Albert (born November 26, 1926, Boston, Massachusetts) and David Maysles (rhymes with "hazels", born 10 January 1932, Boston, Massachusetts) were a documentary filmmaking team whose works include Salesman (1968), Gimme Shelter (1970) and Grey Gardens (1976). Growing up, Albert had always held an interest in photography. Although he is best known for his work in direct cinema, Albert did not begin his career as a filmmaker; he got a Master of Arts degree from Boston University where he taught psychology for three years before making the switch to film. He took a trip to Russia to photograph a mental hospital, and returned the next year with a camera gifted to him from CBS to film his first documentary, Psychiatry in Russia.[1] Their 1964 film on The Beatles forms the backbone of the DVD, The Beatles: The First U.S. Visit. Several Maysles films document art projects by Christo and Jeanne-Claude over a three-decade period, from 1974 when Christo's Valley Curtain was nominated for an Academy Award to 2005 when The Gates headlined New York's Tribeca Film Festival.
David Maysles, the younger brother, died of a stroke on January 3, 1987, in New York.[2] Albert Maysles graduated in 1949 with a BA from Syracuse University and later earned a masters degree at Boston University. Albert has continued to make films on his own since his brother's death. Jean-Luc Godard once called Albert Maysles "the best American cameraman".[3] In 2005 Maysles was given a lifetime achievement award at the Czech film festival AFO (Academia Film Olomouc). He is working on his own autobiographical documentary.
In 2005 he founded the Maysles Institute, a nonprofit organization that provides training and apprenticeships to underprivileged individuals. Albert is a patron of Shooting People, a filmmakers' community.
The Maysles have a total of 41 films that have been shot over the years; many are well-known films such as “Salesman”, The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” and “Grey Gardens”. All of these films are Direct Cinema; there is never a deviation from Albert’s film style.Albert Maysles said remember, as a documentarian you are an observer, an author but not a director, a discoverer, not a controller. The Maysles Brothers have been a leading force in the direct cinema style of documentary film making as well as non fiction film making since 1960. Albert had been acknowledged as the dean of documentary film making by the New York times on May 2002. Two of their films, Salesman and Grey Gardens, have been preserved in the Library of Congress. Albert has also received the Sundance Film Festival 2001 Cinematography Award for Documentaries for Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton as well as the DuPont Columbia Gold Baton Award.In 1999 Eastman Kodak saluted Albert as one of the 100 world's finest cinematographers.
Filmography of Albert and David Maysles [edit]
- Anastasia (1962)
- Showman (1963)
- Orson Welles In Spain (1963)
- What's Happening! The Beatles In The USA (1964)
- IBM: A Self-Portrait (1964)
- Meet Marlon Brando (1965)
- Cut Piece (1965)
- Six in Paris (1965) (with Godard, as cinematographer)
- With Love from Truman (1966, with Charlotte Zwerin)
- Salesman (1968) (with Charlotte Zwerin)
- Journey to Jerusalem (1968)
- Gimme Shelter (1970, with Charlotte Zwerin)
- Christo's Valley Curtain (1974, with Ellen Hovde)
- Grey Gardens (1976, with Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer, Susan Froemke)
- The Burks of Georgia (1976, with Ellen Hovde, Muffie Meyer)
- Running Fence (1978, with Charlotte Zwerin)
- Muhammad and Larry (1980)
- Vladimir Horowitz: The Last Romantic (1985, with Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson, Pat Jaffe)
- Ozawa (1986, with Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson)
- Islands (1986, with Charlotte Zwerin)
- Christo in Paris (1990, with Deborah Dickson and Susan Froemke)
Selected filmography by Albert Maysles [edit]
- Psychiatry in Russia (1955)
- Horowitz Plays Mozart (1987, with Susan Froemke, Charlotte Zwerin)
- Jessye Norman Sings Carmen (1989, with Susan Froemke)
- They Met in Japan (1989, with Susan Froemke)
- Soldiers of Music: Rostropovich Returns to Russia (1991, with Susan Froemke, Peter Gelb and Bob Eisenhardt)
- Abortion: Desperate Choices (1992, with Susan Froemke and Deborah Dickson)
- Baroque Duet (1992, with Susan Froemke, Peter Gelb, Pat Jaffe)
- Accent on the Offbeat (1994, with Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson)
- Letting Go: A Hospice Journey (1996, with Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson)
- Concert of Wills: Making the Getty Center (1997, with Susan Froemke, Bob Eisenhardt)
- LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton (2000, with Susan Froemke, Deborah Dickson)
- The Gates (2005, with Antonio Ferrera)
- Sally Gross: The Pleasure of Stillness (2007)
- Close Up: Portraits (2008)
- Rufus Wainwright - Milwaukee At Last (2009)
- Hollywood Renegade: The Life of Budd Schulberg (2009) (Cinematographer)
- The Love We Make (2011, with Bradley Kaplan, Ian Markiewicz)
In popular culture [edit]
An HBO film entitled Grey Gardens was released in 2009 about the brothers. The film starred Arye Gross as Albert and Justin Louis as David.
Further reading [edit]
- Joe McElhaney, Albert Maysles, University of Illinois Press, 2009.
- Dave Saunders, Direct Cinema: Observational Documentary and the Politics of the Sixties, London, Wallflower Press 2007
References [edit]
External links [edit]
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Albert and David Maysles
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| Aspects of the 1975 documentary |
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Maysles, Albert and David |
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November 26, 1926 |
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