Bettie Page Reveals All 2013

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: An amateurish and oddly paced documentary, "Bettie Page Reveals All" nonetheless turns out to be revealing, if perhaps not in the way its makers intended. Read more

Dennis Harvey, Variety: Her enduring appeal is amply documented in myriad vintage photos and clips deployed, while erstwhile collaborators and latter-day admirers add their two cents. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: This documentary portrait of the famous 50s pinup model contends that Page was a progressive figure because she always controlled how her body was objectified. That's such a provocative premise that one wishes the movie explored it in greater depth. Read more

John DeFore, Hollywood Reporter: The film's reason for being, though, is the sound of Page's voice -- a worldly, aged Southern drawl -- as she recounts her life story from childhood through retirement. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: [A] highly watchable portrait. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: The film's ... well-directed by Mark Mori, and Page's story - told in a Southern drawl as thick as sorghum - is a fascinating one. Read more

Ella Taylor, NPR: She got a big kick out of posing in the buff, the film makes clear, and saw no contradiction between her sensuality and the Christian faith she practiced all her life. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: Mori gives us a delightful nostalgia trip, illustrated with lots of stunning, once-scandalous photos of Page in her prime. We even hear from the deeply private icon herself, in voiceover interviews recorded before her death in 2008. Read more

Manohla Dargis, New York Times: It tends to lurch distractingly, as if Mr. Mori were still trying to figure out how to piece the whole thing together. Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: A scintillating, sincere and empathetic portrait of the pinup queen who attained her greatest influence as an icon of female sexuality decades after she retired. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The film offers frank, matter-of-fact commentary that is far more illuminating than the talking-head encomiums served up by the likes of Perez Hilton, Dita Von Teese, and Hugh Hefner. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Only when it makes the claim for Page as a pivotal figure in American culture does it overstate the case and become tiresome. Read more

Kathryn Laskaris, Toronto Star: Page's natural beauty, charisma and genuine sense of fun - not to mention her 36-24-37 measurements - come clearly through in Mori's tale. Read more

Stephanie Zacharek, Village Voice: Much of the movie consists of footage and stills from Page's life and career, and face it: Looking at Page for some 90 minutes is a pleasure unto itself. But her actual voice gives the movie its richness. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: The best thing about this documentary portrait of the beloved 1950s pin-up is its meaty narration, courtesy of Page herself, speaking in the low, slightly gravelly register of an aging Southern belle. Read more