The Song of Leonard Cohen: Portrait of a Poet, A Friendship & a Film [Paperback]

Harry Rasky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2003

In the late seventies, filmmaker Harry Rasky was on one wild trip! He soaked in a Jacuzzi at the Four Seasons with Leonard Cohen...he drank wine and talked about the meaning of life with Leonard and Irving Layton at Leonard's place in Montreal ...Harry and Leonard were mistaken for Bader-Meinhof terrorists by soldiers with machine guns while dining at a German Burger King...Harry was also part of the 1979 Field Commander Cohen tour ...but best of all, he got everything on film! From the footage of these adventures, Harry Rasky created the acclaimed 1981 documentary film "The Song of Leonard Cohen". Leonard Cohen called Harry Rasky recently to express his appreciation and admiration for the film.Inspired by that conversation, Rasky has delved into his personal archives and diaries upon which the film is based and has woven them into this moving and powerful text - "The Song of Leonard Cohen". This book also contains Harry Rasky's never before published "Bob Dylan Diaries", based on his notes and observations during the filming of a documentary project that was never completed.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Harry Rasky, a producer, director and writer, received 200+ prizes for his work, including the Venice Film Award, the Golden Eagle, several awards, an Emmy and two Oscar nominations. 1992, he was given the lifetime award of the Association of Canadian Television and Radio. Among his titles: Baryshnikov (74) The Lessons History - Will and Ariel Durant (78) Christopher Plummer: King of Players (TV-97).

Product Details

• Paperback: 185 pages
• Publisher: Mosaic Press (NY) (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889627428
• ISBN-13: 978-0889627420
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,826,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #20 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( C ) > Cohen, Leonard

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Read Leonard Cohen NOT his hangers-on!, August 17, 2001

By 

S. Ihad (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Song of Leonard Cohen: Portrait of a Poet, A Friendship & a Film (Paperback)

By far this is the worst book ever written about Leonard Cohen. To start with a good portion of the book is comprised of Leonard Cohen's poems and lyrics! The rest is badly written drivel about a man who made a fairly mediocre TV documentary about Leonard Cohen more than 20 years ago. Suffice to say that the book is nothing but a tool to vent off Mr. Rasky's anger at the world for not recognizing his 'talents' as a filmmaker. I did like the book cover but wait a minute that was taken from Leonard Cohen's last album cover as well.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars don't bother, August 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Song of Leonard Cohen: Portrait of a Poet, A Friendship & a Film (Paperback)

I love Leonard Cohen and try to read whatever is available about him. This book was so miserable, I couldn't even finish it. The person who wrote it is a whiney sycophant. This horrible drivel isn't worth the paper it's printed on. It really makes the reader hate the person who wrote it. Don't buy this, not even used for a nickel. 'Nuff said...