Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1965)

This 1965 Canadian documentary captures Leonard Cohen just as he was poised to translate his notoriety as a novelist and poet into a parallel identity as a singer-songwriter. If the latter role would bring him his broadest and most enduring audience, these glimpses of a still youthful Cohen underscore the Montreal native's prevailing literary sensibilities--even when his poetry readings verge on standup routines, both for his impish wit and the adulation it inspires among his listeners, Cohen's serious craft shines through.

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 Amazon.com

Leonard Cohen, what a legend.

I really enjoyed this intimate insite into the early years of Leonard Cohen's life. He allows an opportunity to see the world as he sees it, and allows the viewer an opportunity to see how he shapes those observations into poetry. I was unexpectedly surprised at all sorts of things in this dvd, and was so disappointed when it ended. Long live Leonard Cohen, he is a gift to us all. A great watch. March 8, 2007

Ladies and Gentlemen...Mr. Leonard Cohen

Love Leonard Cohen, but this particular item disappointed us immensely. January 19, 2007

Well done movie

I enjoyed this movie. Nice to watch after seeing the I'm Your Man movie in the theatre. August 25, 2006

Leonard Cohen as a young man.

When the new movie on Mr. Cohen came out in June "I'm Your Man" I wanted to see this CBC Documentary. It is a fantastic look at Leonard when he was an up and coming poet. You will never again get a look at the man as a contemporary in the mid 1960's. Paired with the new movie at the end of his career in the 21st century you will have an amazingly true biography.

The Alpha and the Omega as it were. August 14, 2006

Perfect Documentary Form

Brilliant Don Owen film from the NFBC. This is a proper documentary explaining the reality of Cohen. I interpret the footage as unflinching, as the always reliable NFBC lens discovers a sensitive, transitional and often uncomfortable artist. As I saw the film I witnessed Cohen in often hilarious social settings and conversations. There is a humor to the voice-over, but not an aesthetic one, as one of the previous reviewers indicated, puzzlingly. On a related note, the voice-over is spare, as the film relies on SOT and B-roll to describe its subject.

Included on the VHS copy of this film, as I saw it, were the remainder of Cohen related NFBC materials; some cartoons and other shorts in the 2-7 minute range. March 29, 2004

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