what went on behind closed doors or what was said in private conversations. So they make it up. They write scenes and put words in the characters' mouths that move the story along and support (hopefully) accurate character development. So viewers have to take the details with a grain of salt, not literally.
I recommend Autofocus for Greg Kinnear's great performance, and for its excellent portrait of someone who has crossed the line between self-indulgence and self-destruction and never really figures that out.
Rating:
Summary: Bob Crane
Review: This movie is the story of Bob Crane's rise to fame from radio to the star of Hogan's Heroes. The movie also shows his decline into deviant behavior with a friend John Carpenter. Although the murder of Crane has remained unsolved since the 70's, Carpenter seems to be the main suspect even though he passed away from a heart attack. So the movie examines Crane's life and shows what we know to be true and what may have been his demise. I like the way the film was shot, from the candy colored 60's, the movie falls into the 70's and Crane's behavior continues on a destructive path and the colors of the film become less vibrant, more muted and muddy. Also the camera angles are shaky and tight in the 70's as compared to the spacious and clean cut 60's shots. Greg Kinnear is amazing and completely Bob Crane. Kinnear is truly one of our mosted gifted actors. When the movie recreates Hogan's Heroes all the characters are there and so perfectly portrayed. Willem Dafoe is excellent as usual in such a creepy guy role, but he is so good at that. The DVD extras are plentiful. There's three sets of commentaries, deleted scenes, and a making of featurette. Also the most interesting feature is a documentary called "A Murder in Scottsdale" which analyzes the true crime scene and investigation with the officers, detectives, and others that were there. Overall this is excellent entertainment that will satisfy your curiousity and be thoroughly enjoyed.
Rating: 
Summary: Schmile!
Review: That's the cornball line Bob Crane (Greg Kinnear) runs on every woman he photographs, whether in the beginning of his career for autograph hounds, or later as a sick pornographer in this excellent though dispiriting movie. First off, let me say that I have never seen an episode of "Hogan's Heroes"; my father, a WW2 vet from the European theatre, refused to have it on in our house. Thus, I have no clear image of the real Bob Crane, meaning that I can't really tell whether Kinnear's portrayal is cariacature, dead-on, or way off. But that didn't bother me none. He actually reminded me of a somewhat unsavory man I know in real life, so I had no trouble making the leap that this seeming family man was actually a Real Creep in sheep's clothing. Kinnear does a great job as we see him disintegrate from a respectable vaguely naive man into a joyful then joyless sexaholic. It's a shame, really, that neither he nor his talented co-star Willem Dafoe got Oscar nominations for their work in this film. Dafoe brings to mind every lounge lizard you've ever seen as the Mephistopheles character to Bob Crane/Faust. It's Carpenter (Dafoe) who, as a pioneer in video tech doing some work for "Hogan" co-star Richard Dawson, introduces Crane to swinging and videotaping their joint sexual escapades. The two feed off each other for well over a decade until a final ugly altercation. Shortly after, Crane is found murdered in a motel room; the filmmakers imply that the guilty party is Carpenter. While I may not be conversant with Bob Crane's visage, like anyone else from the 1970s I do know "Family Feud" host Richard Dawson, and I have to say that this guy was terrible casting in that role. I don't know how long it took even for me to realize who this actor was supposed to be playing--nothing like him at all! More like Tommy Tune than the short somewhat stocky real
Dawson. But that's about the only complaint I have about "Auto Focus", with the possible exception of the unhelpful title. When I went to the theatre, I couldn't for the life of me remember what this movie was supposed to be about, even though I knew I'd seen the trailer before. It just doesn't communicate anything to its potential audience, which may explain that a lot of people didn't find out about this movie, good though it is. "Auto Focus" does a creditable job of capturing the emptiness of Crane and Carpenter's sex addiction; one telling moment is when the two men are comparing notes on which cities have the best in certain sexual specialties, the way some others might talk about bus service. Another time, the two men are watching footage of themselves and begin to masturbate, each alone in his addiction despite the other's presence. Interesting too that Crane is up for any kind of action except homosexual; he goes ballistic when he sees Carpenter's hand on his own naked posterior during an orgy. In the end, the main moral of "Auto Focus" is that loss of control in one area eventually spells disaster in every facet of Crane's life, whether professional or personal. Like a modern update of a morality play, we are all well warned to stay on the straight and narrow to avoid such a downfall as Bob Crane's.
Rating:
Summary: Sad story but a great walk down memory lane!
Review: The story of Bob Crane really is a sad one. He had alot going for him, handsome, talented, interested in new technology, beautiful wife, nice kids but an uncontolable sex appitie. Of course if he lived in this generation we wouldn't have given this a second thought but for the 1960's,,,,it's was a different story.As a film this is a work of art. I saw a few flaws in their props but it was still a masterpiece of rememberence of nostolgia. A wonderful walk down memory lane. The blue counter top and matching dish washer. The early equipment called VTR. This was all priceless for me to watch.I believe if you are from this era you will enjoy the movie for both the talent of Bob and the great sets used for the film. Even the opening titles were reminising of how many movie titles were made in the 60's. Great job Sony Pictures! I really enjoyed this film alot.
Rating:
Summary: A slave to passion self-destructs
Review: I am old enough to remember when Hogan's Heroes first made its appearance on national television. The unusual comedy series regarding a German POW camp was fluff and few thought otherwise. Bob Crane portrayed the central character in a casual and easygoing manner. He reminded no one of the great actors of his generation. To be blunt, Director Paul Schrader's newly released movie highlights the life of someone who normally would be long forgotten. Auto Focus depicts Bob Crane as a practicing Catholic who fails to heed his church's warning that one must shun the occasions of sin. Crane takes one bite of the apple of temptation and is almost instantaneously unable to exercise any significant control over his sexual appetites. One need not be a religious person to concede that Crane became a slave to passion and no longer the master over his own destiny. There is one unavoidable fact about any form of addiction: the addict neglects the important people and other responsibilities in their life. Bob Crane was no exception to the general rule. Greg Kinnear aptly portrays Crane as an obsessed man who strictly adhered to the motto "a day without sex is a wasted one." He meets the somewhat parasitical John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe) who introduces him to the numerous females eager to sleep with a famous actor. Both men share a common interest in taking pictures of their exploits. This inevitably does little to aid Crane's career which is premised upon his marketed image as a clean cut all-American husband and father figure. Crane psychologically and existentially disintegrates into a pitiful creature undeserving of respect. We know something bad is going to happen. It's merely a question of when and where. Choosing to see Auto Focus does not require that you have any particular interest in Bob Crane. Schrader's insightful handling of the theme of sexual addiction alone justifies an investment of a few hours of your time. Auto focus earns five stars and should be on the top of the list for all mature adults.
Rating:
Summary: Steamy Underbelly of Hollywood
Review: Nobody captures it better than Paul Schrader. I enjoyed this latest Schrader offering even better than American Gigolo. Kinnear is perfectly cast as Bob Crane-the "Ward Cleaver" father figure corrupted by power and sex. Willem Dafoe is at his slimy best portraying the parasitical hanger on John Carpenter. The scene in the nightclub where Crane breaks off their relationship is particularly chilling and Dafoe comes off as the creepiest movie villain since Richard Widmark some 50 years prior. This film is not so much a biography of a man as it is a chronicle of temptation and lust; and it is gloomily filmed and expertly cast. Oscar nominations for the two principal actors should certainly follow and ones for directing and screenplay as well. The best movie I have seen thus far in 2002.
Rating:
Summary: Sadly, it's a sex/morality flick
Review: Given Schrader's track record, there was a 50-50 chance that this would be good. I find his sex/morality flicks (Hardcore, America Gigolo) cold, leaden and disengaging, while his two bio pics - Patty Heart and Mishima - are his best. Sadly, this one is a sex/morality flick. Willem Dafoe and Rita Wilson do give great performances, however. And Greg Kinnear is Bob Crane -- which means, like Crane, all he had to do was show up.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most famous sitcom stars on your tv
Review: Done in the vein of those cable behind the scenes documentaries, the story that unfolds is not that unique or even surprising. We sort of know what is going to happen to Bob...the fame, the obsession ( sex ) so complete that to him it seems normal, the concurrent decline in career, all hell breaking loose... WHat makes the movie "fun" is that the performance of Kinnear and Dafoe remind us of the capacity for self destruction, even when the cards dealt seem a winning hand. IT is almost comedic, in a sad way, the precision with which the boys go about their after hours entertainment, with humorous looks at the new stuff in home video, introduced to Crane by his buddy John ( the Sony Betamax). There is a lack of tension in a story that really is not a story...the predictability made acceptable by the chance to look at the crash. The movie almost seems to be entirely about Bob's sexual versus job performances, and At least you can say that it has a sort of guided percision in that sense...the movie IS in focus. Dafoe in particular is excellent, and Kinnear portrays convincingly how obsession of any kind can lead to ruin.
Rating:
Summary: Increasingly disturbing and compelling
Review: Bob Crane shot to television stardom in the 1960s as the star of the television series Hogan's Heroes. However, while he was enjoying the life of a TV star, he was simultaneously delving into dark territory in his personal life - sexual promiscuity and deviance. Auto Focus tells the story of Bob Crane as a tragic cautionary tale of the dangers of excess.
When the film opens, Bob (Greg Kinnear, in a fantastic performance) is about to hit the big time, and is a loving family man who doesn't drink or smoke. He attends mass on Sundays. One day on the set of Hogan's Heroes, though, his life begins to take a bit of a turn when he meets John Carpenter (Willem Dafoe), a techno-guy with all the latest gadgets, including video equipment, which fascinates Crane.
"Carp" opens the door for Bob to unleash his inner desires, which both excite and frighten him. It begins innocently enough, sitting in on the drums at a strip club, but eventually Bob loses all self-control and ends up making pornographic videos of his exploits and frequently "swinging." All the while Bob refuses to admit that there's anything wrong with him; if you ask him, he'll tell you he's just a normal guy.
After Hogan's Heroes came to an end, Crane took a job with a dinner theatre show, which allowed Crane and Carp to take their liaisons on a traveling show. As Crane's indiscretions get worse, his personal life deteriorates, as he divorces two wives (played by Rita Wilson and Mario Bello).
Auto Focus has been expertly directed by Paul Schrader, who begins the film with bright, glossy colors, then as Crane goes deeper and deeper into his obsessions, the colors fade and the camera becomes unstable, just as Crane does. Kinnear gives the performance of his life, showing us an uptight man who is afraid of his sexual demons turning into an uptight man who lets them take over his life.
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