Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song | |
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Directed by | Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine |
Written by | Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine |
Based on | The Holy or the Broken by Alan Light |
Produced by | Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine |
Music by | Hal Willner (music producer); John Lissauer (original score) [1] |
Production company | Geller/Goldfine Productions |
Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
Release dates |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Countries | United States, Canada |
Language | English |
Box office | $2.5 million (worldwide) [4] [5] |
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song is a 2022 feature-length documentary biographical film created by Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine describing the story of Leonard Cohen, focusing on his song "Hallelujah". The film is based on Alan Light's 2012 book The Holy or the Broken.
New York Times critic A. O. Scott described the film as "wrapping a circumspect biography of the singer... around the story of the song", with archival footage and interviews with friends and admirers. [6] Writer Rob LeDonne described it in The Guardian as "tak(ing) both a micro and macro view of the song and Cohen, along with their respective and deeply intertwined places in culture. [7] Nicolas Rapold wrote in the Times that the film "trace(s) Cohen’s career from his early days in Montreal to his 21st-century renaissance, exploring his creative process, his spiritual search and how his perhaps best-known song... took on a life of its own", the film taking "a deep dive" into Cohen's "writing and rewriting and erasing" process to better understand him. [8] In The Atlantic, critic Kevin Dettmar said the film "documents the record’s long, strange trip to ubiquity. It's a tale about the vagaries of recording history and the foolishness of industry suits, but it's also about rediscovery and inspiration and reinvention". [9]
Geller said "the real focus is Leonard the man asking the deep questions about the purpose of life, the challenges of life, the holiness of life, and the brokenness of life". [10] In a different focus, Goldfine remarked that the documentary "is about one's own center, and one's own role and place in life". [7] More broadly, Goldfine quipped that "although it's primarily looking at Leonard through the prism of Hallelujah, we slyly stuck in another 22 Leonard Cohen songs".
Geller noted that the film includes not only several of Cohen's performances of "Hallelujah"—as he ages, singing it with different feelings and different verses—but also that there are 22 other songs. [10] The last third of the documentary is devoted to Cohen's comeback in the 21st century, and includes clips of his later concerts. [6]
In addition to Cohen himself, various people affiliated with Cohen or associated with the song appear in the film, including artistic collaborator Sharon Robinson, John Lissauer (who produced and arranged of the original version of the song), Larry "Ratso" Sloman (a longtime interviewer), music producer Clive Davis, Rufus Wainwright, Brandi Carlile, Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, Eric Church, and other artists who recorded their own versions. [1] The film draws from numerous unpublished conversations with Cohen collaborators Judy Collins, Dominique Issermann and others. [11]
For Geller and Goldfine, it was footage of Cohen singing Hallelujah on stage during a performance in Oakland, California, that partly inspired them to make the documentary. [7]
In summer 2014, film historian and writer David Thomson suggested during a dinner with Geller and Goldfine that they do a film based on a single song. [10] [12] Goldfine related that "literally within 10 minutes at the dinner table" she thought they could do a film about "Hallelujah" since it could occupy their attention for the years it would take to make a documentary, with Cohen being one artist she "thought it would be gratifying to plumb for that length of time". [10] Initially, as Geller described, they "knew the incredible power of the song" but "we didn't know the crazy trajectory of that song when (we) first started talking about it". [10] Soon, they discovered Alan Light's 2012 book The Holy or the Broken, which confirmed "there's something there". [10]
From a personal standpoint, I really would have loved to have interviewed (Cohen), but from the beginning this (film was) really to look at his life through the lens of the song and the spiritual quest and contradictions that are in the song rather than some comprehensive, 'He was born on such and such a day.'
— Daniel Gellar, to Billboard [2]
Alan Light, who served as a consulting producer on the film, warned that Cohen would not consent be interviewed for a film, and that licensing "is going to be the most complicated thing you ever deal with in your career". [10] Within a week after receiving Geller and Goldfine's proposal, [12] Cohen approved the film before his 80th birthday (September 2014). [1] However, it took about two years to resolve licensing terms with Sony Music which controlled the rights to the singer's publishing. [10] Interviews began in spring 2016, [2] and shooting didn't begin until August 2016, not long before Cohen's death in November. [11]
Over time, Geller and Goldfine were granted interviews with people associated with the song, and gained access to photographs, concert recordings, and archival material from Cohen's estate, including his notebooks and journals—actual hands-on drafts of the song. [10] They said they collected over 100 hours of archival footage and audio, plus another 60 or 70 hours of original interview material, from which they formed the film of less than two hours. [12]
The film debuted at the Venice and Telluride Film Festivals in September 2021, [11] and was shown on June 12, 2022 at the Tribeca Film Festival. [1] The film's release coincided with a new Cohen compilation, Hallelujah and Songs From His Albums, and an updated version of Light's book. [10] The film became available on Netflix in late January, 2023. [3]
In October 2022, the film was nominated for Critics Choice Best Music Documentary. [13]
Daniel Fienberg's review for The Hollywood Reporter said that the film "has a better grasp of the artist’s ineffable appeal than most (other films about Cohen), and a smarter approach. The documentary contains elements of a conventional biopic, but it probably won't satisfy audiences looking for a soup-to-nuts overview". [14] Though the film is limited to focusing on Cohen with only one song as a centerpiece, "two hours is insufficient, though there’s much to admire in the effort". [14]
The film is a New York Times Critic's Pick, with Times critic A. O. Scott calling the book "a fascinating study in the mechanics and metaphysics of pop-culture memory". [6]
Simon Abrams' 2-star review on RogerEbert.com said that the film "doesn't give deep consideration to the conditions that led to "Hallelujah" becoming a late career hit for Cohen", "though archival interviews with Cohen do effectively suggest that there’s more to his music—and that song, in particular—than the usual artistic triumph over industrial exploitation narrative. [15] Abrams added, "A lot of substantial or just different material might have enriched this documentary’s tidy fall-and-rise story." [15]
Jonathan Marlow's review in the San Francisco Examiner said that the film was "endlessly fascinating", and, "focusing on the richness of an inspiration", is "one of the only films about Cohen that is worthy of its subject", adding that "the tale of its making... is equally compelling". [11] Marlow said that "the film fortunately spares audiences the... montage of... amateur versions while focusing largely on the better renditions". [11]
Ann Hornaday's 2.5/4-star review in The Washington Post called the film an "illuminating, if occasionally too obliging, documentary" that "only obliquely considers how love for a piece of music can kill it as surely as the crassest record executive". [16] She added, "What turns out to be the most moving and meaningful thing about the film isn’t the song at its center, but the work ethic of a man who might have disappeared from the public eye for years at a time but never stopped sweating every word". [16]
Brad Wheeler's Globe and Mail review concluded that "Cohen aficionados... might prefer a more focused and deeper dive into Hallelujah without so much personal biography. Mainstream audiences, on the other hand, will appreciate the context and the pairing of song and subject: Hallelujah mixes sex and spirituality, as did the libidinous Buddhist." [17]
Xan Brooks' 3/5-star review for The Guardian said, "while it may be a fool's errand to frame Leonard Cohen's life and times through the prism of just one song, directors Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine make a decent fist of it here". [18] Brooks added, "if this thorough, respectful documentary largely leaves its subject's mystery intact, that's probably for the best and what the singer would have wanted". [18]
Songs of Leonard Cohen is the debut album by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, released on December 27, 1967, on Columbia Records. Less successful in the US than in Europe, Songs of Leonard Cohen foreshadowed the kind of chart success Cohen would go on to achieve. It reached number 83 on the Billboard 200. It peaked at number 13 on the UK Albums Chart, spending nearly a year and a half on it.
Various Positions is the seventh studio album by Leonard Cohen, released in December 1984. It marked not only his turn to a modern sound and use of synthesizers, but also, after the harmonies and backing vocals from Jennifer Warnes on the previous Recent Songs (1979), an even greater contribution from Warnes, who is credited equally to Cohen as vocalist on all of the tracks.
Tower of Song: The Songs of Leonard Cohen is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1995 on A&M Records. It takes its name from a song by Cohen which originally appeared on Cohen's album I'm Your Man. However the song "Tower of Song" does not actually appear on this tribute album.
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, originally released on his album Various Positions (1984). Achieving little initial success, the song found greater popular acclaim through a new version recorded by John Cale in 1991. Cale's version inspired a 1994 recording by Jeff Buckley that in 2004 was ranked number 259 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Patricia Mary O'Callaghan is a classically trained Canadian singer. She is a soprano who has built an international reputation as a performer of contemporary opera, early 20th-century cabaret music and the songs of Leonard Cohen.
Dogwoof is a film-distribution company based in the United Kingdom.
Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man is a 2005 concert film by Lian Lunson about the life and career of Leonard Cohen. It is based on a January 2005 tribute show at the Sydney Opera House titled "Came So Far for Beauty", which was presented by Sydney Festival under the artistic direction of Brett Sheehy, and produced by Hal Willner. Performers at this show included Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker, The Handsome Family, Beth Orton, Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Teddy Thompson, Linda Thompson, Antony, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, with Cohen's former back-up singers Perla Batalla and Julie Christensen as special guests. The end of the film includes a performance by Leonard Cohen and U2, which was not recorded live, but filmed specifically for the film at the Slipper Room in New York in May 2005.
Alan Light is an American journalist who has been a rock critic for Rolling Stone and the editor-in-chief for Vibe,Spin, and Tracks.
Leonard Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter and poet who was active in music from 1967 until his death in 2016. Cohen released 14 studio albums and eight live albums during the course of a recording career lasting almost 50 years, throughout which he remained an active poet. His entire catalogue is available on Columbia Records. His 1967 debut Songs of Leonard Cohen earned an RIAA gold record; he followed up with three more highly acclaimed albums: Songs from a Room (1969), Songs of Love and Hate (1971) and New Skin for the Old Ceremony (1974), before allowing Phil Spector to produce Death of a Ladies' Man for Warner Bros. Records in 1977. Cohen returned to Columbia in 1979 for Recent Songs, but the label declined to release his next album, Various Positions (1984) in the US, leaving it to American shops to import it from CBS Canada. In 1988, Columbia got behind Cohen again and gave full support to I'm Your Man, which brought his career to new heights, and Cohen followed it with 1992's The Future.
Ballets Russes is a 2005 American feature documentary film about the dancers of the Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo. It was directed by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller, and featured Irina Baronova, Alicia Markova, George Zoritch, and Tatiana Riabouchinska, Tamara Tchinarova among others. It was narrated by Marian Seldes. It is distributed by Zeitgeist Films.
Leonard Norman Cohen was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, social and political conflict, and sexual and romantic love, desire, regret, and loss. He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was invested as a Companion of the Order of Canada, the nation's highest civilian honour. In 2011, he received one of the Prince of Asturias Awards for literature and the ninth Glenn Gould Prize.
"Something Ventured" is a 2011 documentary film investigating the emergence of American venture capitalism in the mid-20th century. Something Ventured follows the stories of the venture capitalists who worked with entrepreneurs to start and build companies like Apple, Intel, Genentech, Cisco, Atari, Tandem, and others, and looks at the influence of Georges Doriot. It is a full-length independent film which includes interviews with prominent American venture capitalists and entrepreneurs of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, as well as archival photography and footage. The film has aired across the US on local PBS stations as well as on public television in Norway.
Todd Boekelheide is an American composer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, best known for his work scoring documentary films. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for another in the same category.
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Liel Leibovitz is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar. Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. In 2014, he was Visiting Assistant Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University.
For the Love of Spock is a 2016 American documentary film about actor Leonard Nimoy produced by 455 Films and directed by his son Adam Nimoy, who started it before his father's death on February 27, 2015.
The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of 'Hallelujah' is a 2012 non-fiction book written by Alan Light.
Leonard Cohen: Bird on a Wire, originally titled Bird on a Wire, is a 1974 documentary that chronicles a troubled 1972 concert tour of Europe and Israel by the Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen.
Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love is a 2019 documentary film directed by Nick Broomfield, about the relationship between writer and singer Leonard Cohen and his "muse" Marianne Ihlen, in particular their time spent on the Greek island of Hydra in the 1960s and 1970s. She was the inspiration behind "So Long, Marianne", "Hey, That's No Way to Say Goodbye" and "Bird on the Wire."
John Lissauer is an American composer, producer, and performer. At the age of 19, he arranged the first recordings of Al Jarreau. Lissauer went on to produce and arrange a pair of Leonard Cohen albums. Lissauer produced and arranged the first recording of "Hallelujah" which was featured in the film Watchmen and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2019. He has been a composer or music producer for record albums, films, and radio and TV commercials. Lissauer received a Clio "Campaign of the Decade" award for his work for Polaroid.