Grey Gardens

There is something about this film that thoroughly epitomizes for me the year 1975, in which it was made, and the world that once existed with its own neat priorities well into the 70s, and which has completely passed away. I published Black Macho then whereupon my life passed into a vortex of activity. When I got back to my life, the 70s were gone and in its place was the beginning of what we have now with hiphop and computers and this terrible anxiety about money all the time.

Grey Gardens and its featured cast, Little Edie and Big Edie, have been particular favorites of mine ever since I first discovered this film for myself among the archives of great documentaries.  Documentaries are so important to understanding the uniqueness of American life.  This particular film is one of the first efforts by the Maysles Brothers who now maintain a cute little art house cinema on Lenox Avenue in Harlem, which I would go to every other day if I still lived in Harlem, myself. 

One can find a copy of the dvd for rent at Netflix or for purchase among The Criterion Collection at http://www.criterion.com/films/664. Also, there is apparently a fan following for Grey Gardens and its various re-makes at the Official Grey Gardens website.  I am not going to include any spoilers about this one and encourage you to see for yourself why this film is so important.  This edition contains all sorts of explanatory material about East Hampton and the Bouvier family. 

Meanwhile the latest news is a new feature film edition of Grey Gardens, which is sure to be stunning with Jessica Lange and the Barrymore kid as Big Edie and Little Edie.  Jessica Lange is I think one of the great actresses of our time and can be counted upon to appear mostly in quality productions, especially now that she is getting on in years.  They are previewing the film constantly on HBO so it should be airing soon.  It looks as though it will likely include not only a complete retelling of the material included in the documentary but will also include all the background to the making of the film, itself, by the Maysles and what subsequently happened to both Big Edie and Little Edie.  I can't wait to see the entire thing.