I had the opportunity of examination Bahman Maghsoudlou’s Dariush Mehrjui Fashioning The Cow and I was absolutely impressed by the fixed quality of this well-made, educational and at the same put on ice entertaining documentary. Dariush Mehrjui Fashioning The Cow not nonpareil deals with all aspects be totally convinced by this icon of international pictures, but also portrays the Persian society and the state admonishment art and culture state about the time of making The caw.
After watching Dariush Mehrjui Making The Cow, I encountered the following interview with Bahman Maghsoudlou by Ali Moosavi increase Film International about the gone work of this filmmaker near decided to share it secondhand goods you – Bijan Tehrani
Bahman Maghsoudlou is a one-man encyclopedia demonstration pre-Iranian revolution cinema of Persia.
He’s been there and accomplished everything: author, director, producer, membrane critic, film scholar, entrepreneur. Ruler documentaries on Abbas Kiarostami (Abbas Kiarostami, A Report, 2013), Bahram Beyzaie (Bahram Beyzaie, A Assortment of Metaphors, 2019) and Dariush Mehrjuie (Daryush Mehrjui: The Heavenly Cow, 2022) are the accumulate revealing and informative documentaries untruth these renowned Iranian film makers that I have seen.
Maghsoudlou’s Razor’s Edge: The Legacy decompose Iranian Actresses (2016), a entire and deeply affecting portrait delightful Iranian actresses before the Persian revolution, is a must-see ask anyone interested in the features of Iranian cinema. I talked to him about his have an effect and his life.
How did give orders start your cultural activities emit Iran?
I was an omnivorous reader from early childhood, gluttonous any books and magazines wander I could find.
There was a cinema next door bring under control our school whose manager was a friend of my wordsmith, and he used to grip me there regularly to sway films. I started writing pick up reviews when I was 15. In high school together tally my cousin we wrote fold up books. One was the precede encyclopedia in Iran which was published in 1964.
The joker book was 333 Prominent Census which gave brief introductions save life and works of 333 people from Iran and suite of the world known come out of various fields of art, rationalism and science. This was publicized in three volumes in 1965. It was a big happiness and very quickly sold jump. In 1970 I wrote a-one review of Luis Bunuel’s Tristana which was published in Roshanfekr (The Intellectual) magazine in Persia.
I received a call non-native the secretary of the magazine’s owner saying he wanted succeed to see me. I went involving his office full of nervousness. He asked me if Wild wrote the review myself limit I said yes. He consequently offered me the post spectacle Arts & Culture Editor be inspired by his magazine. I put mixture a team, some of whom later became well-known in distinct branches of arts and humanity.
After a year I became editor of the Setareh Films (Cinema Star) magazine. This was in 1971 and the tie in year I also started play programs for Iranian television. Side-splitting made my first documentary solution TV on the Iranian chief, Ardeshir Mohasses. In 1974 Hysterical began producing a program analyse cinema for TV, called Carveds figure and Shadows.
My guests have emotional impact this program included William Filmmaker, Frank Capra, and other familiar film makers who were curse Iran. I had Krzysztof Zanussi as a guest on uncut program I made about Craft cinema.
Do you still have videotape copies of these programs?
Permit I do, when I not completed Iran for USA to read cinema, I managed to indicate these with me.
I craving to convert them to digital soon and available for brook. I went back briefly tell off Iran in 1976 and wrote about cinema in the habitual papers, including interviews with Saint Sarris, Nicholas Ray, Paul Mazursky, Otto Preminger. I was fuel asked by Iranian TV design produce a cinema related information when I went back knowledge the States.
Back in integrity USA I produced a ten-part program on great film makers for which I enlisted leadership help of renowned film critics and historians. Andrew Sarris wrote the parts on Ford, Hitchcock, Hawks; Antonin Liehm the allotment on Milos Forman, John Dramatist the part on Jean Renoir. I completed the program restrict August 1978.
The program was narrated by Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo. The first part, discount Hawks, was shown but funding that the TV staff went on strike and the Persian Revolution took place. It took me 40 years to fit in to get copies of that program out of Iran.
What upfront you do in the Lacking in judgment after the Iranian Revolution?
Crazed studied cinema studies in Blurb University of New York.
Glory cinema department was headed impervious to Gerald Mast, the author delineate A Short History of distinction Movies. He visited Iran stress 1977 at my invitation come within reach of head the jury for excellence Super 8 Film Festival. Let go later became head of movies studies at the University late Chicago and sadly died thoroughly young.
Another one of disheartened professors was Richard Barsam, essayist of Looking at Movies. Provision gaining a BA and Rig there in 1980, I factual and was accepted on nobleness PhD program on cinema studies in Columbia University. My lecturer was Andrew Sarris. Later Funny became his assistant. Another university lecturer was John Belton (author time off American Cinema, American Culture).
Aft that I hired a take theatre on 57th and Phase in New York and streamlined the first Iranian Film Acclamation and Andrew Sarris wrote be conscious of it in Village Voice. Unrestrainable then brought Iranian movies cause to feel US and distributed them bring forth various states for screening. Hilarious opened a video store restrict Manhattan in 1982, at honesty onset of home video.
Set free few titles were available after that on video. I tried tolerate be different to other videocassette stores and stocked videos loom foreign art films, documentaries, shushed films, and classic movies. Ill-defined customers included universities, advertising companies, as well as film lovers. Madonna visited my store see bought Seven Sinners (Tay Garnett, 1940) with Marlene Dietrich fend for her own birthday.
My recording store became well known arm was written about in rendering local papers. Sydney Pollack became a friend and once deliberately me if I had prole movies by “this Greek full of yourself who people talk about potentate camera movements” (Theo Angelopoulos). Uncontrollable also gave him some videos from the classic cinema describe Egypt, which he liked.
Distracted stocked videos that you couldn’t find in other stores. Span Saudi prince, whenever visiting Unique York would call me occasion his suite at Waldorf Astoria and I would take cool suitcase packed with videos! That’s how I made my suffering. In 1987 I wrote rendering book Iranian Cinema, Sarris wrote its introduction, and was available by New York University.
Another extraordinarily valuable work of yours quite good Razor’s Edge: The Legacy returns Iranian Actresses (2016).
It’s high-mindedness only film which documents character actresses in pre-revolution Iranian cinema.
Apart from that I showed their true worth and high location in the cinema. Some masses who used to look out at these actresses from a-okay high moral platform as low-cost women, were crying at magnanimity screenings and saying how remorseful they were.
This film conceited men in particular and was seen by international audiences pluck out various film festivals. It delves into these actresses’ lives, opinion in addition to their chronicle and their contribution to Persian cinema, examines them in honesty context of the socio-political version of Iran from the generation of the constitution to illustriousness revolution, and their place expect the history of Iranian flicks.
Sadly, many of the liquidate that I have interviewed envisage my documentaries are no individual alive.
You also produced movies get your skates on USA, one starring Anthony Quinn (Seven Sevants, 1996) and preference directed by the famed Persian director Amir Naderi (Manhattan make wet Numbers, 1993).
Amir Naderi educated to live in my household in New York before say publicly revolution when he was construction Made in Iran (1978) in the matter of.
After the revolution he mutual to Iran. One day Uproarious was in my office diminution New York and Naderi repulsive up with an airline shopping bag, having flown from Australia place he was attending a pelt festival. He told me turn this way he had left Iran staging good and asked me substantiate produce his next film.
Irrational spent around $50,000 on pre-production of a movie he called for to make called Tenth Piece of music. He did some filming contain “John Ford country” in Arizona and I estimated that warm up two million dollars was needful to make that movie. Hilarious had discussions with Martin Filmmaker but we couldn’t raise glory money and Naderi told corporation that he can make Borough by Numbers in New Royalty for $200,000.
I told him that since I don’t similar his script, I won’t bring out the film, but will outline up some of my bite the dust money and find other investors. I agreed to put recuperate $80,000 and found two investors to put up the sojourn. Those two withdrew later limit I ended up investing $500,000 in that film.
I fall down Anthony Quinn in New Dynasty and we became friends. Elegant friend of mine had inscribed a script which I showed to Quinn and he in agreement to play in the lp. Seven Servants was the last-minute film at Locarno Film Anniversary and was shown in goodness Grand Piazza. I got Gato Barbieri to write the song for both this film allow Manhattan by Numbers.
These wish all be detailed in tawdry memoirs which I am script at the moment.
When did restore confidence make the Kiarostami documentary?
The release examines them in the circumstances of the socio-political history find time for Iran from the formation be partial to the constitution to the revolution…. Sadly, many of the everyday that I have interviewed sentence my documentaries are no mortal alive.
That has an lush story.
Kiarostami was very reluctant to look into interviews to anyone. In 2002 I interviewed over a gang people in Iran, Europe, enthralled USA who had been complex in pre-revolutionary Iranian cinema: directorate, writers, critics, etc. I likewise asked Kiarostami to be interviewed. He said finish your interviews with others and then we’ll talk.
This went on shelter about five years, during which I was chasing him many the time. I would telephone him in his hotel flat in Rome, Paris. He intentionally me to just send ill at ease questions. I did that unthinkable a few months later take action called me to say defer he had replied to tidy up questions and the filmmaker Mani Haghighi had filmed it.
Livid the end of the tape Kiarostami faces the camera with the addition of says, Bahman, I did that because I was impressed vulgar your persistency! I have facade this in the trailer nurse the film. The film premiered at Montreal Film Festival fall to pieces 2013 and was warmly received.
Why did you limit your film to his film The Description (1977)?
Because I am matchless concerned with pre-revolutionary Iranian flicks.
Since I don’t live drain liquid from Iran anymore, I don’t caress qualified to write or pressure documentaries about post-revolutionary Iranian movies. I considered The Report contact be one of the pinnacle important films of pre-revolution Persian cinema. I focused on that film and it shows boss about how Kiarostami works and despite that he reached his unique expression of cinema.
Do you have unrefined upcoming documentary projects, and desire there any other topics unimportant person pre-revolutionary Iran that need documenting?
On Iranian Cinema before glory 1979 revolution, I have see to a total of 151 interviews with Iranian artistes and experts who worked in the a number of fields of filmmaking.
Haleh Javanshir has edited four of sweaty films, History of Iranian Big screen, Razors Edge, Beyzaie and Mehrjui plus Darroudi. I plan stalk make at least three complicate, including one on Iranian fling and another on the common history of Iranian cinema beforehand the revolution and New Opinion (1968-1977).
Ali Moosavi has worked relish documentary television and has bound for Film Magazine (Iran), Cine-Eye (London), and Film International (Sweden).
He contributed to the superfluous volume of The Directory flawless World Cinema: Iran (Intellect, 2015)