D.A. Pennebaker’s Eye on the Century
2 Seasons
This July 15th marks the 100th birthday of documentary filmmaker D. A. Pennebaker, who forever changed the way we see the world. He helped pioneer the sync-sound camera rig, allowing his camera to move freely, bringing audiences into the heart of the moments that shaped a century. One of the trailblazers of cinema verité, Pennebaker believed that truth didn’t need a narrator, it just needed to be witnessed. Working alongside collaborators like Robert Drew, Richard Leacock, and his creative and life partner Chris Hegedus, he captured history in motion: a young presidential hopeful on the campaign trail in PRIMARY, Bob Dylan wrestling with fame in DONT LOOK BACK, the raw energy of MONTEREY POP, and the creative chaos of ORIGINAL CAST ALBUM: “COMPANY.” Whether he was filming backstage on Broadway or inside a French pastry competition, Pennebaker gave us something rare: life, unfolding in real time. Organic, immediate, and deeply human, his films remind us what it feels like to watch history not as it’s told, but as it’s lived.
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1:19:26Episode 1Monterey Pop
Episode 1
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1968 • United States
On a beautiful June weekend in 1967, at the beginning of the Summer of Love, the Monterey International Pop Festival roared forward, capturing a decade’s spirit and ushering in a new era of rock and roll. Monterey featured career-making perform...
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1:36:01Episode 2The War Room
Episode 2
Directed by Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker • 1993 • United States
The 1992 presidential election was a triumph not only for Bill Clinton but also for the new breed of strategists who guided him to the White House—and changed the face of politics in the process. For this thrilling, behind-clo...
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1:21:45Episode 3Return of the War Room
Episode 3
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus • 2008 • United States
In Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker’s 2008 follow-up feature to THE WAR ROOM, advisers James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, and Mary Matalin, among others, reflect on the revolutionary 1992 campaign. In addition, Mark McKi...
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1:24:47Episode 4Kings of Pastry
Episode 4
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus • 2009 • United States
For French pastry chefs, the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (Best Craftsmen in France) is nothing less than the Olympics of their trade: an intense three-day competition in which a selection of the country’s finest pâtissiers tu...
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53:04Episode 5Original Cast Album: “Company”
Episode 5
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1970 • United States
Starring Stephen Sondheim, Elaine Stritch, Donna McKechnieThis legendary, long-unavailable documentary from Direct Cinema pioneer D. A. Pennebaker captures the behind-the-scenes drama that went into the making of a classic Broadway recording. ...
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1:36:13Episode 6Dont Look Back
Episode 6
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1967 • United States
Bob Dylan is captured on-screen as he never would be again in this groundbreaking film from D. A. Pennebaker. The legendary documentarian finds Dylan in England during his 1965 tour, which would be his last as an acoustic artist. In this wildly...
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1:25:46Episode 7Town Bloody Hall
Episode 7
Directed by Chris Hegedus • 1979 • United States
Starring Norman Mailer, Germaine Greer, Jacqueline CeballosOn April 30, 1971, a standing-room-only crowd of New York’s intellectual elite packed the city’s Town Hall theater to see Norman Mailer—fresh from the controversy over his essay “The Pris...
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1:05:54Episode 865 Revisited
Episode 8
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 2007 • United States
In DONT LOOK BACK, D. A. Pennebaker immortalized Bob Dylan’s landmark 1965 British tour with one of the greatest music documentaries of all time. With 65 REVISITED, Pennebaker returned to his trove of archival footage to create an alternate rec...
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Baby
Episode 9
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1954 • United States
D. A. Pennebaker credits this 1954 film with clarifying his focus. He took his daughter, Stacy, to the zoo with a short film scenario in mind: shots of Stacy running intercut with shots of the animals responding to her. But Stacy was more int...
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13:57Episode 10Lambert & Co.
Episode 10
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Richard Leacock • 1964 • United States
Starring Dave Lambert, Mary Vonnie, Sarah BoatnerA longtime fan of American jazz vocalist Dave Lambert, D. A. Pennebaker jumped at the chance to film him auditioning a new group of singers at RCA in 1964. The resulting film...
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05:43Episode 11Daybreak Express
Episode 11
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker • 1953 • United States
Shot in 1953, though not completed until 1957, DAYBREAK EXPRESS was the first film D. A. Pennebaker made, a mad rush of images of New York City captured from a train and edited to the rhythm of Duke Ellington’s song of the same name. A jazz afi...
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19:09Episode 12Shake! Otis at Monterey
Episode 12
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus • 1986 • United States
Redding, a venerable star of Memphis’s Stax record label, seduced the "love crowd" in one of his best, and last, performances. SHAKE! OTIS AT MONTEREY, feature the entire set of this legendary musician, a performance that has ...
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49:07Episode 13Jimi Plays Monterey
Episode 13
Directed by D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus • 1986 • United States
Jimi Hendrix arrived in California virtually unknown. Returning stateside from London, where he had moved to launch his musical career, Hendrix exploded at Monterey, flooring an unsuspecting audience with his maniacal six-stri...
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58:53Episode 14Brussels Film Loops/Gestures/World Kitchen
Episode 14
Directed by Shirley Clarke and D. A. Pennebaker • 1957 • United States
Shown at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair, these loops by directors Shirley Clarke and D. A. Pennebaker were intended to display American life to the world.
