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- Neil Middlemiss
You could be forgiven for never having heard of Les Blank. As much as the subjects he chose to explore, he and his films largely exist on the periphery of celebrated American film works. Though as you watch any one of the fourteen films restored and presented here, don’t be surprised if a smile grows across your face as there is a joy and an unbridled lack of inhibition in the subjects as they celebrate their place in this world. Criterion’s work here, presenting in fine quality, a collection of exceptional films by the late Les Blank, is top-notch.
Studio: Criterion
Distributed By: N/A
Video Resolution and Encode: 1080P/AVC
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audio: English 1.0 DTS-HDMA (Mono)
Subtitles: English
Rating: Not Rated
Run Time: 569 Min.
Package Includes: Blu-ray
Fold-out inside sleeveDisc Type: BD50 (dual layer)
Region: A
Release Date: 11/25/2014
MSRP: $124.95
The Production Rating: 5/5
“Cook and wash, and work in the garden, and feed the hogs and chickens, turkey, work the flowers too.”
Les Blank saw himself, not as a documentarian, but rather a filmmaker whose subjects happened to be “real people.” After forming his own production company, Flower Films, in 1967 (now called Les Blank Films,) he sought to explore the periphery of so-called mainstream American life, finding slices of rich, textured, affecting humanity – subjects often off the beaten path – and captured them with a loving curiosity. Rarely seeking to explore the why or how, Blank used the camera to examine the ‘what,’ nudging an unexpected reality and rawness of lives, cultures, moments, and delicacies from hundreds of smiling and sad faces, celebrating their pulsing, beating heart of humanity. He gave voice and image to areas of the American landscape forgotten, ignored, or simply otherwise undiscovered by film – and for that, as lovers of film – we are indebted.Throughout his life, Les Blank filmed almost forty documentaries and short-films. Of those, Criterion has assembled and restored a marvelous collection of fourteen films that show-off his wide-ranging curiosity, and yet still capture the threads and themes that connect each of his productions. Included here are The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin’ Hopkins (1968,) God Respects Us When We Work, but Loves Us When We Dance (1968,) Spend It All (1971,) A Well Spent Life (1971,) Dry Wood (1973,) Hot Pepper (1973,) Always for Pleasure (1978,) Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980,) Sprout Wings and Fly (1983,) In Heaven There Is No Beer? (1984,) Gap-Toothed Women (1987,) Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of Cajun and Creole Cooking (1990,) The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists (1994,) Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella (1995.)The fourteen films on offer are connected by culture and music, and while each captures a unique element of life, in a corner or field of America, Blank’s connection to the American southeast, the vibrant side of Louisiana – the music, the food, the Acadian (Cajun,) people – is something he returns to time and again. Idiosyncratic is word often used to describe the subjects of his films, and that’s a perfectly apt descriptor. Everything from the cultural symbolism of women with gaps in their front teeth (Gap-Toothed Women,) to the adoring fans of Garlic and its use across cultures in cooking (Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers,) is happily explored. With other subjects that include Polish American Polka music (In Heaven There Is No Beer?) and the rhinestone suite clad singing cowboy (The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists,) making this collection absorbing, unglamorous, and beautifully rich with life.A visual essayist, interested in letting the sights and sounds of any moment – including impromptu jam sessions, where the beaten sounds of the blues flow supernaturally from wood, strings, fingers and soul, or where the free-flowing bow against fiddle playfully set toes-a-tapping – Les Blank was one of the most honest, unrestrained makers of film about people. Through a collage of images, the occasional story told on camera, fleeting question and answers that might strike a more traditional documentary film feel, Blank’s productions document moments in time, and watching them is a walk through history itself.
Video Rating: 4/5 3D Rating: NA
Audio Rating: 4/5
Special Features Rating: 4/5
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
Reviewed By: Neil Middlemiss
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