Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man (2005)

Director:

Lian Lunson

Writer:

Lian Lunson (writer)

Release Date:

8 September 2006 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Music

Plot:

A documentary on the legendary singer-songwriter, with performances by those musicians he has influenced.

Plot Keywords:

Pop Singer | Songwriter | Rock Star | Leonard Cohen | Poet

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Perla Batalla	...	Herself
Bono	...	Himself
Robert Burger	...	As himself
Nick Cave	...	Himself
Julie Christensen	...	Herself
Adam Clayton	...	Himself
Jarvis Cocker	...	Himself
Leonard Cohen	...	Himself
Antony Hegarty	...	Himself
Anna McGarrigle	...	Herself
Kate McGarrigle	...	Herself
Larry Mullen Jr.	...	Himself
Beth Orton	...	Herself
Brett Sparks	...	Himself
Rennie Sparks	...	Himself
The Edge	...	Himself
Linda Thompson	...	Herself
Teddy Thompson	...	Himself
Martha Wainwright	...	Herself
Rufus Wainwright	...	Himself
Jo Weldon	...	Burlesque Beauty
Hal Willner	...	Himself

Directed by
Lian Lunson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lian Lunson		writer

Produced by
Kevin L. Beggs	....	executive producer (as Kevin Beggs)
Bruce Davey	....	executive producer
Mel Gibson	....	executive producer
Mel Gibson	....	producer
Sarah Greenberg	....	executive producer
Lian Lunson	....	producer
Erik Nelson	....	executive producer
Tim Palen	....	executive producer
Sandra Stern	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Leonard Cohen

Cinematography by
Geoffrey Hall
Lian Lunson
Brit Marling
John Pirozzi

Film Editing by
Mike Cahill

Production Management
David S. Harding	....	executive in charge of production

Sound Department
Mark Maloof	....	sound recordist: New York City location
Peter Staubli	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Marcus Hides	....	camera operator

Editorial Department
Bobby Maruvada	....	on-line editor

Music Department
Robbie Adams	....	music mixer: "Tower of Song"
Joel C. High	....	music executive
Rebecca Rienks	....	music coordinator
Chris Spedding	....	musician: guitars
Hal Willner	....	music producer

Other crew
Hal Willner	....	concert director

Thanks
Zal Batmanglij	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Con Artists Productions
• Horse Pictures
• Lions Gate Television
• Sundance Channel

Distributors

• Lions Gate Films (2006) (USA) (theatrical)
• Lionsgate (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Maple Pictures (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Movie Network, The (TMN) (2008) (Canada) (TV)
• RCV Film Distribution (2006) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• RCV Home Entertainment (2007) (Netherlands) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  publicity
• Plastercity Digital Post  post-production facilities

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sex-related material.

Runtime:

USA:105 min | Canada:98 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Ireland:G | Finland:S | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Sydney Opera House, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Con Artists Productions

Quotes:

Leonard Cohen: There is a beautiful moment in the Bhagavad Gita Arjuna. The general. The great general. He's standing in his chariot. And all the chariots are readied for war. And across the valley, he sees his opponents. And there he sees not just uncles and aunts and cousins...

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Zomergasten: (#20.1)" (2007)

Nearly Biblical per The Edge

Greetings again from the darkness. Guess I went into this one with misdirected expectations. I really thought it would be more of a traditional documentary film exploring the true genius and talent of the man. In fact, really all we get are film clips from a 2005 tribute concert in Australia wrapped around some priceless interview moments with Mr. Cohen. It doesn't take much talent to quickly realize the value is with the man, not the cover songs. The question is, why doesn't our rookie filmmaker recognize this? Although into his 70's now, Mr. Cohen remains other-worldly lucid and insightful and his smooth baritone readily spews forth words of wisdom and genius. His observational and oratory skills remain unmatched. The mix of his personal home movies is a nice touch, but oh how I wish we had more of his reminiscing and just talking about his life.

Most of his music is presented by second tier artists. The real stand out is Rufus Wainwright (son and grandson to Loudon I and II). Rufus obviously worships the man and his music and his affection shines through in all three performances, especially "Chelsea Hotel #2" (a kind of tribute to Janis Joplin). Nick Cave probably most accurately captures the Cohen style, but at least half of the songs in the film were performed by women. Quite a contrast to Cohen's own style.

A really magical moment occurs at the end of the film as Leonard performs with the backing of U2. Hard to tell who is more honored at playing with whom. The reverence shown for Cohen's writing is evident throughout the film, but the interview moments are mere teases to what could have been. Make sure to stay for the credits to hear Leonard sing his own song.