NEW YORK, NY.- Film Forum will present the U.S. theatrical premiere of Don't Blink – Robert Frank, beginning Wednesday, July 13. Robert Frank, now 91 years old, is among the most influential artists of the last half-century. His seminal volume, The Americans, published in 1958, records the Swiss-born photographer’s candid reactions to peculiarly American versions of poverty and racism. Today it is a classic work that helped define the off-the-cuff, idiosyncratic elegance that are the hallmarks of Frank’s artistry. Director Laura Israel (Frank’s longtime film editor) and producer Melinda Shopsin were given unprecedented access to the notably irascible artist. The assembled portrait is not unlike Frank’s own movies – rough around the edges and brimming with surprises and insights – calling to mind Frank’s quintessential underground movie, the 1959 Beat short, PULL MY DAISY (co-directed by Alfred Leslie). DON’T BLINK includes clips from Frank’s movies, among them the aforementioned, ME AND MY BROTHER, and ABOUT ME, A MUSICAL. The film’s soundtrack includes Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground, Bob Dylan, Yo La Tengo, Tom Waits, and others.
Don't Blink – Robert Frank will have a 2-week engagement July 13 – 26 at Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St. (west of 6th Ave.), with screenings daily (except July 20 & 21) at 12:30, 2:20, 4:15, 6:10, 8:00, and 9:50.
Robert Frank’s Cocksucker's Blues, commissioned by The Rolling Stones as a record of their legendary 1972 North American tour in the wake of the release of Exile on Main Street, has been kept out of the public eye for over 40 years. Its vérité approach and emphasis on the band’s raunchy exploits and the grind of touring impeded theatrical release. David Fricke, in Rolling Stone, calls the film “gritty, tedious, funny, nauseating, thrilling and merciless.”
“An illuminating biopic of the game-changing photographer/filmmaker, made by his longtime moving-image archivist and editor.”– Amy Taubin, Artforum
“An informed, intimate film that’s funny, warm and multi-faceted, never reverential. In focusing on one man, DON’T BLINK also chronicles a half-century of New York creativity and irreverence.”– Godfrey Cheshire, RogerEbert.com
Don't Blink – Robert Frank (2015, 82 mins.) Directed by Laura Israel. Produced by Melinda Shopsin and Laura Israel. Cinematography: Lisa Rinzler. Additional Camera: Ed Lachman. Editor: Alex Bingham. Executive Music Producer: Hal Willner. Executive Producers: Ruth Waldburger, Eugene Jarecki and Roni Jesselson. In English. USA/Canada. A Grasshopper Film release.
