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Let's Get Lost (1988 film)

Let's Get Lost is a 1988 American documentary film about the turbulent life and career of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker[1] written and directed by Bruce Weber. The title is derived from the song "Let's Get Lost" by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser from the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky, which Baker recorded for Pacific Records.[2]

Let's Get Lost
Theatrical poster
Directed byBruce Weber
Written byBruce Weber
Produced byBruce Weber
StarringChet Baker
William Claxton
Russ Freeman
Carol Baker
Vera Baker
Diane Vavra
Ruth Young
CinematographyJeff Preiss
Edited byAngelo Corrao
Music byChet Baker
Production
company
Little Bear
Distributed byZeitgeist Films
Release date
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$1,000,000 (estimated)

Synopsis

A group of Baker fans, ranging from ex-associates to ex-wives and children, talk about the man. Weber's film traces the musician's career from the 1950s, playing with jazz greats like Charlie Parker, Gerry Mulligan, and Russ Freeman, to the 1980s, when his heroin addiction and domestic indifference led to a relocation to Europe. By juxtaposing these two decades, Weber presents a sharp contrast between the younger, handsome Baker — the statuesque idol who resembled a mix of James Dean and Jack Kerouac — to what he became, “a seamy looking drugstore cowboy-cum-derelict”, as J. Hoberman put it in his Village Voice review.[3]

Let's Get Lost begins near the end of Baker's life, on the beaches of Santa Monica, and ends at the Cannes Film Festival. Weber uses these moments in the present as bookends to the historic footage contained in the bulk of the film. The documentation ranges from vintage photographs by William Claxton in 1953 to appearances on The Steve Allen Show and kitschy, low budget Italian films Baker did for quick money. Musician Michael "Flea" Balzary appears briefly, discussing trumpet playing with Baker.

Development

Bruce Weber first became interested in Chet Baker when he spotted a photograph of the musician in a Pittsburgh record store on the cover of the 1955 vinyl LP Chet Baker Sings and Plays when he was 16 years old; the film's title comes from a song from the album.

Weber first met Baker in the winter of 1986 at a club in New York City[4] and convinced him to do a photo shoot and what was originally only going to be a three-minute film.[5] Weber had wanted to make a short film from an Oscar Levant song called "Blame It on My Youth". They had such a good time together that Baker started opening up to Weber. Afterwards, Weber convinced Baker to make a longer film and the musician agreed.[6] Filming began in January 1987. Interviewing Baker was a challenge as Weber remembers, "Sometimes we'd have to stop for some reason or another and then, because Chet was a junkie and couldn't do things twice, we'd have to start all over again. But we grew to really like him".[7]

"You'd decide that, when Chet finally gets up, you'll grab him and talk to him about the early days", Weber expanded to Time Out. "But then Chet gets here, and he's had a fight with his girlfriend, and he wants to record a song… So what happens is that your world becomes like a jazz suite. You have to go along with him".

In May 1987, when Weber's documentary Broken Noses premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, he brought Baker along to shoot footage for Let's Get Lost. Weber spent a million dollars of his own money on the documentary and filmed it when he had the time and the money, describing it as "a very ad hoc film".[4]

Reception

Let's Get Lost had its world premiere at the 1988 Toronto International Film Festival, four months after Chet Baker's death.

The documentary was well received by critics and currently has a 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A−" rating and said that Weber "created just about the only documentary that works like a novel, inviting you to read between the lines of Baker's personality until you touch the secret sadness at the heart of his beauty".[8] In her review for the Los Angeles Times, Carina Chocano wrote, "If there's a driving force to Weber's film, it seems to be delving into the nature and purpose of star quality and personal magnetism, which Baker had in droves but which didn't save him".[9] In his review for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson wrote that what Weber "provides us is rapturous, deeply involving, and more than a little puzzling".[10] Terrence Rafferty, in his review for The New York Times, wrote, "The enduring fascination of Let's Get Lost, the reason it remains powerful even now, when every value it represents is gone, is that it's among the few movies that deal with the mysterious, complicated emotional transactions involved in the creation of pop culture — and with the ambiguous process by which performers generate desire".[11]

A newly restored print was screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival.[12]

Awards

Let's Get Lost was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1989.[13][14][15]

It won the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Musical score and soundtrack

Let's Get Lost
 
Soundtrack album by
Released1989
RecordedJanuary–May, 1987
StudioSage & Sound Studios, Hollywood, CA and Studio Davout Paris, France
GenreFilm score
Length62:56 CD release with additional tracks
LabelRCA Novus
3054-1-N
ProducerSteve Backer
Chet Baker chronology
Cool Cat
(1986)
Let's Get Lost
(1989)
Chet Baker in Tokyo
(1987)

The film score features performances by Baker from the 1950s and 1960s along with newly recorded performances from 1987 and the soundtrack album was released on the RCA Novus label (full title Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the Film "Let's Get Lost") in 1989.[16][17]

"Baker is my favourite vocalist of the century," Björk told Q. "There were two albums – both with the same title, ridiculously – which were released with Bruce Weber's film of his life, Let's Get Lost. One was recorded when the film was being made, when he was older, and the other with all the stuff he sung when he was young, which I prefer… he's the only singer I've ever been able to identify with. I love the fact he's so expressive, so overemotional. It's classic stuff; it makes me soft in my knees… He was so into it: like, 'Fuck those notes I'm singing, and fuck those songs I'm singing – what I want is the emotion.' That's how I feel about it too."[18]

Baker's recording of "Chetty's Lullaby" with Ennio Morricone as conductor of his orchestra was also featured in the film.[19] Baker brought his 1985 recording of "So Hard To Know" from Brazil to include in the film.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [20]

Lindsay Planer of AllMusic states, "Even though time and substances have given Baker the visage of a man twice his age, those inimitable pipes and velvet tone have worn surprisingly well. The track list is quite literally replete with something old, new, borrowed, and blue ... Ironically, the title song "Let's Get Lost" isn't on this album. While the tune was in the documentary, it is the familiar 1956 version. This leads to one of the primary criticisms that can be leveled at this collection – it would have been well served by a supplementary volume of vintage Baker featured in the movie, although presumably licensing prohibited such".[20]

Track listing

  1. "Moon & Sand" (Alec Wilder, Morty Palitz, William Engvick) – 5:30
  2. "Imagination" (Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke) – 4:52
  3. "You're My Thrill" (Jay Gorney, Sidney Clare) – 4:59
  4. "For Heaven's Sake" (Sherman Edwards, Elise Bretton, Donald Meyer) – 4:51 Additional track on CD release
  5. "Every Time We Say Goodbye" (Cole Porter) – 4:48
  6. "I Don't Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You" (Victor Young, Bing Crosby, Ned Washington) – 5:03 Additional track on CD release
  7. "Day Dream" (Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, John La Touche) – 5:00
  8. "Zingaro" (Antônio Carlos Jobim) – 7:33
  9. "Blame It on My Youth" (Oscar Levant, Edward Heyman) – 6:18
  10. "My One and Only Love" (Guy Wood, Robert Mellin) – 5:30
  11. "Everything Happens to Me" (Tom Adair, Matt Dennis) – 5:19 Additional track on CD release
  12. "Almost Blue" (Elvis Costello) – 3:13

Musicians

Home media

Let's Get Lost was released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan by Nippon Columbia on November 21, 1993.

Let's Get Lost was originally going to be released on DVD in 2007 along with an expanded version of the film's soundtrack.[4] According to Weber, the DVD was to be released in December 2007 but failed to do so.[7] The DVD was released in the United Kingdom on July 28, 2008. The DVD was finally released in the United States by Docurama on December 3, 2013. A Blu-ray edition was released in Italy for Region B.

It is also available for streaming and downloading.[21][22]

Legacy

The film was spoofed on the mockumentary series Documentary Now as Long Gone.[23][24][25]

References

  1. ^ THREE SIDES OF JEFF PREISS on Vimeo
  2. ^ Frank Loesser website 2011-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Hoberman, J (April 25, 1989). "Self-Destructive Beauties". The Village Voice.
  4. ^ a b c Adams, James (September 9, 2006). "Through a Legend, Darkly". The Globe and Mail.
  5. ^ Kreigmann, Jame (December 1988). "Requiem for a Horn Player". Esquire. p. 231.
  6. ^ James, Nick (June 2008). . Sight & Sound. Archived from the original on 2008-05-25. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  7. ^ a b Lewis, Anne S (April 27, 2007). "Chet Baker in Black and White, but Still Blurry". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-04-29.
  8. ^ Gleiberman, Owen (June 13, 2007). "Let's Get Lost". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  9. ^ Chocano, Carina (January 11, 2008). . Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  10. ^ Hinson, Hal (June 2, 1989). "Let's Get Lost". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  11. ^ Rafferty, Terrence (June 3, 2007). "A Jazzman So Cool You Want Him Frozen at His Peak". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-11-17.
  12. ^ . indieWIRE. May 7, 2008. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
  13. ^ . Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Baseline & All Movie Guide. 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  14. ^ Documentary Winners: 1989 Oscars
  15. ^ 1989|Oscars.org
  16. ^ Chet Baker catalog accessed March 23, 2017
  17. ^ Enciclopedia del Jazz: Chet Baker accessed May 22, 2017
  18. ^ Aston, Martin (October 1993). "Björk Guðmundsdóttir's Record Collection". Q.
  19. ^ Chetty's Lullaby by Chet Baker - Topic on YouTube
  20. ^ a b Planer, Lindsay. Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the Film "Let's Get Lost" – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  21. ^ Amazon.com
  22. ^ iTunes
  23. ^ Natasha Lyonne Falls in Love in This Hilarious Documentary Now! Sneak Peek|TV Guide
  24. ^ Doc Now Later: Long Gone | Documentary Now!-IFC on YouTube
  25. ^ THREE SIDES OF JEFF PREISS – Spectacle Theater

External links

lost, 1988, film, lost, 1988, american, documentary, film, about, turbulent, life, career, jazz, trumpeter, chet, baker, written, directed, bruce, weber, title, derived, from, song, lost, jimmy, mchugh, frank, loesser, from, 1943, film, happy, lucky, which, ba. Let s Get Lost is a 1988 American documentary film about the turbulent life and career of jazz trumpeter Chet Baker 1 written and directed by Bruce Weber The title is derived from the song Let s Get Lost by Jimmy McHugh and Frank Loesser from the 1943 film Happy Go Lucky which Baker recorded for Pacific Records 2 Let s Get LostTheatrical posterDirected byBruce WeberWritten byBruce WeberProduced byBruce WeberStarringChet BakerWilliam ClaxtonRuss FreemanCarol BakerVera BakerDiane VavraRuth YoungCinematographyJeff PreissEdited byAngelo CorraoMusic byChet BakerProductioncompanyLittle BearDistributed byZeitgeist FilmsRelease dateSeptember 15 1988 1988 09 15 Toronto International Film Festival Running time120 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishBudget 1 000 000 estimated Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Development 3 Reception 3 1 Awards 4 Musical score and soundtrack 4 1 Reception 4 2 Track listing 4 3 Musicians 5 Home media 6 Legacy 7 References 8 External linksSynopsis EditA group of Baker fans ranging from ex associates to ex wives and children talk about the man Weber s film traces the musician s career from the 1950s playing with jazz greats like Charlie Parker Gerry Mulligan and Russ Freeman to the 1980s when his heroin addiction and domestic indifference led to a relocation to Europe By juxtaposing these two decades Weber presents a sharp contrast between the younger handsome Baker the statuesque idol who resembled a mix of James Dean and Jack Kerouac to what he became a seamy looking drugstore cowboy cum derelict as J Hoberman put it in his Village Voice review 3 Let s Get Lost begins near the end of Baker s life on the beaches of Santa Monica and ends at the Cannes Film Festival Weber uses these moments in the present as bookends to the historic footage contained in the bulk of the film The documentation ranges from vintage photographs by William Claxton in 1953 to appearances on The Steve Allen Show and kitschy low budget Italian films Baker did for quick money Musician Michael Flea Balzary appears briefly discussing trumpet playing with Baker Development EditBruce Weber first became interested in Chet Baker when he spotted a photograph of the musician in a Pittsburgh record store on the cover of the 1955 vinyl LP Chet Baker Sings and Plays when he was 16 years old the film s title comes from a song from the album Weber first met Baker in the winter of 1986 at a club in New York City 4 and convinced him to do a photo shoot and what was originally only going to be a three minute film 5 Weber had wanted to make a short film from an Oscar Levant song called Blame It on My Youth They had such a good time together that Baker started opening up to Weber Afterwards Weber convinced Baker to make a longer film and the musician agreed 6 Filming began in January 1987 Interviewing Baker was a challenge as Weber remembers Sometimes we d have to stop for some reason or another and then because Chet was a junkie and couldn t do things twice we d have to start all over again But we grew to really like him 7 You d decide that when Chet finally gets up you ll grab him and talk to him about the early days Weber expanded to Time Out But then Chet gets here and he s had a fight with his girlfriend and he wants to record a song So what happens is that your world becomes like a jazz suite You have to go along with him In May 1987 when Weber s documentary Broken Noses premiered at the Cannes Film Festival he brought Baker along to shoot footage for Let s Get Lost Weber spent a million dollars of his own money on the documentary and filmed it when he had the time and the money describing it as a very ad hoc film 4 Reception EditLet s Get Lost had its world premiere at the 1988 Toronto International Film Festival four months after Chet Baker s death The documentary was well received by critics and currently has a 93 rating on Rotten Tomatoes Entertainment Weekly gave the film an A rating and said that Weber created just about the only documentary that works like a novel inviting you to read between the lines of Baker s personality until you touch the secret sadness at the heart of his beauty 8 In her review for the Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano wrote If there s a driving force to Weber s film it seems to be delving into the nature and purpose of star quality and personal magnetism which Baker had in droves but which didn t save him 9 In his review for The Washington Post Hal Hinson wrote that what Weber provides us is rapturous deeply involving and more than a little puzzling 10 Terrence Rafferty in his review for The New York Times wrote The enduring fascination of Let s Get Lost the reason it remains powerful even now when every value it represents is gone is that it s among the few movies that deal with the mysterious complicated emotional transactions involved in the creation of pop culture and with the ambiguous process by which performers generate desire 11 A newly restored print was screened at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival 12 Awards Edit Let s Get Lost was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1989 13 14 15 It won the Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival Musical score and soundtrack EditLet s Get Lost Soundtrack album by Chet BakerReleased1989RecordedJanuary May 1987StudioSage amp Sound Studios Hollywood CA and Studio Davout Paris FranceGenreFilm scoreLength62 56 CD release with additional tracksLabelRCA Novus3054 1 NProducerSteve BackerChet Baker chronologyCool Cat 1986 Let s Get Lost 1989 Chet Baker in Tokyo 1987 The film score features performances by Baker from the 1950s and 1960s along with newly recorded performances from 1987 and the soundtrack album was released on the RCA Novus label full title Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the Film Let s Get Lost in 1989 16 17 Baker is my favourite vocalist of the century Bjork told Q There were two albums both with the same title ridiculously which were released with Bruce Weber s film of his life Let s Get Lost One was recorded when the film was being made when he was older and the other with all the stuff he sung when he was young which I prefer he s the only singer I ve ever been able to identify with I love the fact he s so expressive so overemotional It s classic stuff it makes me soft in my knees He was so into it like Fuck those notes I m singing and fuck those songs I m singing what I want is the emotion That s how I feel about it too 18 Baker s recording of Chetty s Lullaby with Ennio Morricone as conductor of his orchestra was also featured in the film 19 Baker brought his 1985 recording of So Hard To Know from Brazil to include in the film Reception Edit Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 20 Lindsay Planer of AllMusic states Even though time and substances have given Baker the visage of a man twice his age those inimitable pipes and velvet tone have worn surprisingly well The track list is quite literally replete with something old new borrowed and blue Ironically the title song Let s Get Lost isn t on this album While the tune was in the documentary it is the familiar 1956 version This leads to one of the primary criticisms that can be leveled at this collection it would have been well served by a supplementary volume of vintage Baker featured in the movie although presumably licensing prohibited such 20 Track listing Edit Moon amp Sand Alec Wilder Morty Palitz William Engvick 5 30 Imagination Jimmy Van Heusen Johnny Burke 4 52 You re My Thrill Jay Gorney Sidney Clare 4 59 For Heaven s Sake Sherman Edwards Elise Bretton Donald Meyer 4 51 Additional track on CD release Every Time We Say Goodbye Cole Porter 4 48 I Don t Stand a Ghost of a Chance with You Victor Young Bing Crosby Ned Washington 5 03 Additional track on CD release Day Dream Billy Strayhorn Duke Ellington John La Touche 5 00 Zingaro Antonio Carlos Jobim 7 33 Blame It on My Youth Oscar Levant Edward Heyman 6 18 My One and Only Love Guy Wood Robert Mellin 5 30 Everything Happens to Me Tom Adair Matt Dennis 5 19 Additional track on CD release Almost Blue Elvis Costello 3 13Musicians Edit Chet Baker trumpet vocals Frank Strazzeri piano John Leftwich bass Ralph Penland drums tracks 1 3 6 Nicola Stilo guitar track 8 Home media EditLet s Get Lost was released on VHS and Laserdisc in Japan by Nippon Columbia on November 21 1993 Let s Get Lost was originally going to be released on DVD in 2007 along with an expanded version of the film s soundtrack 4 According to Weber the DVD was to be released in December 2007 but failed to do so 7 The DVD was released in the United Kingdom on July 28 2008 The DVD was finally released in the United States by Docurama on December 3 2013 A Blu ray edition was released in Italy for Region B It is also available for streaming and downloading 21 22 Legacy EditThe film was spoofed on the mockumentary series Documentary Now as Long Gone 23 24 25 References Edit THREE SIDES OF JEFF PREISS on Vimeo Frank Loesser website Archived 2011 09 28 at the Wayback Machine Hoberman J April 25 1989 Self Destructive Beauties The Village Voice a b c Adams James September 9 2006 Through a Legend Darkly The Globe and Mail Kreigmann Jame December 1988 Requiem for a Horn Player Esquire p 231 James Nick June 2008 Return Of The Cool Sight amp Sound Archived from the original on 2008 05 25 Retrieved 2008 05 20 a b Lewis Anne S April 27 2007 Chet Baker in Black and White but Still Blurry The Austin Chronicle Retrieved 2007 04 29 Gleiberman Owen June 13 2007 Let s Get Lost Entertainment Weekly Retrieved 2008 02 20 Chocano Carina January 11 2008 Lost traces jazz legend s shocking descent Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on January 20 2008 Retrieved 2008 02 20 Hinson Hal June 2 1989 Let s Get Lost Washington Post Retrieved 2008 02 20 Rafferty Terrence June 3 2007 A Jazzman So Cool You Want Him Frozen at His Peak The New York Times Retrieved 2008 11 17 Cannes Classics Set For Fifth Year indieWIRE May 7 2008 Archived from the original on March 13 2008 Retrieved 2008 05 08 NY Times Let s Get Lost Movies amp TV Dept The New York Times Baseline amp All Movie Guide 2008 Archived from the original on 2008 10 17 Retrieved 2008 11 18 Documentary Winners 1989 Oscars 1989 Oscars org Chet Baker catalog accessed March 23 2017 Enciclopedia del Jazz Chet Baker accessed May 22 2017 Aston Martin October 1993 Bjork Gudmundsdottir s Record Collection Q Chetty s Lullaby by Chet Baker Topic on YouTube a b Planer Lindsay Chet Baker Sings and Plays from the Film Let s Get Lost Review at AllMusic Retrieved May 24 2017 Amazon com iTunes Natasha Lyonne Falls in Love in This Hilarious Documentary Now Sneak Peek TV Guide Doc Now Later Long Gone Documentary Now IFC on YouTube THREE SIDES OF JEFF PREISS Spectacle TheaterExternal links EditLet s Get Lost at IMDb Let s Get Lost at AllMovie Let s Get Lost at Rotten Tomatoes Let s Get Lost is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive Weber s tribute to Baker Let s Get Lost on Tubi Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Let 27s Get Lost 1988 film amp oldid 1120279212, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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