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In
the early 1960s, hand-held cameras and lightweight sound
equipment made possible an immediacy and spontaneity that
led to an entirely new way of making films uniquely suited
to non-fiction subjects. Albert Maysles and his late brother,
David, started a revolution in documentary filmmaking by
using direct cinema methods on subjects ranging from Bible
salesmen to the Rolling Stones. The story and the structure
of each film emerge directly from the reality of the subject
or situation that was recorded. Of a recently released Maysles
production, the New York Times wrote; "the camera makes
no judgements: somehow it manages to be sympathetic and
unsparing at the same time.”
www.mayslesfilms.com/
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| Christo
in Paris |
Montana
Premier |
58 minutes, 1990
16mm, USA
By Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Deborah Dickson
& Susan Froemke |
|
Christo
and Jeanne-Claude 's first grand-scale urban project,
wrapping the oldest bridge in Paris - the same bridge
where Christo courted Jeanne-Claude. A love story set
in the heart of Paris: between a refugee artist and
a French General's daughter; between a 400-year-old
bridge and the people of Paris. Since the days of King
Henry IV, the Pont Neuf has inspired artists. Now it
is the focus of the environmental artists, Christo and
his wife Jeanne-Claude - and the millions of Parisians
who watch them create an astounding architectural poem.
Rich in political intrigue and artistic debate, this
film tracks Christo's escape from Bulgaria, his early
years as a struggling artist, his romance with Jeanne-Claude
and the fulfillment of a ten-year obsession: the wrapping
of the Pont Neuf. A film about the meeting of strangers
and changing perceptions, it is the permanent record
of a provocative act - and the celebration of a bridge
that joins. Jack Lang, the French Minister of Culture,
remarks in the film, "Never did anyone look at
the Pont Neuf as much as on the day that it was hidden.
Christo teaches us to see."
Grand Prize, Amsterdam Film Festival 1990
Gold Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival 1990
Special Jury Award, San Francisco Film Festival 1991
Maysles Films, Inc.
250 W. 54th Street PH
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-6050
www.mayslesfilms.com |
|
| Gimme
Shelter |
|
90 minutes, 1970
16mm, USA
By David Maysles, Albert Maysles & Charlotte
Zwerin
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The
landmark documentary about the tragically ill-fated
Rolling Stones free concert at Altamont Speedway on
December 6, 1969. Only four months earlier, Woodstock
defined the Love Generation; now it lay in ruins on
a desolate racetrack six miles outside of San Francisco.
Before an estimated crowd of 300,000 people, the Stones
headlined a free concert featuring Tina Turner, The
Jefferson Airplane, The Flying Burrito Brothers and
others. Concerned about security, the Stones asked members
of outlaw biker gang The Hell's Angels to help maintain
order. Instead, an atmosphere of fear and dread arose,
leading ultimately to the stabbing death of a fan. What
began as a flower-power love-in had degenerated into
a near riot; frightened, confused faces wondering how
the Love Generation could, in one swift, cold-blooded
slash, became a generation of disillusionment and disappointment.
"One of the most powerful
films ever made." - Morning Telegraph
"The most disturbing, powerful, and inciteful moments
to be recorded on film of the young generation raised
on rock." - Newsweek
Maysles Films, Inc.
250 W. 54th Street PH
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-6050
www.mayslesfilms.com |
|
| Primary |
|
53 minutes, 1960
16mm, USA
By Robert Drew
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Shot by Albert Maysles, Richard Leacock, D.A Pennebaker,
Terry Filgate, and Terrence McCartney, Primary is the
first American film in which the sync sound camera moved
freely with characters through a breaking story –
Senator John F. Kennedy running against Senator Hubert
Humphrey in the 1960 Wisconsin presidential primary.
“A new kind of reporting, a new form of history,”
Robert Drew promised John F. Kennedy. He was proposing
that a small camera and sync sound recorder follow Kennedy
day and night for nearly a week during the climax of
his Wisconsin run. Primary turned out to be a cinematic
experience unique in the history of film, the first
in the development of American “cinema verite.”
Freewheeling photography by Leacock, Maysles, Pennebaker
and Filgate captured Kennedy’s stellar presence
and Jackie’s quiet radiance. Primary builds with
dramatic tension as the candidates await the returns,
capturing the flavor of campaign politics as never before
seen on film.
“Long before K Street, before
The War Room or The Candidate, and way before anyone
had heard of ‘reality TV,’ there was Primary.
... the father of them all. ... a technical and stylistic
breakthrough.... Drew captured Kennedy and Humphrey
in ways that contemporary media-savvy candidates would
never permit..... We see more now, but we learn less.”
- The Washington Post, December 2003
Drew Associates, Inc
95 - 81st Street
Brooklyn, NY 11209, USA
718)238-7498
annedrew@aol.com
www.drewassociates.net |
|
| Salesman |
|
90 minutes, 1968
16mm, USA
By Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte
Zwerin
|
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Salesman
follows four door-to-door Bible salesmen as they walk
the line between hype and despair. Paul "The Badger"
Brennan, Charles "The Gipper" McDewitt, James
"The Rabbit" Baker, and Raymond "The
Bull" Martos, are so nicknamed for their particular
selling styles -- on their rounds. First making calls
in and around Boston, where the company is based, then
in Chicago at a sales conference, and finally in the
promising new "territory" of Miami and vicinity.
Their mission is simple: to convince people to buy what
one of them calls "still the best seller in the
world." But although their customers are mostly
middle- and worker-class Catholics recommended by the
local church, the Bible is a hard sell. In action, the
salesmen rely on trusty catch phrases: "Could you
say if this would help the family? Could you see where
this would be of value in the home? A gain to you?"
Talking, pushing, cajoling, telling jokes and stories,
throwing out compliments, the salesmen make their "pitches"
to a wide range of customers -- lonely widows, married
couples, Cuban immigrants, bored housewives -- from
those who clearly cannot afford the $50 book to those
who, in the end, are convinced by the salesman's somewhat
too-cheerful patter.
“Fascinating, very funny,
unforgettable." - New York Times
"One of the most important films ever made. It
must be seen."
- Saturday Review
Maysles Films, Inc.
250 W. 54th Street PH
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-6050
www.mayslesfilms.com |
|
| With
Love From Truman |
Montana Premier |
29 minutes, 1966
16mm, USA
By David and Albert Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin
|
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With
Love From Truman portrays an intimate meeting with renowned
author Truman Capote. As a reporter interviews him in
his beachfront home, Capote shares his "self-regarding"
personality through hip philosophy and calculated jokes.
He offers insights in an endearingly raspy voice about
his latest book, In Cold Blood, which Capote declares
to be part of a new genre, the "non-fiction novel."
Just as the Maysles brothers' direct cinema classics
turn real stories into narratives, Capote's non-fiction
novel makes an effort to turn reality into art. In Cold
Blood is based on first-hand accounts of an actual murder.
The author affectionately discusses his coverage of
the subsequent trial and his intriguing relationship
with the two young killers. Capote claims it is the
spontaneity of life that compels him to portray reality,
but it is his own fresh energy and startling sense of
humor that keep us intrigued.
Maysles
Films, Inc.
250 W. 54th Street PH
New York, NY 10019
(212) 582-6050
www.mayslesfilms.com |
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