Lou Reed's Berlin
New York Premiere

Lou Reed's Berlin

Spotlight
| USA | 81 MINUTES | English
Music

A searing song cycle about two lovers going to pieces in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, Lou Reed's Berlin was greeted by a chorus of rebuke upon its release in 1973. Crushed, Reed and his producer, Bob Ezrin, left the record to gather dust in the archives. But a funny thing happened on the way to obscurity-Berlin was rediscovered, anointed a misunderstood masterpiece, added to the pantheon. And in 2006, artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel took to the stage at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, to introduce a concert 33 years in the making: Lou Reed's Berlin, played live for the first time. Filmed over the course of Reed's five-night stand at St. Ann's, Lou Reed's Berlin revels in the hypnotic majesty of these dark, orchestral songs, which include classics such as "How Do You Think It Feels" and "The Kids." Schnabel art-directed the performances, recruiting his Diving Bell and the Butterfly leading lady, Emmanuelle Seigner, to play the album's central character, Caroline, in the impressionistic stage projections filmed by his daughter, Lola. Now and again Schnabel strays to Seigner, letting the music play over scenes of Caroline to punctuate the album's narrative. But for the most part the film lingers on Reed, as coolly shamanistic a stage presence as ever, as he leads a backing band that includes Sharon Jones, Antony of Antony and the Johnsons, and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. A landmark live event, Berlin gets the documentary it deserves: Lou Reed's Berlin instantly ranks as one of the greatest concert films ever shot.


Cast & Credits
Directed by
Julian Schnabel
Co-Producer
Ann Ruark
Producers
John Kilik
Tom Sarig
Director of Photography
Ellen Kuras
Principal Cast
Lou Reed
Sharon Jones
Antony
Emmanuelle Seigner
Executive Producers
Stanley Buchthal
Maya Hoffman


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