Robert Frank and Helen Levitt at Film Forum

I hope to be able to go and see An American Journey: In Robert Frank's Footsteps when it shows at Film Forum at the end of the month. Included in the program is a short film by Helen Levitt.

Photography in the News: Danny Lyon

Good article on Danny Lyon at The New York Times this weekend:

Stubbornly Practicing His Principles of Photography

"Mr. Lyon, who has been awarded two Guggenheim fellowships, one for his film work, has called his work advocacy journalism and does not deny that it purveys ideas — if only the idea that everyone should be more aware of the pain and struggle around them in a consumerist, media-saturated world that tends to encourage isolation and apathy. “I think I try to hide it,” he said of his worldview in his work. “But I’m a highly politicized person, and it’s in my blood.”"

I hadn't known about his film work, so I had to go and look it up. Turns out you can find reviews of his significant work in documentary filmmaking going back into the early 1970s. I'm not sure how to see these today, however.

Screen: By Danny Lyon: The Program

"The Films of Danny Lyon," the new program at the Film Forum, is a collection of three documentary films by the 31-year-old Brooklyn-born still photographer turned film-maker. The two best films in the collection, "Llanito" (61 minutes) and "Soc. Sci. 127" (21 minutes) are defined less by a developed cinematic style than by compassion for the subjects.

Helen Levitt

Helen Levitt, Who Froze New York Street Life on Film, Is Dead at 95

"Helen Levitt, a major photographer of the 20th century who caught fleeting moments of surpassing lyricism, mystery and quiet drama on the streets of her native New York, died in her sleep at her home in Manhattan on Sunday. She was 95."

Films by Photographers

A friend emailed seeking films made by photographers. I sent back a short list, but realized that many of those that came to mind are quite hard to find. Here are a few that do show up on DVD....

By Elliott Erwitt there's: Beauty Knows No Pain

And by William Klein: The Delirious Fictions of William Klein

Or for those of you able to view PAL disks: Qui êtes-vous, Polly Maggoo?