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Poll: RIP Albert Maysles.
We were saddened to learn of the loss of celebrated documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles on March 6, 2015.
Albert, along with his brother David Maysles, was one of the first filmmakers to actually bring documentary cinema into the mainstream. Starting in 1963, he and David made over 30 films, and Albert also made several films after David's death in 1987. Albert said: "Remember, as a documentarian you are an observer, an author but not a director, a discoverer, not a controller." He pioneered the "fly on the wall" perspective in documentary cinema. His success from a technical aspect was based on separating the camera from the sound recording device (David used a Nagra) by accurately controlling the speed of the camera and the tape recorder allowing the two devices to be moved independently with respect to each other; an impossibility in commercially available equipment at the time. Long takes with ordinary equipment of the era would invariably lose synchronization. In 2005 Albert founded the Maysles Documentary Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the exhibition and production of documentary films that inspire dialogue and action in Harlem, New York City.
Of the most celebrated films Albert Maysles made alone or with his brother David, which was the most memorable?
Make Your Choice
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The Gates (2007)
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Gimme Shelter (1970)
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Grey Gardens (1975)
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Jimi Plays Monterey (1986)
cinematographer only -
Monterey Pop (1968)
cinematographer only -
Primary (1960)
cinematographer and photographer only -
Salesman (1969)
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Soul Power (2008)
cinematographer only -
South of the Border (2009)
cinematographer only -
Stolen (2005)
cinematographer only -
When the Road Bends... Tales of a Gypsy Caravan (2006)
cinematographer only -
When We Were Kings (1996)
cinematographer only
