Grey Gardens
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Act Naturally
“Giving the movie its comic and poignant dimension is Brennan’s performance as Brennan.” In the wake of Albert Maysles’ death in March, I returned to this intriguing reference to “performance” in Vincent Canby’s 1969 review of Salesman, Albert and David Maysles’ landmark work of direct cinema. Canby was, of course, referring to Paul Brennan, affectionately known as “The Badger.” Brennan’s performance — if we can call it that — is indeed astonishing. A man of unremarkable looks, he holds the screen with an enthralling intensity. Of course, Brennan isn’t an actor but rather a “real person,” a documentary subject of […]
by Jesse Moss on Apr 28, 2015 -
Watch: Albert Maysles on The Beales
Last Friday, a day after Albert Maysles’ passing, Grey Gardens opened for a 40th Anniversary run at New York’s Film Forum. The new 2K digital restoration of the 1976 documentary, courtesy of Janus Films, will roll out in limited cities over the next couple of months, and the Criterion Collection has released a brief interview with Maysles on his working relationship with the Beales, in which he speaks about the women’s setbacks and their fascinating — not to be confused with abnormal — qualities. For reminiscences on Maysles and his work, I’d recommend this piece by Richard Brody, which speaks to the undying […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Mar 9, 2015 -
Coming of Age While Dying: Henry Corra on Farewell to Hollywood
In the late ‘70s, Henry Corra was attending Franconia College, a small experimental liberal arts school in New Hampshire. While there, he and his classmates watched a film called Grey Gardens. Immediately upon graduation, with a smoking-hot performing arts degree in hand, he made his way to New York City and made a beeline to the offices of Albert and David Maysles, the directors of this film that had galvanized him. He told them he wanted to work for them. They promptly hired him. The first time I met Henry was in 2008 at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). […]
by Pamela Cohn on Feb 18, 2015 -
FAVORITE FILM FESTIVAL EVENT 2011: MEET THE MAKERS WITH STEVE JAMES
One of the best things about the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, which took place November 16th–27th, is how community-inclusive the fest is, with most activities, from interactive exhibitions to informal master classes, open to the public free of charge. (Indeed, it’s possible to get your cinephile fix on a daily basis without ever buying a movie ticket.) And one of this year’s truly informative events was a Meet the Makers discussion at the Escape Club on Rembrandtplein hosted by Canadian documentarian Peter Wintonick. IDFA guest Steve James, who was honored with a retrospective, was there that Saturday morning to […]
by Lauren Wissot on Jan 6, 2012
