In the year 2000, Les Blank, along with co-filmmaker Gina Leibrecht, visited Richard Leacock (1921-2011) at his farm in Normandy, France and recorded conversations with him about his life, his work, and his other passion: cooking! With the flair of a seasoned raconteur, Leacock recounts key moments in his seventy years as a filmmaker and the innovations that he, D.A. Pennebaker, Albert Maysles and others invented that revolutionized documentary filmmaking, and explores the mystery of creativity. With the passing of both Blank and Leacock, the documentary is a moving insight into the lives of two seminal figures in the history of film.
Direction
Blank's invisible hand lets Leacock perform for the camera he helped create.
Cinematography
Golden Normandy light meets vérité intimacy — gorgeous and unpretentious.
Production
The whole film is a meal being made; form follows function deliciously.
Director
Gina Leibrecht
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Leacock co-invented the first sync-sound 16mm camera with Robert Drew, effectively birthing direct cinema while Hollywood was still staging 'reality.'
Blank died before completing the film; Leibrecht finished it, making this accidentally the last collaboration between two generations of documentary royalty.
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