Name: Leonard Cohen's 90th Birthday Celebration! – feat. BIRD ON A WIRE (1974)
Start: 2024-09-21T19:00:00-07:00
End: 2024-09-21T21:00:00-07:00
Location: Philosophical Research Society

Leonard Cohen's 90th Birthday Celebration! – feat. BIRD ON A WIRE (1974)

The Philosophical Research Society in Los Angeles is a nonprofit cultural and educational organization which presents concerts, film screenings, lectures, performance art and theatre events, gallery exhibits and more on the intersection between the creative arts and mythology, mysticism and metaphysics.

The Philosophical Research Society

Join us as we celebrate what would've been the great poet of song's 90th birthday, w/ a rare screening of Tony Palmer's long lost tour doc!

Philosophical Research Society

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Born September 21st, 1934, Leonard Cohen would have turned 90 this year. Join us on 9/21 to celebrate the late, great bard of song’s 90th birthday, with a screening of director Tony Palmer’s incredible, long buried and unseen tour documentary BIRD ON A WIRE (1974/2010)! On March 18, 1972, Leonard Cohen began a 20-city European tour for his now legendary third album Songs of Love and Hate, beginning in Dublin and ending in Jerusalem on April 21st. A year before, fearing that a tour-weary Cohen might never take to the road again and that, having not sufficiently attained the mainstream mantle of “the next Bob Dylan” as Columbia Records had hoped, he might be dropped by his label, Cohen’s manager approached documentarian Tony Palmer to capture the forthcoming tour on celluloid. Then a filmmaker of some renown, with credits including the London music scene doc All My Loving, films of Cream and Fairport Convention in concert, and co-directing Frank Zappa’s 200 Motels,&nbsp;Palmer agreed on the condition that he be given total, warts-and-all access to Cohen and his tourmates –&nbsp;on stage, backstage, on tour buses, in hotel rooms, and interviews –&nbsp;throughout the tour and the freedom to edit the footage however he saw fit. Cohen agreed, trusting Palmer hoping the film would bring him to a wider audience, with one stipulation: he asked that the director thoroughly document his songs, since he thought it might be his final tour and that his excursion into singer-songwriting might be coming to an end.&nbsp;&nbsp; Palmer did that and so much more, delivering a remarkable and raw chronicle of what’s now recognized as Cohen in his prime – albeit at a distressingly uncertain time in his career – where, though beset by doubt and fatigue on a tour plagued by logistical and technical debacles, he performed utterly transcendent versions of some of his most classic songs, including “Suzanne”, “Chelsea Hotel”, “Famous Blue Raincoat”, a deeply moving performance of the titular track, and many more. Also captured are incredible recitations of Cohen’s poetry (from his then newly published book The Energy of Slaves), and intimate moments of him – seemingly taking no notice of the camera – weeping (and flirting) backstage, calming aggressive fans, swimming nude in a hotel swimming pool, and dropping acid before his fraught and intense final concert in Jerusalem (asking his bandmates “Do you think this stuff still works? We’ll be in serious trouble if it works, or doesn’t work”).&nbsp; The film’s history then followed a tumultuous course before disappearing for decades. After assembling a rough cut from the reels and reels of footage he’d filmed, Tony Palmer screened the film for the BBC who offered to buy it on the spot. At the time though, despite the initial freedom he’d promised the filmmaker, an insecure Cohen worried the film was “too confrontational”. Unbeknownst to Palmer, a somewhat traitorous assistant editor offered – behind his back – to “salvage” the film, delivering a butchered cut which the BBC summarily rejected, Cohen detested and disavowed, and played one night only in the UK in 1974 before vanishing into obscurity. Believing the original materials and few extant prints had been consigned to oblivion, Palmer resigned himself to Bird on a Wire’s legacy as a “lost film” –&nbsp;that was until 2009, when 294 rolls of original film were discovered in rusted tins in a Hollywood warehouse. Using digital technology to clean up the material (some preserved, much time-worn), Palmer was able to jigsaw together a version of the film that most closely resembled his original cut and in 2010 was finally able to share, with the wholehearted approval of Cohen (now Zenful and secure in his legacy as one of the world’s great poets and troubadours), this masterful and indispensable document that stands as a naked, ragged, and beautiful testament to one of the most vital and brilliant artists of the past century and one of the greatest tour films ever made.&nbsp; Join us as we raise a glass to Leonard Cohen on his 90th, and celebrate his memory and legacy with this rare and fantastic screening! <h3>Tickets: $10 (In-Person Event Only)</h3> Please email events@prs.org or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

ACCESSIBILITYPRS wants all guests to be able to enjoy our events safely and comfortably. If you require any accessibility accommodation, please reach out to events@prs.org before showtime and we will be happy to assist you. REFUND POLICIESAll sales are final. There are no refunds for PRS events , except in the event of a medical emergency, including but not limited to a positive COVID-19 test. Ticket exchanges may be granted on a case by case basis, pending circumstances.In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event. PARKINGLimited parking is available onsite at PRS in both the front lot (entry from Los Feliz Blvd. when heading east) and back lot (entry from first alley way, off Griffith Park Blvd. from intersection with Los Feliz Blvd.), as well as street parking on Griffith Park Blvd. and (after 7 PM) on Los Feliz Blvd. We encourage attendees to consider carpooling, walking or biking to events if possible, and please be considerate of our Los Feliz neighbors when parking. PRS EVENT POLICIES<ul><li>We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.</li><li>Events are subject to change without notice, including guest speakers and/or performers.</li><li>We encourage you to arrive at least 30 min. before the scheduled event start time to find parking, enjoy the Bookstore and take your seats.</li><li>Please turn off all mobile devices before the show. Talking and texting are not allowed during the events.</li><li>No filming, audio recording or mobile phone recording of events, screenings, concerts or other programs by audience members is allowed without permission.</li><li>There is no smoking permitted on PRS grounds.</li><li>We strongly encourage guests to wear masks to PRS events to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.</li><li>PRS allows Service Animals into the facility under ADA and state guidelines. For further details please visit www.ADA.gov. No animals permitted whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support, under ADA guidelines and CA Health Code.</li><li>Please do not bring outside food or drink into PRS events.</li><li>Weapons are strictly prohibited at PRS events.</li></ul>

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Leonard Cohen's 90th Birthday Celebration! – feat. BIRD ON A WIRE (1974)

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