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.