Review of The Legend of Bigfoot (1975) by Adam R — 10 Feb 2011

Nonbelievers in Bigfoot will probably not come away anymore convinced of the creature's existence than before. However, though it fails in its stated purpose, "The Legend of Bigfoot" succeeds as a valentine to nature that few Nova or National Geographic pieces could match.

Tracker-cum-Sasquatch-seeker Ivan Marx is our guide through the North American wilderness. Employing a keen eye and sense of the outdoors he learned from years of working open space areas, Marx begins searching for Bigfoot after a series of encounters he can't explain while traveling alone through isolated, unspoiled country. During his travels, Marx interviews a number of men -- from California to Alaska -- who claim to have seen or encountered the creature, but the focus never shifts from our host.

Throughout most of "Legend," Marx is both dismissive and accommodating of the standards scientists expect him to follow when cataloguing Bigfoot. However, apart from empirical, eye-witness evidence; a seemingly sound theory concerning the creature's migration; and some film clips that are questionable at best, Marx really does have a dearth of proof, ultimately undermining the "Sasquatch exists" thesis of the film.

Marx is never less than a charming host, and his love of the country around him is palpable and honest. He's certainly not the most compelling voice in documentary filmmaking; Marx lacks the gravitas that unites the personal and political like Errol Morris, nor does he have the flashy populist polemicism of Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock. However, what Marx lacks in the cerebral, he makes up for with folksy plain-speaking and a simple but effective storytelling voice; what he lacks in showmanship, he makes up for by avoiding sensationalism, conspiracy theory, and the self-aggrandizement all too common among those convinced of an alternate truth.