Grey Gardens (1975, Maysles bros.)

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The always-fascinating adventures of Big Edie and Little Edie. I’d picked it as a must-see for our short-lived Documentary Month, then decided there was no time to waste since there’s a fictionalized version with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange later coming out this year. Katy liked it, I think, or at least we talked about it a lot. I love how Little Edie draws the Maysles into her arguments, flirts with them, tries to knock them over…

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Listened to the commentary at work. Albert Maysles says when they were done editing, the first people they showed the film to were the Beales… they took it to the house and set up a screening in a room of the house they’d never been in before. After the movie ended, a long silence while little Edie paced the floor, then she looked up and announced “The Maysles have created a classic.”

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