Albert Maysles Movies

Each episode of Six American Families documents the lives and travails of the members of an American family. Instead of focusing on the rich and powerful, the filmmakers chose to present lower middle class families in an effort to portray American life as it truly is. Made in the '70s, these films are done in the cinéma vérité style. In other words, the directors let the cameras run and then edit for content later. This episode the focuses on the Burks of Georgia, a rural family struggling to feed and clothe 13 children. ~ Rob Ferrier, All Movie Guide

Travel back to the Wisconsin Democratic Primary between Kennedy and Humphrey with this very first candid view of a Presidential primary. ~ All Movie Guide

A sextet of French filmmakers collaborated on Six in Paris (originally Paris vu Par...) Jean Douchet directed the film's first episode, "Saint Germain-des-Pres," the story of the up-and-down relationship between a male model (Jean-Francois Chappey) and an American coed (Barbara Wilkin). Jean Rouch's "Gare du Nord" is a haunting twist-of-fate tale involving a suicidal handsome stranger (Gilles Queant). Written and directed by Jean-Daniel Pollet, "Rue Saint-Denis" unites an experienced prostitute (Micheline Dax) with a garrulous customer (Claude Melki). "Place de l'Etoile," a Chekhovian guilt trip involving salesman Jean-Michael Rouziere and shabby, supposedly dead street person Marcel Gallon, was Eric Rohmer's contribution. Jean-Luc Godard's "Montparnasse-Levallois," photography by American documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles, finds Joanne Shimkus in an imaginary menage a trois. Six in Paris is topped off by Claude Chabrol's "La Muette," wherein a family man (played by Chabrol himself) comes to grief when he purchases a pair of earplugs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Sandwiched in between 1968's Monterey Pop and 1970s Gimme Shelter was documentary filmmaking brothers Albert and David Maysles' groundbreaking 1969 look at door-to-door salesmen in America, About Salesman. With themes covered previously in the fictional Death of a Salesman and later in Glengarry Glen Ross, the Maysles' film attempts to unflinchingly present a window into the harsh realities of the life of the American salesman by following around several door-to-door Bible peddlers. While a handful of participants are featured, the main focus is on Paul Brennan, an aging salesman who, after a successful career, has begun to suspect that he's lost his gift for selling expensive Bibles to his lower-class customers. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide

This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in early December 1969. The event was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. The night began smoothly, with the supercharged Flying Burrito Brothers opening up for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic "Six Days on the Road" and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the fateful (and disastrous) decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. It was a foolhardy, careless choice that turned the night into an unmitigated disaster; halfway through the Stones' act, the Angels killed one black spectator, and injured several others who were present (including Jefferson Airplane's lead singer Marty Balin). In the film, we watch Mick Jagger -- ere an ebullient, charismatic performer of bisexual charm -- reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the Grateful Dead refused to perform after the violence erupted; the picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control; as a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. Stones songs performed include "Brown Sugar," "Under My Thumb," and "Sympathy for the Devil." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Albert and David Maysles, pioneers in the cinéma vérité movement of documentary filmmaking, chose for their subjects of this film a mother and daughter with celebrity connections. Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Edie (or, as they are called by the brothers, Big Edie and Little Edie), are aunt and cousin to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In the early '70s, their 28-room mansion in Long Island's tony community of East Hampton was found to be a health hazard, and the two women, in their seventies and fifties, were threatened with eviction. Jacqueline Onassis paid for the house to be put in good order, and two years later, the Maysles paid the ladies a series of follow-up visits. This is not fly-on-the-wall filmmaking; the brothers are sometimes shown on-camera, and both women talk directly to them. Big Edie reminisces about her husband (from whom she has long been separated) and her youthful singing career; Little Edie ruminates over memories of her thwarted romances and confides that she has to get out of Grey Gardens (the name of their estate), although she has been living there since 1952; and the two women pick at each other for transgressions past and present. The women share their home with at least five cats and several raccoons, for whom Little Edie leaves out food in the attic. They are not recluses; they host a modest 79th birthday party for Big Edie, they employ a gardener, and they are often visited by Jerry, a young handyman/lost soul whom Little Edie calls "the Marble Faun," after the Nathaniel Hawthorne story. "It's very difficult to keep the line between the past and the present," Little Edie says near the beginning of the film, and it becomes clear that both women are much more comfortable reliving their respective youths (in some ways, Little Edie has never left hers) than facing their rather bleak old and middle age. ~ Tom Wiener, All Movie Guide

When Christo set out to erect a fabric fence across 24 miles of California ranch land, he encountered massive resistance from landowners and bureaucrats alike, in addition to conservationists who thought he would harm the landscape. Permission was eventually obtained from the California Coastal Commission, among other county, state, and federal agencies. The fence extended across the rolling hills of northern California to the Pacific Ocean, and provided what Christo referred to as "an obstructive membrane" that he hoped would change the public's perception of the land. ~ Alice Day, All Movie Guide

This documentary records artist Christo's major wrapping projects and is one means for him to gain both recognition (which he has in ample measure) and funding. All of his enormously large-scale wrappings -- including those of buildings, trees, the Pont Neuf in France, and the hanging of a cloth fence for 24 miles along the California coastline -- involve almost as much labor as an architectural construction and are funded by himself and his wife Jeanne-Claude. His wrapping of the Berlin Reichstag took 17 years to complete. Featured here is his transformation of several islands off the coast of Florida into grandiose pink water lilies floating on a deep blue sea. But Christo does not just walk up with a full crew and machinery in hand and get to work. As shown here, his confrontations with august city fathers from Berlin, Paris, and Miami further illustrate the classic, head-on clashes between art and a pragmatic bureaucracy that can either nip a project in the bud or promote it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

A charming documentary filmed at Vladimir Horowitz's home in New York, this look at the private life and performing genius of the late pianist owes its entertainment value to the man himself. He jokes, he plays the piano as no one else can, and he talks about his favorites: Sergei Rachmaninoff, a friend, Frederic Chopin -- a bit before his time -- and the enigmatic, modern composer Alexander Scriabin. Arturo Toscanini's daughter Wanda married Horowitz in 1933, and she also contributes her share to this one-day session at their home. She brings out photo albums and reminisces about their early relationship. A tribute as much to the spirit of the man as his internationally acclaimed talent as a pianist, this documentary would be enjoyable for anyone interested in good music and unusually gifted musicians. The Ukrainian-born Horowitz left the Soviet Union in 1925 and never saw his family again. He was buried in the Toscanini family grave site in Italy. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In February of 1964, Beatlemania began to spread to American shores with the first U.S. visit of John, Paul, George and Ringo to play a short American tour and make two appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. Noted documentary filmmakers David and Albert Maysles had the presence of mind to realize there was a story here, and they followed The Beatles with their cameras throughout their first American adventure, capturing the magic of their music and the glorious madness that was Beatlemania. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Made in partnership with pioneer filmmaker Albert Maysles, this documentary is an intimate exploration of the human drama involved in this heated debate. Focusing on both the historical, and above all, the personal, this documentary reveals the painful decisions behind the political discourse. From illegal back alley abortions to the angry picket lines of recent years, Abortion: Despertate Choices illuminates the human experience which quite often gets lost in the shuffle. ~ Cara Saposnik, All Movie Guide

One of the latest efforts of famed outdoor avant-garde artist Christo is chronicled in this documentary. Christo's 1991 project, on which he and his wife Jeanne-Claude spent $26 million, was to erect over 31,000 20-foot high umbrellas along certain Japanese and California valleys. They were to remain in place for two weeks. Nature did not cooperate and people on both sides of the Pacific died for Christo's artistic vision. The film follows the birth of the project through its problematic execution. The relationship between Christo and Jeanne-Claude is also observed. Included are interviews and footage of a California couple who got married beneath the umbrellas. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide