Still, the documentary is as gripping as any horror movie, and it offers a powerful counter to the sensational reality-television world of augmented physiques.
The presence of this film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in January caused China to withdraw two movies from that event, but the documentary is as much a challenge to the Dalai Lama as it is to the Chinese.
Exploring product placement in movies and on television, the documentary is as much celebration as it is a critique of what is called co-promotion, in which movies like "Spider-Man 2" are infiltrated with images of brand-name products that pay for the exposure.
Cocker, who was born in the city, said the documentary was "as much about Sheffield as it is about Pulp" and that he hoped fans would be "entertained".
By simply showing the work on camera, the documentary is as explicit as its subject.
He called a few friends who, after seeing the documentary, were as ready as Graham to give it a shot.
Both The Look of SIlence and The Act of Killing are incredibly well-crafted documentaries that are as difficult to watch as they are expertly done.
This isn't crackpot conspiracy theory stuff; the documentary is as serious and somber as its title, "TWA Flight 800".
Drawing on recordings of stage appearances, television interviews with MTV and Charlie Rose, and other videotaped conversations, this documentary is as digressive and, miraculously, as coherent as the monologues that are its principal inspiration.
Ultimately, the cinema's ability to immortalize the beauty of the everyday challenged even the most outlandish contrivances of artists such as Keaton, for whom its documentary power was as much a reproach as it was a boon.
