Bravo Channel Interview Hosted by James Lipton
Studio: Shout Factory SF 10915
Video: 4:3 full screen color
Audio: PCM stereo
Length: 100 minutes
Rating: *****
The Inside The Actors Studio series has presented over 200 noted stars of film, theater, TV and music in 14 years on the air. It is a forum where guests speak directly and honestly about their lives and craft, and things that shaped their careers. This particular session is the one most requested by the public of any of the interviews, and it is easy to understand why. Lipton reveals in his overlong introduction that Williams both sat in his onstage chair and flitted about the stage for well over five hours, and the DVD collects the best from that.
One of the questions Lipton gets in – after an initial lengthy period of Williams’ “legal insanity” – is how in the world his brain can move so fast that he picks up on almost anything in his environment and can launch into a whole comedy bit based on it out of the blue. That seems to get at the heart of the comic’s unique appeal. You can view the first six minutes of the DVD on YouTube right here.
An example of one little item setting Williams off is a later section of the DVD in which he demonstrates his technique by asking a lady in the front row for her pink pashmina, which he then uses for rapid sketches and impressions of arabs, old ladies, Iron Chefs, bullfighters, you name it. Williams didn’t remember the name of his elementary school but he was fairly straightforward in revealing his childhood upbringing and early influences. Of course the host went thru all the fine films in which Williams has acted and for which he has often won awards, starting with Popeye. The comic had an interesting story or observation about each one. A section of questions near the end was very revealing: what Williams liked best and liked least, what swear word he dislikes most and which he prefers, among them. This memorable visit with Robin Williams is a classic interview that will have any viewer engrossed for its entirety.
– John Sunier
