Crazy Love

Crazy Love is a documentary film about the twisted romantic relationship between Burt Pugarch and Linda Riss. Pugarch was a prominent attorney in New York City who began an affair with Riss, who was ten years younger than him. Pugarch was married to another woman. Riss eventually decided to end the affair and Pugarch was so furious that he hired men to assault her. The hitmen threw lye into Riss' face, permanently scarring and blinding her. Pugarch later told cops that if he couldn't have Riss, then no one could have her. Pugarch served time in prison for the assault. The twist in their relationship is that after Pugarch got out of jail, he and Riss got back together and were eventually married. The documentary tells a detailed story of their relationship and tries to answer the question why Riss would stay with Pugarch after he had taken away her eyesight. Riss was then forced to wear large sunglasses and elaborate wigs to cover up her injuries. Pugarch was a wealthy attorney when he went to prison but he was disbarred for his crimes. After he was released, the couple struggled with living in poverty. Even after Pugarch was released from jail and have moved in with Riss, there were news reports of him engaging in an affair with another young woman. He was arrested for beating and abusing her as well and yet Riss stayed with them. The couple defends their relationship throughout the film as true love. The film interviews both Pugarch and Riss as well as reporters and attorneys who followed the couple's story. The romance between the two was extensively covered by news reports and tabloids and the filmmakers used the archived copies to show how bizarre their relationship is and how much it fascinated the city of New York.