LEONARD COHEN: THE 'BIRD ON A WIRE' CONCERTS + Home Movies — U.S. Premiere!

Commemorating ten years to the day since the passing of Leonard Cohen, 7th House — The Philosophical Research Society's temple for cinema seekers — in cooperation with acclaimed British filmmaker Tony Palmer proudly presents the U.S. theatrical premiere of LEONARD COHEN: THE 'BIRD ON A WIRE' CONCERTS, an extraordinary assemblage of previously never-before-seen concert performances and candid behind-the-scenes footage from Cohen's legendary 1972 tour, buried in the archives for more than half a century before finally being released to the public in 2024. Already out of print and unavailable on streaming platforms, the film's extraordinary rarity makes this theatrical presentation an especially precious opportunity to experience these performances on the big screen.

In the spring of 1972, Cohen embarked on an extensive European concert tour, accompanied by a small ensemble of musicians including Jennifer Warnes and legendary producer Bob Johnston. Though already established as one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary music, Cohen remained deeply ambivalent about life as a performer, beset by doubts about his singing voice, the demands of touring, and even whether he had an audience for his work. Fearing that this might be Cohen's final tour, his manager enlisted filmmaker Tony Palmer to document the journey. Accompanied by a small camera crew, Palmer was granted extraordinary access to the singer both onstage and off. The result was BIRD ON A WIRE (1974), an unusually intimate portrait of an enigmatic artist navigating the contradictions of fame, performance, and his own creative identity.

The documentary itself would have a famously troubled history, undergoing extensive re-editing before its brief release in 1974 and subsequently disappearing from circulation for decades. In 2009, nearly 300 cans of film were discovered in a Hollywood warehouse, allowing Palmer to undertake a painstaking reconstruction of his original vision, finally released in 2010. But the story of these remarkable materials did not end there.

Over four decades later, even after finally bringing Bird on a Wire back to the screen, Palmer discovered still more footage in his archives, including long-forgotten 16mm transfers of concert recordings made in Stockholm and London's Royal Albert Hall, their original videotapes long since lost. Though time had taken its toll on the surviving film elements, the recordings themselves remained astonishingly vivid. Palmer subsequently assembled these rediscovered treasures into a new concert film, featuring previously unseen performances captured in Stockholm, Paris, and London, interspersed with candid backstage encounters, interviews with Cohen, and revealing glimpses of life on the road.

Featuring spellbinding renditions of Cohen classics including “Suzanne,” “Bird on the Wire,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” “Joan of Arc,” “Avalanche,” “Chelsea Hotel,” and “So Long, Marianne,” the program offers a rare opportunity to witness Cohen at the height of his early powers, his unmistakable voice and haunting poetry rendered with a directness and emotional intimacy that few concert films have captured. At once commanding and vulnerable, wryly humorous and profoundly introspective, the Cohen who emerges from these recordings is a man whose remarkable gifts were matched by an equally remarkable sensitivity to the world around him.

To make our celebration of Leonard's life even more special, the concert presentation will be followed by 25 minutes of rare home movies from his youth, offering very rare glimpses of Cohen as a child alongside his family. Originally considered for inclusion in Bird on a Wire and subsequently recovered among the surviving archival materials, this affectionately intimate footage offers a touching counterpoint to the performances, providing a glimpse into the beginnings of one of our greatest poets and troubadours.

Dir. Tony Palmer, 1972/2024, 71 mins, United Kingdom, Color, English, Unrated, Digital.

Tickets: $12 (All Screenings Are In Person Only)

Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.