Crazy Horse

The “Direct Cinema” documentaries of filmmaking legend Frederick Wiseman (Titicut Follies) are renowned for probing deeply into various social and political institutions: the courts, a mental hospital, a high school, the military, a monastery, and so on. The surprising subject of his latest is the Crazy Horse cabaret, the flashy Parisian fleshpot celebrated for its elaborate erotic revues. The Crazy Horse, opened in 1951, bills itself as “the most famous nude show in the world”; it is said to be one of Paris’s top tourist attractions. Wiseman — shooting on HD video after decades working primarily on 16mm film — spent 11 weeks at the nightclub, capturing its choreographer, Philippe Decouflé, hard at work on a new show (the Crazy Horse prides itself on the quality of its dance and production design), and rendering a dazzling, deluxe portrait of a unique and eccentric Paris institution. “Wonderful ... The most entertaining film of Wiseman’s 40-plus-year career ... The eye-popping numbers at the Crazy Horse are drop-dead cinematic, at times approaching kaleidoscopic pop art. Wiseman wisely lets scenes play out in long takes and the viewer’s astonishment sinks in ... It’s a hell of a lot of fun” (Vancouver I.F.F.). Colour, HDCAM, in English and French with English subtitles. 134 mins.