Nowadays, phrases like ‘living legend’ and ‘iconic’ are often bandied about rather too haphazardly, and in far too casual a manner, to the point where they almost lose all meaning. Yet there are some people for whom arguably such designations are truly well-deserved and apposite.
One of them just happens to be a Canadian expatriate who in nearly a century has racked up a pretty impressive and wide-ranging series of achievements. As an actor, he has faced off against a nightmare at 20,000 feet; starred in a horror film made entirely in Esperanto; been a hard-bitten police veteran cleaning crime off the streets; played a brilliant – but rather eccentric – attorney with a fixation upon his own name; and portrayed both Alexander the Great and Jason (of Argonauts fame). He has also done work on the other side of the camera as a director and writer. A mask of his likeness was even used as the basis of one of horror’s greatest monsters.
READ MORE: Big Banana Feet (1977) – Blu-ray Review
Not content with just television and movie work, this is also someone who has written books and recorded albums – the music all being performed in his own inimitable and unique style. An individual who found a passion for horses which has led to his receiving a series of awards in equestrian circles. At the age of 90, he would become the oldest living person ever to travel into space. And yet, despite these accomplishments – and so many more than could easily be listed here – he will always and forever be synonymous with launching one of the greatest science fiction franchises of all time.
It is a testament to his on-screen style when playing Captain James Tiberius Kirk that he has managed to earn himself an adjective: ‘Shatnerian’. In fact, William Shatner’s delivery is something which has been so oft impersonated or parodied that he even critiqued some of these for Vanity Fair. It has been something which he has largely borne with both grace and good humour, and – much like David Hasselhoff – has been able to lean into and ultimately own this larger-than-life public perception, wearing that persona and using it as a self-deprecating pre-emptive strike.
With so many of his contemporaries having sadly left us, it is remarkable that Shatner – now on his way to competing his 94th orbit of the Sun – is not only still working hard, but also appears to still be so energised and prolific, with there being no signs or suggestion of slowing down or retiring. Given the fact that so much of Shatner’s lengthy résumé is perpetually overshadowed by his work on Star Trek, and the world’s view of him coloured by a role he played in 79 episodes and seven movies (plus 22 animated instalments), it would be easy for the public to overlook that there is a real person underneath that gold command tunic.
READ MORE: Dreadful (Caitlin Rozakis) – Book Review
The Swiss filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe – whose output has included The People vs. George Lucas, Doc of the Dead, 78/52, Memory: The Origins of Alien, and Lynch/Oz – turns his attention to the nonagenarian Canuck for his very latest documentary feature, William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill, delivering a truly intimate insight into Shatner the man, and separating him from Shatner the icon. But this is certainly no typical biography, and rather than it going through Shatner’s life in a straightforward chronological recounting of events, what we actually get is a look beneath the carapace, opening up the subject in a deeply personal and revealing way, giving us a glimpse of his personal philosophy and very core.
You might expect Shatner to see it as being the opportunity to either deliver a self-penned living eulogy, or to perhaps provide a full-throated defence to some of those criticisms which have been directed at him over the decades. Instead, You Can Call Me Bill is Shatner seemingly extemporising on many of the topics and themes which are most dear to him, and there is an unflinching honesty and candour as Philippe slowly peels back the layers of his subject. Shatner is shorn of any ego, and as the barriers come down and he opens up, we discover more about what makes him tick, and a touching – as well as perhaps unexpected – vulnerability starts to show through.
With far fewer days ahead of him than there are behind, you may perhaps think You Can Call Me Bill might run the risk of being a mawkish or sad affair. Whilst there is inevitably the risk of there being a wistfulness or a melancholia here given Shatner’s advanced years, there is instead a sense that age is merely a number and a state of mind, as Shatner comes over as being as driven and vital as a man half his age. Illustrated throughout by clips from his body of work, Shatner shows us he has always been led by a focus upon living in the moment and being present in whatever he is doing, which delivers us all a rather salutary lesson and example.
READ MORE: Crimson Peak (2015) – Limited Edition 4K UHD Review
You Can Call Me Bill is a deep dive into both the life and soul of the man behind the myth, and while there have now been a number of Captain Kirks, there is only one William Shatner. This documentary reminds us of just how lucky we are to still have him with us, and reaffirming he has not only lived long, but also prospered, having lived up to the most famous split infinitive in science fiction by always boldly going in all areas of his life. O Captain, our Captain.
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill is out on digital platforms and Blu-ray on 27th May from Signature Entertainment.
