Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen
by Don Owen

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DVD Reviews of Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

DVD Review: The Year: 1964. The Country: Canada. The Man: Leonard Cohen.
Summary: 5 Stars

Filmed in Black & White and released in 1965, the film was made as a 'documentary,' and as such takes us 'behind-the-scenes' into a slightly-staged version of Cohen's day-to-day life, complete with scenes of him waking up, bathing, shaving, hanging out at the local bar or a friend's house with his closest friends, at a book signing, and walking in the Montreal park where he played as a child. The film was shot before he became famous as a singer, and as such it focuses mainly on his work/career as a poet and novelist.

The film was made by the Canadian National Film Board, and as such has a dated, now-quite-funny voice-over about Cohen. At the same time, the people behind the film definetely "got" Cohen -- the film is made with the same type of quiet humour that Cohen himself possesses. I think one of my favorite moments in the film shows Cohen being interviewed by a stern, older man who insists that Cohen couldn't possibly be a poet without things that "bother" or upset him. The man kind of insinuated that Cohen must have a mission of some sort, something deep -- that by being a poet, he must have been trying to address some wrong in the world and do something which would help correct it. But Cohen would have none of that. Looking like he does for much of the film: quiet, a bit smug, self-consciously attractive and intelligent, Cohen quietly responds, in a soft-spoken manner similar to that of B&W footage I've seen of fellow '60's poet Jim Morrison, "well, what I'm really interested in is a state of grace. When I wake up in the morning, I have to know that things are in balance...." The interviewer gives up completely then, and instead of getting any more miffed or confused, finally says, "okay, now you've lost me." And then you know it's Score One, Cohen and Film; Score Zero, Stuffy Clueless Interviewer.

I Highly Recommended this film to fans of Cohen's music, his writing, or others of the wanna-be beatnik variety. There are plenty of black turtlenecks, steaming cups of coffee, intently gazing eyes, sly comic humour, stern black glasses, and seductively charming lines. His deadpan sarcasm and semi-stand-up comedy routines work just as well in 2001 as they did in 1964. His dashing, quiet, tongue-in-cheek humour reminds me much of a reading I saw recently of fellow Canadian writer, Margaret Atwood. They both had me laughing in the aisles. But it was smart laughter, if that makes sense.

Better than a trip to the local coffehouse for that poetry slam -- well, just as good, but this one gives you a glimpse of history. I found it captivating. Forty years later, the Man still has It.

Description of Ladies and Gentlemen... Mr. Leonard Cohen

Indeed, the film--shot in black and white and laced with a jazzy instrumental score that suggests a Québecois spin on European cinema--argues that Cohen began as both a peer and an inversion of Bob Dylan. Whereas Dylan's deceptively rough-hewn songs were transcended by their poetry, Cohen transformed his poems into songs. Cohen's self-conscious intellectualism now seems conservative alongside Dylan's cagier, more ambivalent slant on culture, which he lampooned even as he revealed its influence.

Given the film's evident preoccupation with Cohen's poetry and novels, we're given only brief snippets of his music, which confirm his primitive skills as a performer. More interesting is the eerie resemblance the young poet bears to Dustin Hoffman. This home video release augments the original documentary with four animated shorts based on Cohen's songs and poems. --Sam Sutherland