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I just saw this documentary film and I thought it was the single best experience I've ever had with LC. By that, I mean that I enjoyed it more than any of his albums - if that was even possible.

I was hoping to come here and find an existing thread where people discussed that film. I don't want to blabber into this single post if such a thread does exist.

If anyone knows of such a thread, I'd sure appreciate learning where it was so I could post about this film there.

If I don't get a chance to say anything else, I'd just like to say that if you have never seen this film, I wish to recommend it to you from the bottom of my heart. It seriously changed and enhanced my appreciation for LC. It is a masterpiece of a film. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4416
And other threads, just make a search for "lian lunson"

Hello again, Alishibaz (formerly of Toronto, now in the US?).

In the event that you do not resurrect that long-dead thread that Jarkko found for you (I think that it is okay to start a brand new discussion, especially when the last post in the previous one is more than 10 years old!), I shall comment on your post here.

I have seen this film, and I did enjoy it. However, since I have always preferred hearing Leonard singing his own songs to others doing so, that aspect of the film was not entirely enjoyable to me (some of the covers were okay, but some made me cringe! I shall be nice and not name names). Of course, the point of the film was, partially, to document a tribute concert, so I can't fault it for that -- it is what it is!

I suppose I would not be inclined to compare the film (or my experience of it) to Leonard's albums, anyway: I see the film as an interesting commentary on Leonard's life and music, whereas his albums are his music. They are different beasts, as it were!

However, you loved the film, it obviously touched you deeply, and that is wonderful, but if you wish to discuss how or why it was more enjoyable to you than Leonard's albums, I would be mildly curious to hear that (of course, I can totally understand why you'd enjoy it more than, say, Death of a Ladies' Man! )

Have you ever watched the DVD of "Live in London"? Now that is a "Leonard Cohen experience" that I enjoyed immensely! Similarly the Blu-ray/DVD "Songs From the Road". Both are wonderful tastes of the Leonard Cohen concert experience from the 08-10 tour. "Live at the Isle of Wight 1970" is fine look at a much earlier LC concert experience! You can see that when it comes to LC, it is his performances of his music that I love the most!

If you don't get many responses, please don't take it personally. You may have noticed that it is rather dead around here! Cheers!

Hello Lisa. Very nice to hear from you again.

The main reason I loved this film was because about half of the film consists of LC talking directly to the audience and telling us about his life, his experiences, philosophies and attitudes towards life. It seemed to me that he had developed these attitudes over the course of many years and like his work, so many of them were extremely profound. I felt that he gave me a gift comprised of years of study and contemplation over the course of this film. I've always known there was so much to be gained by listening and learning from LC. IMO, he is as much a teacher as he is an artist. The contents of this film made me feel that I had truly received a precious gift from him. Aside from LC speaking directly to the audience, some of the musicians who did covers of his music also told stories of their private moments with him. Some of these were just marvelous. For example ...

Do you remember Rufus Wainwright telling us about how LC had found a baby bird that fell from its nest and he had rescued it and cooked up some small sausages and chewed them and removed them from his mouth and fed them to the baby bird - almost exactly like its mother would do. That was an amazing moment. One of the highlights of the film for me. When he said that LC came into the room wearing Armani regalia, he said that caused him to "jump out of his chair". Well, it caused me to fall off my chair (figuratively speaking) from laughing so hard.

I would guess about half of this film consists of musicians singing covers of LC's songs (about eight of his songs) while the other half consists of LC talking to us. To be fair, LC did sing two of his own songs. I felt the parts of this film where LC spoke directly to us was the finest part of the film.

So, like you, the parts of this film that I enjoyed the most were those parts where LC talked to us as well as where the musicians talked to us about their experiences with LC.

I must admit that I didn't love a few of the covers done by some of the musicians. I am happy to follow your example and I will not drop any names. That would be a boorish thing to do because since all these musicians came to this film to share their love for LC and his music, it would be like biting the hand that is feeding us.

Although I had never before done much serious listening to most of these musicians, I felt this definitely expanded my musical appreciation by introducing me to so many of "the world's finest singers" (that's a quote from someone in the film). I especially loved Antony. She was a big surprise to me. I loved her voice and the way she used her body to help her sing. It was as if she applied "Body English" to her singing. Have you ever heard that expression before? It's kind of like the way people who play pinball games will hit a ball and then move their hips from side to side as if that would affect the trajectory of the ball. Of course, it doesn't. But for some reason, so many people do it. I don't know why. But I surely did enjoy Antony doing that. For me, it definitely enhanced her performance and made me smile.

Some of the other musicians that I had also never listened to before included Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, Beth Orton and others. It was a real bonus for me to find these people. I had heard of Nick Cave before. I had heard that he was well worth listening to. But for some reason, I had just never come across any of his music before. I certainly do intend to listen to more of his music now.

To answer your question, I do have the movie "LC Live in London" and I enjoyed it very much. But I had never before known much about LC's personal life - except that he was born in Montreal and about his difficulties with Phil Spector and his financial manager who embezzled a whole lot of money from him. I've always felt a small kinship with LC because we both spent a large portion of our lives living in Montreal.

P.S. I will send you a PM explaining why I changed my address from Canada to the US. It's really just a silly joke and I probably shouldn't have done that.

Alishibaz wrote:...The main reason I loved this film was because about half of the film consists of LC talking directly to the audience...I felt that he gave me a gift comprised of years of study and contemplation over the course of this film. I've always known there was so much to be gained by listening and learning from LC. IMO, he is as much a teacher as he is an artist...

I can relate to that! It is always a wonderful experience to hear what Leonard has to say.

Alishibaz wrote:...Do you remember Rufus Wainwright telling us ....

Indeed! A highlight, for sure, and a marvellous glimpse into two almost distinct sides of Leonard Cohen. If you've not read Ira Nadel's biography of Leonard, you may enjoy it. It is a thoughtful and almost scholarly look at Leonard, the man, the artist, and the complexities that one can find within his work and his life.

Alishibaz wrote:...I especially loved Antony...

Me too -- that was a truly intense, heartfelt rendition of that song, just amazing!

Thanks for answering my questions! Cheers!