A jazzman's raw rebirth captured before the revolution had a name.
During the fertile early years of Drew Associates following the breakthrough of Primary, came this seldom-seen portrait of David Allen, a jazz trumpeter struggling in the Santa Monica drug rehabilitation center Synanon House. Pennebaker’s love of music drew him to David and the film prefigures later portraits such as Dont Look Back. He teamed with Life photographer William Ray and producer Gregory Shuker.
Direction
Pennebaker inventing vérité as he goes.
Cinematography
Ray's Life magazine eye finds poetry in pain.
Director
D. A. Pennebaker
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Synanon would later implode into cult infamy; this captures its idealistic origins.
Pennebaker's approach—shoot first, find story later—became the DNA of modern documentary.
US
