BAMcinématek presents Les Blank, a retrospective of the legendary documentarian, Sep 2—10
“A master of movies about the American idiom… one of our most original filmmakers.”—The New York Times
“What would America be without Blank’s warm, dignified, and wonderful look into the very soul of all of us?”—Werner Herzog
The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor for BAM Rose Cinemas and BAMcinématek.
Brooklyn, NY/Aug 6, 2014—From Tuesday, September 2 through Wednesday, September 10, BAMcinématek presents Les Blank, a 17-film retrospective of the legendary documentarian. After a highly successful BAMcinemaFest screening of Blank films in Brooklyn Bridge Park this past June, BAMcinématek is bringing back a cornucopia of the master non-fiction filmmaker’s masterpieces. Inimitable ethnographer of offbeat and unknown Americana, the late, great Les Blank (1935—2013) chronicled the music, food, and rituals of regional micro-cultures. From odes to garlic and gap-toothed women, to intimate portraits of blues and folk music legends, to broadcasts from the wacky world of Werner Herzog, Blank’s films are joyous celebrations of folk traditions and larger-than-life personalities.
Opening the series on Tuesday, September 2 are two portraits of life in the Louisiana Delta screening in a double bill: the Zydeco-infused Dry Wood (1973), exploring the traditions of Mardi Gras and Creole cooking, and Spend it All (1971), featuring Cajun musicians the Balfa Brothers, Marc Savoy, and Nathan Abshire. Fascinated with the vibrant culture of New Orleans and beyond, Blank made a number of films paying homage to Cajun food and music including the masterwork Always for Pleasure (1978—Sep 5), which surveys the colorful city life of the Big Easy through Mardi Gras celebrations, a jazz funeral, and a sampling of the local cuisine, and screens with Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking (1990).
Blank is perhaps best known for his work with renowned German auteur Werner Herzog, beginning with Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980—Sep 5), which documents the very act its title describes after Herzog loses a bet to Errol Morris. In Burden of Dreams (1982—Sep 6), Blank follows the ambitious but notoriously shambolic production of Herzog’s epic Fitzcarraldo (1982—Sep 6), about a man’s quest to build an opera house in the Amazon. Capturing everything from tensions with star Klaus Kinski to moving a 320-ton steamship over a hill without special effects, Burden of Dreams has been called “one of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie” (Roger Ebert). Herzog also makes a cameo in Blank’s delightful ode to everyone’s favorite stinking rose, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980—Sep 7), which screens with Gap-Toothed Women (1987), a love letter to ladies with one-of-a-kind smiles, and the Los Angeles love-in doc God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance (1968).
Other highlights of the retrospective include Blank’s celebrated snapshots of American music. Screening on Sunday, September 7, A Well Spent Life (1971) and The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1968) pay tribute to Texas blues luminaries Mance Lipscomb, a soulful late bloomer who released his first album at age 65, and Lightnin’ Hopkins, named one of Rolling Stone’s greatest guitarists of all time. Also screening are Hot Pepper (1973—Sep 3), a portrait of “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier with Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella (1995), the Afro-Cuban master percussionist; and Sprout Wings and Fly (1983—Sep 10), a
moving look at Appalachian culture through fiddler Tommy Jarrell with The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists (1994), about California folk musician Gerald “The Maestro” Gaxiola.
For press information, please contact: Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / [email protected] Hannah Thomas at 718.724.8002 / [email protected]
Les Blank Schedule
Tue, Sep 2 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm: Dry Wood + Spend It All
Wed, Sep 3 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm: Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella + Hot Pepper
Fri, Sep 5 2, 6, 9:50pm: Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking + Always for Pleasure 4, 8pm: Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe + In Heaven There is No Beer?
Sat, Sep 6 2, 4:15, 9:45pm: Burden of Dreams 6:30pm: Fitzcarraldo
Sun, Sep 7 2, 6:30pm: God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance + Gap-Toothed Women + Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers 4:30, 9pm: The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins + A Well Spent Life
Wed, Sep 10 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm: Sprout Wings and Fly + The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists
Film Descriptions All films screening in new DCPs courtesy Janus Films and directed by Les Blank unless otherwise noted.
Always for Pleasure (1978) 58min Blank’s freewheeling tour through the sights and sounds New Orleans features a jazz funeral, Mardi Gras parades, and a crawfish boil, with appearances by local jazz luminaries like Kid Thomas Valentine, Allen Toussaint, and Blue Lu Barker. Screens with Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking. Fri, Sep 5 at 2, 6, 9:50pm
The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1968) 31min Lightnin’ Hopkins was a renowned Texas bluesman. With remarkable intimacy, Blank captures his music and musings (“The blues is just a funny feelin’, yet people call it a mighty bad disease”) in this celebration of a legend that doubles as a portrait of the people and culture of Houston, TX—captured vividly at a BBQ and an all-black rodeo. Screens with A Well Spent Life. Sun, Sep 7 at 4:30, 9pm
Burden of Dreams (1982) 94min “I live my life, or I end my life with this project.” So proclaims visionary filmmaker Werner Herzog as he contends with cast changes, warring Indian tribes, inclement weather, half-crazy leading man Klaus Kinski, and his own hubris as he attempts to film his magnum opus, Fitzcarraldo, in the South American jungle. Burden of Dreams—called “one of the most remarkable documentaries ever made about the making of a movie” by Roger Ebert—is a firsthand testament to the very fine line between genius and madness. Sat, Sep 6 at 2, 4:15, 9:45pm
Dry Wood (1973) 37min Blank’s vibrant document of Louisiana’s Creole culture and its Mardi Gras celebrations is “an almost continual round of barbecues, expositions on sausage making, and demonstrations of gumbo preparation where Blank gets so close to the action that he's almost using his lens to stir the pot” (J. Hoberman). Screens with Spend it All. Tue, Sep 2 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
Fitzcarraldo (1982) 158min Directed by Werner Herzog. With Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, José Lewgoy. Herzog’s mesmerizing tale of megalomaniac obsession concerns a Caruso-loving Irish adventurer (Kinski) on a nigh-insane quest to build an opera house in the Peruvian rainforest and transport a steamship over a mountain—as ambitiously deranged an undertaking as Herzog’s own notoriously fanatical filming practices, captured in Blank’s “making of” documentary Burden of Dreams. Sat, Sep 6 at 6:30pm
Gap-Toothed Women (1987) 31min Blank pays tribute to the spirit and creativity of women with wide-set incisors—including gap-toothed icons like Lauren Hutton and Sandra Day O’Connor—in this spirited ode to non-traditional beauty. Screens with God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance and Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers. Sun, Sep 7 at 2, 6:30pm
Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) 51min Garlic lovers unite as everyone from Alice Waters to Werner Herzog to garlic-garlanded super-fanatics weigh in on the history and virtues of the “stinking rose.” Screens with God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance and Gap-Toothed Women. Sun, Sep 7 at 2, 6:30pm
God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance (1968) 20min Blank’s roving camera prowls the 1967 Los Angeles Easter Sunday love-in, a gathering of pan-flute- piping, flower-bedecked hippies for a groovylicious celebration of peace and love. Screens with Gap- Toothed Women and Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers. Sun, Sep 7 at 2, 6:30pm
Hot Pepper (1973) 54min Blank turns the camera on “King of Zydeco” Clifton Chenier, a Louisiana legend who married Cajun and Creole musical traditions with jazz and R&B influences. Screens with Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella. Wed, Sep 3 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
In Heaven There is No Beer? (1984) 50min Polka power! Blank’s infectious valentine to the Bohemian dance and its devotees in Polish America goes from a beachside “polkabration” in Connecticut to a Catholic polka mass in Wisconsin and beyond. Screens with Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe. Fri, Sep 5 at 4, 8pm
The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists (1994) 54min The Maestro (née Gerry Gaxiola) is a true American original: a former aircraft mechanic who chucked his job to become a self-styled anti-establishment “cowboy artist” working in just about every medium imaginable—and whose steadfast refusal to accept money for his work makes him a Southern California folk hero. Screens with Sprout Wings and Fly. Wed, Sep 10 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
Spend It All (1971) 41min Cajun music legends the Balfa Brothers, Marc Savoy, and Nathan Abshire are featured in this boisterous chronicle of Acadian life on the bayous of southwestern Louisiana. Screens with Dry Wood.
Tue, Sep 2 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
Sprout Wings and Fly (1983) 30min This deeply felt profile of Appalachian fiddler and banjo player Tommy Jarrell captures the music, stories, and folk traditions of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Screens with The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists. Wed, Sep 10 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella (1995) 35min Blank captures the irresistible rhythms of Latin jazz in this exuberant documentary portrait of Cuban-born percussionist Francisco Aguabella, a master of the conga drum who recorded with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, and the Doors. Screens with Hot Pepper. Wed, Sep 3 at 5:30, 7:30, 9:30pm
A Well Spent Life (1971) 41min Texas sharecropper turned blues guitar great Mance Lipscomb recounts his remarkable life story in one of Blank’s most moving documentaries (and Kurt Vonnegut’s favorite movie). Filmed when the legend was well into his 70s (he didn’t release his first album until age 65), A Well Spent Life captures a remarkably sweet soul who was one of the most revered songsters of all time. Screens with The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins. Sun, Sep 7 at 4:30, 9pm
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980) 22min The title says it all, as the eccentric German filmmaker does penance for losing a bet to director Errol Morris, while expounding on his art-making philosophy. Screens with In Heaven There is No Beer? Fri, Sep 5 at 4, 8pm
Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking (1990) 31min Blank celebrates Louisiana cuisine in this feast of gustatory delights, from shrimp crepes to okra etouffee to frog legs, set to a hot zydeco soundtrack. Screens with Always for Pleasure. Fri, Sep 5 at 2, 6, 9:50pm
About BAMcinématek The four-screen BAM Rose Cinemas (BRC) opened in 1998 to offer Brooklyn audiences alternative and independent films that might not play in the borough otherwise, making BAM the only performing arts center in the country with two mainstage theaters and a multiplex cinema. In July 1999, beginning with a series celebrating the work of Spike Lee, BAMcinématek was born as Brooklyn’s only daily, year-round repertory film program. BAMcinématek presents new and rarely seen contemporary films, classics, work by local artists, and festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors, and other guests. BAMcinématek has not only presented major retrospectives by major filmmakers such as Michelangelo Antonioni, Manoel de Oliveira, Shohei Imamura, Vincente Minnelli (winning a National Film Critics’ Circle Award prize for the retrospective), Kaneto Shindo, Luchino Visconti, and William Friedkin, but it has also introduced New York audiences to contemporary artists such as Pedro Costa and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. In addition, BAMcinématek programmed the first US retrospectives of directors Arnaud Desplechin, Nicolas Winding Refn, Hong Sang-soo, and, most recently, Andrzej Zulawski. From 2006 to 2008, BAMcinématek partnered with the Sundance Institute and in June 2009 launched BAMcinemaFest, a 16-day festival of new independent films and repertory favorites with 15 NY feature film premieres; the sixth annual BAMcinemaFest ran from June 18—29, 2014.
Credits
The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor of BAM Rose Cinemas and BAMcinématek.
Steinberg Screen at the BAM Harvey Theater is made possible by The Joseph S. and Diane H. Steinberg Charitable Trust.
Pepsi is the official beverage of BAM.
Brooklyn Brewery is the preferred beer of BAMcinématek.
BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana Calthorpe Rose. BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, and Time Warner Inc. Additional support for BAMcinématek is provided by the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation, The Grodzins Fund, The Liman Foundation, the Frederick Loewe Foundation, and Summit Rock Advisors.
BAMcinématek is programmed by Nellie Killian and David Reilly with assistance from Jesse Trussell. Additional programming by Ryan Werner.
Special thanks to Harrod Blank; Anthony Matt; Brian Belovarac & Laura Coxson/Janus Films; Lucki Stipetic/Werner Herzog Filmproduktion.
General Information
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a bar menu available starting at 6pm.
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM
For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.