D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus discuss the rich history of documentary that they have contributed in the first of a two-part interview for BYOD. DON’T LOOK BACK, MONTEREY POP, DEPECHE MODE 101, ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, JANE, THE WAR ROOM, PRIMARY, and the art of documenting music and performance is shared with insight from the legendary filmmaking duo, as well as clips that have helped define documentary. This episode of BYOD is dedicated to Robert Drew.
GUEST & FILM INFO:
D A (Donn Alan) Pennebaker is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of cinema verite filmmaking. In the early sixties, Pennebaker and his colleague Richard Leacock developed one of the first fully portable 16mm synchronized camera and sound recording systems which revolutionized filmmaking and helped to created the immediate style of shooting so popular today. In 1967, Pennebaker released the seminal film DON’T LOOK BACK, which followed Bob Dylan’s last acoustic concert tour in England. The film broke box office records and is considered a classic of both documentary and rock filmmaking.
Pennebaker’s next film, MONTEREY POP, was a record of the 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival that launched the careers of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix. A critical and commercial hit, Monterey Pop was the progenitor of a host of rock documentaries, from Woodstock to Pennebaker’s own KEEP ON ROCKIN’ which featured rock n’ roll legends Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, and Bo Diddley; and ZIGGY STARDUST AND THE SPIDERS FROM MARS, Bowie’s final Ziggy performance. Pennebaker’s television documentary COMPANY – The Original Cast Album, about the recording of the Stephen Sondheim musical’s cast album, includes Elaine Stritch’s infamous performance of “The Ladies Who Lunch.”
In 1976, the filmmaker began his long collaboration with his partner and future wife, Chris Hegedus. Together, they have co-directed a host of acclaimed films, including 1998’s MOON OVER BROADWAY and 1994’s THE WAR ROOM. The latter film, a behind-the-scenes look at Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, received an Academy Award Nomination for Best Documentary and won the National Board of Review’s D.W. Griffith Award for Best Documentary.
Pennebaker’s most recent film is KINGS OF PASTRY, which follows the prestigious French pastry competition the Meilleurs Ouvier de France. It is co-directed by Hegedus and produced by Frazer Pennebaker and Flora Lazar. His subsequent projects include directing a live webcast of the National at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and promoting the new Criterion Collection edition of THE WAR ROOM. He continues to collaborate with other filmmakers through his non-profit organization, Living Archives.
ADD’L LINKS:
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EPISODE BREAKDOWN:
00:01 Welcoming D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus to BYOD.
00:55 Cameras, and unreliable equipment of classic films.
03:05 Filming Bob Dylan and Monterey Pop.
03:40 How home movies gave birth to documentary and verité.
08:38 Baby, Pennebaker’s first film.
10:50 Following the subject, Daybreak Express.
14:54 Music documentary filmmaking and Depeche Mode 101.
16:58 Depeche Mode 101, clip.
19:31 Amazing footage and making a music documentary.
23:37 Depeche Mode 101, clip.
25:50 Don’t Look Back, filming Bob Dylan, and what Bob Dylan filmed.
32:24 Don’t Look Back, Clip.
37:29 Finding a partner in Chris Hegedus.
47:48 Jane, clip.
50:19 Joan Rivers and allowing access to documentary makers.
52:29 The War Room and Primary.
56:34 Old days in New York and the village.
58:26 Shooting on film to digital and the increased accessibility to the public.