Jørgen Leth’s Followers (34)

Jørgen Leth

Born

in Århus, Denmark

June 14, 1937

Website

http://www.lethfilm.dk/

Genre

Film, Poetry, Sports

Influences

Bronisław Malinowski ...more

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Jørgen Leth is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his epic documentary A Sunday in Hell (1977) and his surrealistic short film The Perfect Human (1967). He is also a sports commentator for Danish television and is represented by the film production company, Sunset Productions.

Biography

Born on June 14, 1937 in Århus, Denmark, he studied literature and anthropology in Århus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic (jazz, theatre, film) for leading Danish newspapers from 1959 to 1968. His interest in Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski had a profound influence on his work. He travelled in Africa (1961), South America and India (1966) and Southeast Jørgen Leth is a Danish poet and film director who is considered a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Most notable are his epic documentary A Sunday in Hell (1977) and his surrealistic short film The Perfect Human (1967). He is also a sports commentator for Danish television and is represented by the film production company, Sunset Productions.

Biography

Born on June 14, 1937 in Århus, Denmark, he studied literature and anthropology in Århus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic (jazz, theatre, film) for leading Danish newspapers from 1959 to 1968. His interest in Polish anthropologist Bronisław Malinowski had a profound influence on his work. He travelled in Africa (1961), South America and India (1966) and Southeast Asia (1970–71). His first book was published in 1962 and he has written 10 volumes of poetry and eight non-fiction books. He made his first film in 1963 and has since made 40 more, many distributed worldwide. His most acclaimed is a 1967 short, The Perfect Human, which also featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions made by Leth and Lars von Trier. Leth's sports documentaries bring an epic, almost mythic, dimension to the field, as seen in Stars and Watercarriers (Stjernerne og Vandbærerne) (1973) and A Sunday in Hell (En forårsdag i helvede) (1977).

He has been a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute (1971–73, 1975–77) as well as chairman of the Institute's board (1977–82). He has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School in Copenhagen, at the State Studiocenter in Oslo and has lectured at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard and other American universities.

Leth covered the Tour de France for Denmark's TV 2 from 1988 until 2005 as the expert commentator in partnership with journalist Jørn Mader. In 1999, he was appointed Danish honorary consul in Haiti.

He attracted controversy in Denmark after publication of his autobiography Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Man). It included a graphic account of sexual relations with the 17-year-old daughter of his cook in Haiti.[3] This created a media storm in Denmark,[4] partly because of his plan to make a film called Det Erotiske Menneske ("The Erotic Man"), funded by the Danish Film Institute, in collaboration with DR (Danmarks Radio) and Nordisk Film and TV Commission. The controversy upset several groups in Denmark. In October 2005, due to the controversy, he resigned his post as Danish consul in Haiti and was dismissed as commentator with TV2, but was reappointed in 2009. The film Erotic Man, Leth's homage to his sexual encounters with young women in third world countries, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2010. The film received lacklustre reviews which deemed it "dirty-old-man cinema" and colonialist exploitation.

Leth has had retrospectives at the National Film Theatre, London (1989), in Rouen, France (1990), at the American Film Institute, Washington D.C. (1992), in Mumbai, India (1996), New York (2002), Sao Paulo (2003), Toronto (2004), Florence (2005), Rome (2006), Sao Paulo (2008), Warsaw (2008) and Teheran (2008) and Athens International Film Festival, Athens (2009).

He lived in Jacmel, Haiti from 1991 to 2010 where the Haiti earthquake destroyed his house. ...more

12 posts
Jørgen Leth's Blog

Jørgen Leth isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.

Early may saw the third album release of Leth's spoken ...

Early may saw the third album release of Leth's spoken word collaboration with Mikael Simpson and Fritjof Toksvig, Vi Sidder Bare Her. Thus far the release Ingen regning til mig (No Bill for Me) has been received with rave reviews in the Danish press, five stars in Politiken, Berlingske, Gaffa among others.
The album centers around everyday thoughts on aging, travels in trains and the feelin Read more of this blog post »

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Published on May 15, 2014 06:24

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Jørgen Leth’s books

Average rating: 3.72 · 1,413 ratings · 89 reviews · 59 distinct works • Similar authors

	Det uperfekte menneske - Scener fra mit liv 3.77 avg rating — 341 ratings — published 2005 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Det uperfekte menneske /2 - Guldet på havets bund 4.05 avg rating — 96 ratings — published 2007	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sportsdigte 3.82 avg rating — 85 ratings — published 1967 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Det bliver ikke væk 3.44 avg rating — 82 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Sidste tour by Jørgen Leth, Jørn Mader, Christoffer Stig Christensen 3.97 avg rating — 71 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Den gule trøje i de høje bjerge 3.77 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 1995 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Det uperfekte menneske /4 - Mine helte 3.59 avg rating — 73 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Det uperfekte menneske /3 - Et hus er mere end en ting really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Det er derfor de knepper så meget i dette land by Jørgen Leth, Morten Sabroe 3.33 avg rating — 64 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Spørge Jørgen by Jørgen Leth, Anders Houmøller (Editor) 3.73 avg rating — 52 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Jørgen Leth

Det uperfekte menneske (4 books)
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Jørgen Leth

3.86 avg rating — 627 ratings

Quotes by Jørgen Leth (?)

“The perfect human falls.”
― Jørgen Leth

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“Jeg må vel konstatere, at jeg har et talent for at blive upgrated. Der er jo ingen grund til at kalde det et hustler-talent.”
― Jørgen Leth, Det uperfekte menneske - Scener fra mit liv

tags: humor

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“Man er jo midt i kedsomheden, befinder sig i den, lever med den. Den er en vigtig omstændighed, ligesom at man skal spise, og man skal sove. Jeg bruger meget tid af mit liv på at kede mig. Man kan kalde det noget andet, man kan omskrive det, fordi det synes ukorrekt at sige ordet. Men det er, hvad det er.”
― Jørgen Leth

tags: kedsomhed

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Jørgen Leth’s Followers (34)

Jørgen Leth

12 postsJørgen Leth's Blog

Early may saw the third album release of Leth's spoken ...

Combine EditionsJørgen Leth’s books

Series by Jørgen Leth

12 posts
Jørgen Leth's Blog

Combine Editions
Jørgen Leth’s books