Ben Affleck made something of a career comeback with Hollywoodland playing TV's original Superman in the days leading up to his mysterious death. His toned down portrayal of George Reeves meant the critics forgave him for the likes of Gigli and Surviving Christmas. However, when it came to ticket sales, this thriller - thick with the "grit and glamour" of old Hollywood - didn't fly too high.

The High Life And The Lowlife

Writer/director Allen Coulter outlines his "stylised, but not too stylised" depiction of America's movie capital in Recreating old Hollywood. We revisit fabled haunts like The Coconut Grove and Ciro's while the actors talk about glamming up for their roles. Bob Hoskins, who plays studio boss Eddie Mannix, recalls flicking through old gossip rags and noticing that men "always had a drink in their hand and a woman on their arm." It's a far cry from today's snapshot of Hollywood where starlets stumble out of cars without their underwear...

Hollywood Then And Now peeks beneath the glitzy exterior of the movie business back in the 40s and 50s. Film historians join cast and crew to talk about the stranglehold the studio brass had on actors who were under contract. It was part of their job to cover up the stars' drunken and drug-addled mishaps to protect a squeaky-clean image, but experts are divided on the likelihood of Mannix actually having a hand in Reeves' untimely death.

LA Law

The mystery surrounding Reeves' demise comes under the spotlight again in Behind The Headlines. It's hardly a probing analysis of the case, but there are some interesting observations from veteran actor Jack Larson who got to know Reeves while playing Jimmy Olsen to his Clark Kent. Affleck and Adrien Brody are also on hand to talk about the parallels between the lives of Reeves and Detective Louis Simo, men both crippled by their hunger for fame.

Finally a reel of four deleted scenes reveals an intriguing subplot involving Simo (Brody) and Sgt Patterson (Dash Mihok). They grudgingly cooperate in trying to get to Mannix through his wife Toni (Diane Lane). Inevitably though, Simo is let down by Patterson, lending weight to the idea of a conspiracy between the police and the studio. Let's face it: have you ever seen a Hollywood-set thriller where the LAPD isn't corrupt?

Overall, the extras could've benefited from a more detailed look at the context of this true crime story. But, by the same token, such an intricately woven film does benefit from having room to spread out on the small screen. It's definitely worth checking out if you're curious about the dirty mechanics of the Hollywood dream factory.

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