Always for Pleasure (1978)
- Directed by
- Les Blank
- Genre
- documentary film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 58 min
- Rating
- 7.4 of 10 from 19 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This documentary explores social traditions in New Orleans, including parades, music, and food. It shows Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, jazz funerals, and second-line processions. Local musicians perform and are interviewed.
celebratoryupbeatlivelyobservationalearthycommunity-focusedjoyful
What happens
Always for Pleasure is a 1978 documentary film by Les Blank about social traditions in New Orleans, Louisiana. The film has footage of musical events, Mardi Gras Indians, a "jazz funeral" with traditional music, various second-line parades and cooking and eating of red beans and rice and a crawfish boil. Events filmed include New Orleans Mardi Gras and St. Patrick's Day 1977. Local musicians perform and are interviewed, including Kid Thomas Valentine, Allen Toussaint, Danny Barker, Blue Lu Barker, Irma Thomas, the Neville Brothers and Professor Longhair. The film profiles predominantly white second-line organizations whereas many other documentaries have falsely portrayed these traditions as the domain of mostly black groups. The film subtitles a Creole song as "Hey Legba" although its title phrase is actually "Eh là-bas", a formerly common Louisiana Creole greeting roughly translated as "Hey you over there." However, in New Orleans, Legba was often referred to as "Papa La Bas", and some scholars such as Henry Louis Gates, believe that "Eh La Bas" is a covert reference to Legba. Always for Pleasure was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999. The DVD rerelease includes additional performance footage of Professor Longhair. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
Bury the Hatchet (2010)
Jazz Fest: A New Orleans Story (2022)
Take Me to the River: New Orleans (2022)
Liberty Street Blues (1988)
Tradition Is a Temple (2013)
Buckjumping (2018)
Make It Funky (film) (2005)
Murder at the Mardi Gras (1978)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.