Michael_Elliott Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1965)*** (out of 4)This early documentary on Leonard Cohen is quite interesting to watch today because it takes a look at the now legendary musician before he was a musician. The documentary basically captures Cohen as a poet and we get to see his stand-up act, which is a little better than you might expect as well as several other moments where he just rambles about various thoughts he has.I'm not going to call this film a masterpiece because it's certainly not but at the same time it's a fairly fascinating look at Cohen that fans of his will probably love. I thought the film was certainly influenced by DON'T LOOK BACK but it doesn't have the same great filmmaking that the Dylan documentary did. With that said, there's no question that Cohen manages to grab your attention and hold it throughout the short 45-minute running time.

Vincent Dent A must for those who want to know more about the man, his personality and his early work.His poetry, read by himself is something you cant get from a book; something of a revelation. The laughter is an unexpected discovery, Cohen as a stand up comic is unexpected, as is the fact that he lived in Greece for some years.Someone called this DVD "pretentious". A complete irrelevancy, as pretentiousness is by definition, self promotion, which cant happen in a documentary by another.There is one special feature, a performance of I'm Your Man, with an animated background.A must for those who are genuinely interested in,_ Leonard Cohen, the Man, the Artist

Lechuguilla Produced in 1965, this 45-minute promo for the then youthful looking Leonard Cohen functions now as a faded cinematic snapshot of the man who, in the forty years since the promo was made, has evolved into Planet Earth's greatest living poet and songwriter.With a jazzy musical score, this B&W tape narrates a kind of "day in the life of" theme. It captures to some extent the man's personality which, surprisingly, exuded considerable humor, vis-a-vis the dire morbidity for which he has since become known. Of course, Western culture in the 1960s was friendlier to poets generally. In recent decades, particularly in the U.S., many people have become overtly hostile toward all things intellectual. In point of fact, Cohen's works have never been as popular in the U.S. as they have been in Europe and Canada. The U.S. aside, Cohen's worldwide popularity and longevity speak volumes about his talent, and remind me of the ongoing popularity of a similar 1960's talent: the Moody Blues.Some comments that Cohen makes in the film may raise eyebrows or seem contradictory. But that speaks as much to our current day obsession with logic, rigid analysis, and materialism as it does to Cohen's remarks. Trying to "analyze" poets or poetry is useless, and represents a fundamental misunderstanding of what poetry is all about.I believe that it was Benjamin Disraeli who said "the poet is the painter of the soul". In our current arid and more or less "soul-less" culture, Leonard Cohen gives to us a wonderfully unique way of seeing the world, a loftier point of view, based on truth, sensitivity, and intuition. This 45-minute "filmmette" is a must-see for people who are thus receptive to uncommon insight from an uncommon man.

zetes This documentary is somewhat lame. It is very worshipful towards Leonard Cohen. There are scenes in Canadian lecture halls where people laugh at his every word, and I wasn't even sure half the time that he was joking. You can tell Cohen doesn't really care. In fact, he speaks in silly little poetic quips that become awfully annoying very quickly. In fact, after the documentary part of the movie is done, there is an interview with Cohen after he has just watched the film. A piece of film that was recorded and not included in the actual documentary is very telling: it shows Cohen writing "CAVEAT EMPTOR" on the wall above a bathtub while he is bathing. Yes, the buyer should beware in this case.Oh, and speaking of buying, you can buy this on VHS or DVD if you really want it. Just go to Amazon.com and search for it. The DVD has a few supplemental short films which are actually more interesting than the feature. There is a goofy music video for "I'm Your Man," and a couple of really marvelous video montages coupled with Cohen's poetry.6/10