Blu-ray, DVD Release: A Poem is a Naked Person

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: March 29, 2015
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion


Les Blank (Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers) considered 1974’s A Poem is a Naked Person—a free-form feature documentary about beloved singer-songwriter Leon Russell, filmed between 1972 and 1974—to be one of his greatest accomplishments. Yet it has not been released until now.

Leon Russell in A Poem is a Naked Person

Leon Russell in A Poem is a Naked Person

Hired by Russell to film him at his recording studio in northeast Oklahoma, Blank ended up constructing a unique, intimate portrait of a musician and his environment. Made up of mesmerizing scenes of Russell and his band performing, both in concert and in the studio, as well as off-the-cuff moments behind the scenes, this singular film—which also features performances by Willie Nelson and George Jones—has attained legendary status over the years.

Not officially released until now, A Poem is a Naked Person is a work of rough beauty that serves as testament to Blank’s cinematic daring and Russell’s immense musical talents.

Criterion’s Blu-ray and DVD editions of the film include the following:

  • New, restored 2K digital transfer, supervised by executive producer Harrod Blank, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
    • New interviews with Harrod Blank, musician Leon Russell, assistant editor Maureen Gosling, and artist Jim Franklin
    • Behind-the-scenes material, shot and edited by Gosling
    • Trailers
    • More!
    • An essay by critic Kent Jones

 

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About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.