Albert Maysles (1926-2015)
Albert Maysles, who along with his brother David, took the documentary feature to levels that it stands today, passed away Thursday night at his home in Manhattan. He was 88.
The development of the doc can best be looked at this way: Before and after Maysles. Before the Maysles Brothers came along, documentaries were essentially extended news pieces with a host peppering the narrative with voiceover commentary and a Q&A with the subject(s). Albert and David Maysles – armed with new battery powered cameras that also recorded sound – went a different path: They took out the narration and basically let the footage and the subjects be themselves. By being the proverbial flies on the wall, we all got see incredibly fascinating people naturally reveal a side of themselves the way they would in any gathering. To give the viewer 100% trust in whether we appreciated or liked them forever changed the documentary narrative.
Some of the images have become ingrained forever in a cinema lover’s psyche: The real life Wily Lomans in ‘Salesman’; a still shell shocked Mick Jagger watching Meredith Hunter getting stabbed to death at Altamount; a mid-career Marlon Brando flirting, and at times, toying, with a female reporter; and of course, Little Edie Beale holding court amidst squalor at the family’s decaying mansion in East Hampton, New York.
As much as documentaries show the act of one’s craft at work, Maysles was more fascinated about the path one takes to get there. His film about the Beatles U.S. first visit was as much as about the chaos leading up to their first U.S. shows as it did about the shows themselves. His Emmy awarding winning film on acclaimed concert pianist Vladimir Horowitz focused more on his life off stage than on. Maysles 1966 doc on Orson Welles is about Welles pitching a film to potential investors, rather than the actual film of a Welles’ movie. The Gates, one of three films Maysles made about artist Christo, outlined in frustrating detail, the 20 plus year process the artist had to endure to bring The Gates to Central Park.
Albert Maysles also gave back to the community that allowed him to share his vision. The Maysles Documentary Center is a not for profit group that, among other things, provides after school and summer programs for young people who live in the Harlem, Northern Manhattan and South Bronx areas to learn how to create, edit and show their own short films. Maysles Cinema is the only independent film house north of Lincoln Center and it’s dedicated to providing a venue for documentary filmmakers. It also uses a suggestion-donated ticket price, which allows anyone with the desire to see the film, the ability to do so, regardless of their income bracket. The next generation of great filmmakers will also have a place to develop thanks to Albert Maysles.
‘As a documentarian I happily place my fate and faith in reality. It is my caretaker, the provider of subjects, themes, experiences – all endowed with the power of truth and the romance of discovery. And the closer I adhere to reality the more honest and authentic my tales. After all, the knowledge of the real world is exactly what we need to better understand and therefore possibly to love one another. It’s my way of making the world a better place.’ – Albert Maysles
You have accomplished that task many times over, Mr. Maysles. Many times. Rest in peace.
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