This documentary about editor Robert Gottleib and biographer Robert Caro is directed by Mr Gottlieb's daughter, Lizzie Gottlieb. We learn about the careers of these two men as well as the subjects of Mr Caro's biographies, Robert Moses and Lyndon Johnson. The film is always engaging and full of wonderful moments, such Mr Caro showing the filmmaker the cupboard across from the refrigerator where he stuffs the carbon copies of each day's typing or his description of exactly how he found out that Johnson stole his1948 election to the U. S. Senate. But the film really seems like two separate stories edited together. The device that promises to unite the film-their contentious working relationship, teased from the beginning-turns into a weakness by the time it arrives at the film's end: it is brief, shown with no sound (at the subjects' request), and looks like two people editing a typescript.

Perhaps the most telling moment in this final sequence comes as the two are settling down to work at the offices of the publisher Alfred Knopf. As we have seen throughout the film, both men work with paper: Mr Caro writes his first drafts by longhand, then revises them on the typewriter; Mr Gottleib edits with pencil on typescript or galleys. So before they get down to work, Mr Caro needs a pencil. You can see his thought process, "I'm going to a publisher's office. Why would I need to bring a pencil?" But of course nobody at Knopf has a yellow wooden pencil with eraser. Mr Caro might as well be asking for parchment and quill. When a suitable pencil is finally produced, it is unsharpened and nobody's sure whether the pencil sharpener even works (it does, saving the day). As Jordan Pavlin, Knopf's current editor-in-chief, says, when we watch these two we're watching literary history-not something of our day, but relics from a distant past, like coelacanths.

Very lively coelacanths they are, and both are still passionate about their work. But looming over the film is the specter of The Fifth Book, the final volume of Mr. Caro's LBJ books. His answer to Ms. Gottlieb can stand for all the times the question is asked or is implied: "You're really asking me, 'Do you think I'm gonna die? When you think I'm gonna die.' So I prefer not to answer that."

An interesting film could be made about either of these men, and most viewers will probably have a preference for which of those films would be the most worth seeing. This film is a long, entertaining teaser for those films: it leaves you wanting to know more.

Postscript: Mr Gottlieb died in June 2023.

As an ardent movie lover and a seasoned writer/editor, one might naturally assume that this release would be a film right up my alley. Yet, after watching director Lizzie Gottlieb's third documentary feature, a chronicle of the life, work and professional relationship between author Robert Caro and editor Robert Gottlieb, I came away from it with decidedly mixed feelings. To its credit, the film provides an insightful look into the worlds of writing and editing and the sometimes-harmonious, sometimes-contentious marriage between the two in producing finished works of literature, enabling viewers to witness the collaborative intricacies and mindsets that go into this highly subjective process. It also examines the depth of the work involved in researching and shaping the contents of these projects so that they're able to live up to their literary and commercial potential. And these aspects of the film effectively capture the essence of this material, something to which I and other authors/editors can certainly relate. However, whether this level of detail would appeal to the average moviegoer is another matter; it's niche filmmaking to an extreme degree, and I can't help but wonder if this offering would provide much of anything engaging to anyone beyond the aforementioned core audience and those who have an insatiable curiosity about this subject. Obviously that's a call that would be out of my hands, yet I'm still somewhat reluctant to give a definitive recommendation or caution about this film. No matter which way one leans, I must say that I found the picture somewhat overlong, sometimes going into greater detail than even I was interested in, something that I could see being a criticism other viewers might hold as well. And the use of the word "adventures" in the subtitle is something of an overstatement. Undoubtedly, however, there will be those who absolutely love this release, though I can't say how widespread that audience would be. So, in light of that, let me just say that this one is very much one of those "you decide" offerings. And, no matter which way you lean, you'd be right.

Greetings again from the darkness. Writing well is difficult. Very few are really good at, even though many of us try. Editing well is difficult. Very few of us put much effort into it and it shows. Documentarian Lizzy Gottlieb uses her inside track to provide a fascinating look at the relationship between writing and editing at the highest level. Her father, Robert Gottlieb, is one of the most renowned literary editors of the past 50 years, and his relationship with Pulitzer Prize winning investigative journalist-turned-biographer/author, Robert Caro, goes under the microscope. The result is an insightful peek behind the curtain of their process.

Ms. Gottlieb spent five years on the film, and the two subjects set the ground rules ... they refused to be interviewed together in the same room. Because of this, the film begins with each man providing their own personal profile, dating back to their childhood and how they began honing their particular set of skills. Mr. Caro speaks to his newspaper background and how he transitioned into the years long process writing his 1974 classic, "The Power Broker", a massive biography of Robert Moses and the development of New York City. Ms. Gottlieb provides a contemporary point by noting the book's COVID resurgence, as it's frequently seen on the bookshelves of folks during Zoom interviews.

Mr. Gottlieb recalls his first interview and job at Simon and Schuster, and how he worked his way up to Editor-in-Chief at the publishing house, prior to holding the same position at Knopf Publishing, and The New Yorker. Estimating that he has edited between 600 and 700 books, it's fascinating to hear his recollections on coming up with the '22' for Joseph Heller's classic, "Catch-22". Gottlieb also edited such fine writers as Michael Crichton and Toni Morrison, while also fine-tuning a most unusual personal collection unrelated to books.

Most importantly, we get the sense of Mr. Caro's incredible dedication to deep research in the segment about his multi-volume biographical series, "The Years of Lyndon Johnson." It's a bit stunning to witness Caro show his process of utilizing actual carbon paper for copies of all the work he types out on his Smith-Corona. He makes no apologies for being old school in his approach to work.

Ms. Gottlieb's goal was to document the two men finishing up Caro's final volume of the LBJ series. Both men are in the 80's and have worked together on 5 books spanning 50 years ... and though the film does end, the final book remains a work in progress. Caro's literary agent Lynn Nesbit admits the two men's relationship has been contentious at times, and they've been known to have some colorful battles over punctuation ... especially semicolons.

This is not a true bio of either man, but rather an expose' of their working relationship and the painstaking process of completing a book. Their shared commitment to the highest level of work speaks to the pride, ego, and intelligence of each. One of my favorite lines comes from Mr. Gottlieb when he states, "He does the work. I do the cleanup." The director does finally succeed in getting the two men on camera in the same room for editing ... with one big catch. And that comes, of course, after a frantic hunt for a number 2 pencil.

The film opens on December 30, 2022.