1963 Directed by Shirley Clarke
The acclaimed poet is examined in this film completed just prior to his death at age 88, with his speaking engagements at Amherst and Sarah Lawrence Colleges intercut with studies of his work, as well as with scenes of his life in rural Vermont and personal reminiscences about his career. He is also seen receiving an award from President Kennedy and touring an aircraft carrier.
USA
USA
Old Robert Frost was kind of cute and funny and looked like an ex-President or two. I also enjoyed some of the stories he told about when and where he wrote some poems. I felt bad that he had to go on the road to make money, though.
Watched on: Kanopy
Masterfully directed & edited doc with amazing, intimate access to Robert Frost in the final months of his life.
JFK on Robert Frost:
The artist, however faithful to his personal vision of reality, becomes the last champion of the individual mind and sensibility against an intrusive society and an officious state. The great artist is thus a solitary figure. He has, as Frost said, “a lover’s quarrel with the world.” In pursuing his perceptions of reality he must often sail against the currents of his time. This is not a popular role. If Robert Frost was much honored during his lifetime, it was because a good many preferred to ignore his darker truths.
A fascinating window into the great poet in the final year of his life, doling out philosophy, talking about his life, and reading some of his work to rapt audiences. God-fearing and unabashedly pro-America, yet with such a gentle, humane way about him, even when he mentions that Ezra Pound should have been shot for treason for his fascist activities in Italy during the war.
A couple of quotes:
“Some people like to think it starts with a phrase or something; I think it starts with a mood. As Poe said somewhere, you know, he never – he wrote lots of prose and he had a hard life and died at 40, the poor boy. But he said he never…
Put any 5 minutes of this side by side with Portrait of Jason and I'd be impressed / in mild disbelief if you said these have the same director. Closer to the government sanctioned Maysles brothers docs, specified quotidian patches / delights giving proto-Morris. Frost had pretty much the same humor as my late grandfather, although he didn't bother with poetry. Most days on that farm Frost might have envied him.
Director Shirley Clarke provides an intimate, late career portrait of one of America’s all-time greatest poets: Robert Frost. Through a series of personal interviews, lecture hall speeches, and small-group “sit and talks,” Clarke presents a vision of Frost as a man who is equal parts philosophical, funny, and down to earth.
A worthwhile watch for any fan of Frost’s work, as it does a nice job of putting a face and a personality to the legendary poet. Also noteworthy is the fact that Clarke’s film would win the Academy Award for best documentary film. While I prefer Clarke’s The Cool World, which better showcases her personal style, Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel with the World is still an interesting biography and piece of Oscar history.
In which Robert Frost goes off and says we should have executed Ezra Pound on the grounds of treason for supporting Mussolini. Wild stuff.
Maratona em honra do centenário da grande Shirley Clarke filme #5.
Aqui a vedete não é propriamente a direção porque a presença de Frost, um dos grandes poetas do século XX, já faz todas as funções da arte confluírem para sua persona.
Youtube.
Giving anything form gives you a confidence in the universe. That it has form, see? When you talk about your troubles and go to somebody about them... you're just a fool, you know? The best way to settle them is to make something that has form... 'cause all you want to do is get a sense of form.
“hell is a half filled auditorium.”
cool poetry grandpa who invented the “you know i had to do it to em” phrase. i need to write poetry again :(
Nothing extraordinary which is part of Frost’s charm. He’s “city boy who failed as a farmer” and so he has it all in him. Deep wisdom from the heart and patient research throughout his life.
Most pleasing part is the footage of Frost just doing tasks on his cabin.
52 films by women – ultimate challenge 2017
Week eight: 20-26 February
Oscar nominated.
Searching for something directed by a woman that won an oscar was pretty hard, the list of suggestions on letterboxd.com/soirore/list/women-at-the-academy/ also has a lot of films written by women and obviously plenty that got nominated rather than won. I ended up with this documentary by Shirley Clarke that won for documentary short in the 60s.
It's Robert Frost, near the end of his life, at a cabin and giving a speech at Sarah Lawrence college. It's the expected mixture of poetry, homespun wisdom and a few jokes that get too big laughs. There's a nice moment where he appears for a second to not suffer a…
