Nov 25, 2014 — More than just observational, Les Blank’s sensual documentaries are personal and participatory celebrations of American culture.

Mar 11, 2020 — One Scene With his Oscar-nominated debut feature, Beasts of the Southern Wild, director Benh Zeitlin brought to the screen a vision of Louisiana that combined the unique flavors and textures of his adopted home state with the magical twists and...

May 15, 2015 — The challenge of designing this box set was in finding a way to convey both the vast scope of the filmmaker’s overarching project—documenting the unique idiosyncrasies of regions and communities rarely seen on film—and the warm, casual intimacy of the...

Nov 24, 2014 — There are few greater admirers of the late documentarian Les Blank than the legendary German filmmaker Werner Herzog. (The two were already close when Blank filmed the making of Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo for Burden of Dreams.) So we knew we wanted...

Mar 15, 2011 — The site of Louis Malle’s film Au revoir les enfants was the Petit-Collège d’Avon, a residential prep school located on the grounds of the Carmelite monastery abutting the park of the fabled French palace of Fontainebleau. Malle attended this school...

Mar 15, 2011 — Based on Louis Malle’s childhood memories, this period drama traces the wary, prickly friendship between two boys, one of whom is hiding from the Nazis.

Oct 4, 2023 — In his forty-seventh film, Wiseman explores all that goes into running one of the world’s greatest restaurants.

Jul 2, 2015 — Les Blank’s A Poem Is a Naked Person, in theaters courtesy of Janus Films, is a major rediscovery. Now playing at New York’s Film Forum before expanding to cities across the United States, including Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San...

Apr 8, 2013 — Photo by Maureen Gosling The great American documentarian Les Blank died yesterday at age seventy-seven. A crafter of intimate, idiosyncratic nonfiction films, Blank made movies for almost fifty years; his topics included traditional American music, food, and, of course, Werner...

Sep 21, 2017 — Tonight, Shotgun Cinema in New Orleans screens a piquant sampling of the wildly idiosyncratic documentaries of Les Blank.