Don't Blink – Robert Frank
Don't Blink – Robert Frank is a 2015 documentary film about the life and work of photographer and filmmaker Robert Frank.
Don't Blink – Robert Frank | |
---|---|
Directed by | Laura Israel |
Produced by |
|
Written by |
|
Music by | Rachel Fox Hal Willner |
Cinematography | Lisa Rinzler Edward Lachman |
Edited by | Alex Bingham |
Production company | Assemblage Films Arte France (in association with) |
Distributed by | Grasshopper Film |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Synopsis
The film is a portrait of Frank's life and career. It covers the making of his book The Americans, his documentaries featuring friends such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac, and a film commissioned by The Rolling Stones.
Soundtrack
Music in the film includes songs performed by The Mekons, Tom Waits, The Velvet Underground, Charles Mingus, The Kills, Yo La Tengo, Johnny Thunders, Natalie MacMaster, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, New Order, The White Stripes, and Patti Smith.[1]
Release
Critical response
Don't Blink – Robert Frank has received positive reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 84%, based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 6.72/10.[2] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 75 out of 100, based on 10 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[3]
In a review for the Los Angeles Times, Kenneth Turan wrote that "[r]ather than being a film about an artist, it’s an attempt to show us what it's like to actually be an artist. [...] Don't Blink is directed by Laura Israel, Frank's film editor for more than 20 years, and includes generous selections from those works. Having a filmmaker that Frank is comfortable with in charge means that the photographer lets his guard down here more than he might have with a relative stranger."[4] Writing for The New York Times, A. O. Scott stated that "[Laura Israel's] film is less like a full biography than like a magazine profile, which is as it should be. You leave with a vivid sense of the man’s living presence and a reasonably thorough account of his life, work and associations."[5]
A review for Variety thought the "unconventional editorial style [...] involving rapid-fire collages [...] often leaves one feeling aesthetically pummeled to the point of exhaustion, and portends only limited commercial appeal for the project outside die-hard Frank aficionados."[6]
Box office
As of 13 October 2016, the film has grossed $69,531 at the box office.[7]
References
- "Movie Information: Don't Blink – Robert Frank". Soundtrack.Net. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- "Don't Blink – Robert Frank (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- "Don't Blink – Robert Frank reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- Turan, Kenneth (28 July 2016). "'Don't Blink — Robert Frank' profiles one of America's most iconic, idiosyncratic photographers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- Scott, A. O. (12 July 2016). "Review: 'Don't Blink — Robert Frank,' a Portrait of a Quintessential New York Artist". The New York Times. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- Schager, Nick (7 October 2015). "Film Review: 'Don't Blink: Robert Frank'". Variety. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
- "Don't Blink – Robert Frank". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
External links
- Official website
- Don't Blink – Robert Frank on IMDb
- Don't Blink – Robert Frank official trailer on YouTube
- Don't Blink – Robert Frank at the distributor's site