Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire

Leonard Cohen  - Bird On A Wire opens with a Leonard Cohen concert being mobbed in a way that is worthy of the Rolling Stones in Gimme Shelter (1970) – that's a bit of an exaggeration but it is revealing to see how popular Cohen was, at least in a limited circle, in 1972.

I must confess to being a Cohen fan and this no doubt greatly influenced my appreciation of Tony Palmer’s account of the 20-date European tour but I would rate it is as up there with the aforementioned Gimme Shelter and D.S. Pennebaker’s Dylan doco, Don’t Look Back (1967), as one of the best music documentaries of the period and, indeed, of all time. Not so much because the music aspect is particularly good, as Palmer was working with a very small set up and the performances themselves were fraught with equipment failures but as a portrait of Cohen himself. As the opening credits well put it, the film is an “impression” of what happened on the tour.

Apparently Cohen’s then manager, Marty Machat, commissioned director Tony Palmer to follow Cohen on the tour. The footage was briefly released as a film in 1974 then stayed in Machat’s storage until he passed away, at which time Cohen took possession of it.  Eventually Cohen returned the footage to Machat’s son, who tracked down Tony Palmer who then combined the tour footage with archival material. The result is a marvellous portrait of the artist as a young man that culminates with his meltdown at his final concert in Jerusalem when he walks off stage because of his inability to be “in” the music. It is a superbly intimate scene when we follow Cohen backstage and everyone starts to banter about what should be done with Cohen adamant that he could not go on.  Cohen eventually decides to return to stage to sing ‘So Long, Marianne’ in a performance which reduces himself, the band, and the audience to tears. It is extraordinary stuff and brings home Cohen's integrity as a performer and goes a good way to explaining why he survived his subsequent decade-long career eclipse that only ended with his I'm Your Man release in 1988.  Leonard Cohen  Bird On A Wire is a must have for any Cohen fan.

DVD Extras: None

Available from: Umbrella Entertainment

 

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