German photographer Thomas Hoepke, reveals the story behind one of the…
Contact, Ep. 7 - Yakuza by Bruce Gilden
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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Members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia, are revealed in a series of irreverent photographs taken by Bruce Gilden.
Series Description
Contact sheets are the first overview for the photographer of what he has captured on film. They give a unique and intimate view of the style, methods and thoughts of the artist.
Cartier-Bresson himself, founder of the Magnum Photo agency, was strongly opposing the disclosure of his contact sheets and yet the choice of that picture is the point of contact between the photographer's life, thoughts, philosophy and the subject he portrays.
Two very different stories that—due to decision or unexpected coincidences—bring to life a snapshot or a posed photo, which turns into an historical icon.
Photographers and subjects:
Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hoepker
The Beatles by David Hurn
Tiananmen Square by Stuart Franklin
Margaret Thatcher by Peter Marlow
Iranian Revolution by Abbas Attar
9/11 by Steve McCurry
Yakuza by Bruce Gilden
Kitchen Debate by Elliot Erwitt
Miles Davis by Guy Le Querrec
Citation
Main credits
Attorre, Gianluigi (film director)
Attorre, Gianluigi (film producer)
Paloschi, Mario (film director)
Paloschi, Mario (film producer)
Gilden, Bruce (on-screen participant)
La Penna, Leslie (narrator)
Other credits
Cinematography, Giuseppe Malpasso, Pierluigi Siena, Matteo Minasi; editing, Micaela Castro, Daniele Costantino.
Distributor subjects
Photography; Visual Arts; History; Crime and Criminials; Asia; JapanKeywords
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(acoustic guitar strumming)
00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:36.400
(urban percussive
rhythmic music)
00:00:48.160 --> 00:00:48.999
- When I was five years old,
00:00:53.320 --> 00:00:55.160
I wanted to be a boxer,
00:00:55.320 --> 00:00:56.640
I wanted to play the drums
00:00:56.800 --> 00:00:58.000
and I wanted a monkey.
00:00:58.160 --> 00:00:59.440
So that should tell
you about me, okay?
00:00:59.600 --> 00:01:01.000
And wrestlers, when I look
at a wrestling magazine,
00:01:01.160 --> 00:01:03.200
I always like the most
extreme-looking wrestler.
00:01:03.360 --> 00:01:05.640
So, to me, (coughs)
00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:07.760
I'm not interested in
the average person.
00:01:07.920 --> 00:01:09.640
My father was a gangster type.
00:01:09.800 --> 00:01:11.160
My mother was another case.
00:01:11.320 --> 00:01:13.360
So, I mean, I've
always been surrounded
00:01:13.520 --> 00:01:15.080
by people that aren't the norm.
00:01:15.240 --> 00:01:16.999
(whooshing)
00:01:18.200 --> 00:01:20.160
To me,
00:01:23.320 --> 00:01:24.520
I find the people who I
photograph interesting.
00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.600
I find them sort
of like my friends.
00:01:27.760 --> 00:01:30.040
I find them beautiful.
00:01:30.200 --> 00:01:31.720
(intercom voice mumbles)
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- I'm Bruce Gilden.
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(gentle piano and rock music)
00:01:56.999 --> 00:01:57.640
(bass piano melody)
00:02:02.040 --> 00:02:03.920
(rustling)
00:02:07.360 --> 00:02:08.920
- [Voiceover] The
street as a vocation,
00:02:12.520 --> 00:02:13.760
as a moment of discovery,
00:02:13.920 --> 00:02:15.120
as an impact with reality
00:02:15.280 --> 00:02:16.720
and with the world
in continuous flux.
00:02:17.240 --> 00:02:18.999
Bruce Gilden, a
kid from Brooklyn,
00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.360
raised among
stories of gangsters
00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:26.280
and life in the outskirts,
00:02:26.440 --> 00:02:27.800
is the photographer who
seizes infinite combinations,
00:02:27.960 --> 00:02:30.000
both human and social.
00:02:30.160 --> 00:02:31.999
Individuals to
follow, to intersect
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and to enthrall with his flash,
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stealing their souls.
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In each photo emerges the
pretension to exceed appearances
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and bear the authenticity of
the lives that meet his gaze.
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- Well I have a, usually,
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well for my candid shots,
00:02:56.160 --> 00:02:57.400
it's always been a
Leica, since 1977.
00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:00.480
Film camera.
00:03:00.640 --> 00:03:01.760
And I have a flash on the cord
00:03:01.920 --> 00:03:03.360
in my left hand.
(inquisitive strumming)
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So, and then,
00:03:06.280 --> 00:03:07.720
I was a good athlete,
00:03:07.880 --> 00:03:08.840
so as you get
older, it's harder.
00:03:08.999 --> 00:03:10.880
You have to learn, you
have to be sensitive
00:03:10.999 --> 00:03:12.840
to the people
you're photographing
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because you're
gonna have to know
00:03:14.520 --> 00:03:15.999
what move they're gonna do next.
00:03:17.480 --> 00:03:18.520
Sometimes I'm most
like a border collie
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with the cows.
00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:27.600
You know, you herd the cows.
00:03:27.760 --> 00:03:29.520
So, sometimes I
try to make people,
00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.640
without touching them,
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walk in a certain way,
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so I know where
they're gonna be,
00:03:35.999 --> 00:03:36.999
so I can go get their picture.
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And the closer you are,
00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.120
I think the more emotional
pictures have a tendency to be.
00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:45.960
And I'm not talking
about the situation
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of a starving child crying
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or something like that.
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That's not a very good picture.
00:03:51.440 --> 00:03:52.760
I mean, it may break your heart,
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but it's a little
bit of a cliche.
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So, I don't love cliches.
00:03:57.560 --> 00:03:59.160
(solemn abstract music)
00:04:01.200 --> 00:04:06.000
- [Voiceover] A magnum
photographer since 1998,
00:04:06.160 --> 00:04:09.000
Bruce Gilden knows
how to cast a glance
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into hidden environments,
00:04:10.999 --> 00:04:12.640
into the underground
that he knows so well.
00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:14.999
His photo features of
the Yakuza done in Japan
00:04:18.840 --> 00:04:20.975
show a dark side of
the Eastern Mafia,
00:04:20.999 --> 00:04:23.440
with its essence, it's laws
00:04:23.600 --> 00:04:24.960
and its implications.
00:04:24.999 --> 00:04:26.920
But above all, they
underscore his ability
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to record the social
nuances of organized crime
00:04:28.999 --> 00:04:31.080
with his camera as none
other has been able to.
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- I grew up with that.
00:04:36.440 --> 00:04:37.320
I mean, my father used to wear
00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:38.975
hats, thick gray hair,
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pinky rings, you know,
00:04:42.080 --> 00:04:43.920
a big cigar.
00:04:43.999 --> 00:04:45.120
I mean, come on!
00:04:46.200 --> 00:04:47.000
Where did I get it?
00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:47.960
I got it from there.
00:04:47.999 --> 00:04:49.200
And I've always been
fascinated by that.
00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:52.999
I mean when I was a child,
00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:54.040
my father was everything to me.
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I idolized him.
00:04:55.999 --> 00:04:57.040
He was George Washington.
00:04:57.200 --> 00:04:58.480
He was the firemen.
00:04:58.640 --> 00:04:59.440
He was everything.
00:04:59.600 --> 00:05:00.800
So,
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I guess it must have
come from there.
00:05:04.080 --> 00:05:06.999
(thrilling music)
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I'm not good at
finding the people.
00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.320
I'm good once I'm in.
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They like me and I like them.
00:05:12.999 --> 00:05:14.120
I don't ask too many questions,
00:05:14.280 --> 00:05:15.480
but I also stand up for myself.
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And I plan to do a book on that.
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Mafia
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or Bad Tough Guys
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would be the title.
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I know how far to push it.
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And I don't inquire,
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I don't wanna be around
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and I don't wanna know.
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I'm not curious that way.
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(urban country-rock
music twangs)
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♪ Everybody knows me ♪
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- [Voiceover] The street
is not only the place
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where he grew up.
00:05:47.999 --> 00:05:49.200
It is also the school
where he learned his craft.
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The street offers
him his subjects,
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never commonplace types.
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♪ She's walked across the city ♪
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(digital beeping glissandos)
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- [Voiceover] Distinctive
trades stand out
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on each of his photos
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in faces, habits and gestures,
00:06:04.800 --> 00:06:06.720
an extremely up-close
glimpse which captures
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the essence of urban life.
00:06:12.120 --> 00:06:13.080
But Gilden's
pictures also narrate
00:06:17.280 --> 00:06:18.999
rare, impenetrable stories
00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:20.999
often ignored by many.
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Each individual image has its
story in its completeness.
00:06:29.640 --> 00:06:30.600
- I guess the
street was my home.
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I think we had a
second-story apartment
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until I was eight
in Williamsburg.
00:06:39.520 --> 00:06:42.080
And I used to look out the
window at the street life below.
00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.720
Life was lived on the street.
(inquisitive string music)
00:06:45.880 --> 00:06:46.975
People would sit out in
front of their house,
00:06:46.999 --> 00:06:48.480
their apartment building.
00:06:48.640 --> 00:06:49.999
So the street was really
where I wanted to be.
00:06:50.080 --> 00:06:52.999
I don't think I had the typical
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entree into photography
that most people have.
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And I'm very streetwise.
00:07:00.080 --> 00:07:03.680
My life is the street.
00:07:03.840 --> 00:07:05.800
What happened was
00:07:06.920 --> 00:07:08.040
when I was 18 and the
Antonioni movie came out,
00:07:08.200 --> 00:07:11.040
Blow Up,
00:07:11.200 --> 00:07:12.360
I thought the movie
was quite mediocre.
00:07:12.520 --> 00:07:15.040
I'm not a big Antonioni fan.
(soft cello music)
00:07:15.200 --> 00:07:17.040
What happened though was
00:07:17.200 --> 00:07:18.520
photography was trendy then.
00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:21.400
It was everywhere.
00:07:21.560 --> 00:07:22.720
People started to take
photographic classes.
00:07:22.880 --> 00:07:24.520
It made it in the eye
of the public, okay?
00:07:24.680 --> 00:07:28.560
And that's what struck me.
00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.040
I have certain
thoughts about life.
00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:32.640
I have certain
thoughts about society.
00:07:32.800 --> 00:07:34.200
Society isn't perfect.
00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:35.999
People are starving.
00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.080
Rich people are getting richer.
00:07:37.240 --> 00:07:38.160
The poor are getting poorer.
00:07:38.320 --> 00:07:39.880
People are selfish.
00:07:40.999 --> 00:07:43.240
I mean, there's all different
categories of selfishness.
00:07:43.400 --> 00:07:45.960
I wouldn't use
the word critical,
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and I wouldn't use
the word sarcastic.
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I mean, you can find a lot of
humor in my photographs also.
00:07:50.999 --> 00:07:53.999
And they're well-formed
and they're elegant.
00:07:54.080 --> 00:07:56.200
And somebody had a good
statement to me once.
00:07:56.360 --> 00:07:59.520
They said, (laughs) they said
00:07:59.680 --> 00:08:01.975
that when I photograph fashion,
00:08:01.999 --> 00:08:03.640
I make the girls more beautiful,
00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:05.440
and on the street, I
make make the people,
00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.320
you know, less...
00:08:07.480 --> 00:08:09.120
beautiful, okay?
00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:11.440
But that's not my intent.
00:08:11.600 --> 00:08:13.000
My intent is to
photograph things
00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:16.120
that, if they're not
placed in front of you,
00:08:16.280 --> 00:08:18.999
you wouldn't see.
00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.560
(bluesy strumming)
00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:24.680
- [Voiceover] The recognizable
features of the Mafia
00:08:25.840 --> 00:08:27.520
are extremely evident in
Bruce Gilden's photos,
00:08:27.680 --> 00:08:30.280
as are the subjects
portrayed by the photographer
00:08:30.440 --> 00:08:33.320
belonging to the Yakuza world.
00:08:33.999 --> 00:08:35.720
But it's certainly not
the pinstriped suits,
00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.240
sunglasses and jewelry
making them stand out.
00:08:40.400 --> 00:08:42.999
The real uniform of the Yakuza,
00:08:43.999 --> 00:08:45.999
the Honorable Society
of the Rising Sun,
00:08:46.040 --> 00:08:48.040
is the skin.
00:08:48.200 --> 00:08:49.440
An inestimable turnover.
00:08:51.800 --> 00:08:53.320
The fruit of drug
trafficking, prostitution,
00:08:53.480 --> 00:08:55.080
gambling, and construction,
which extends its frontiers
00:08:55.240 --> 00:08:57.960
all the way to
the United States.
00:08:57.999 --> 00:08:59.999
- The Yakuza is
the Japanese mafia.
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:03.760
And they have
00:09:03.920 --> 00:09:05.040
a thing where if you
do something wrong,
00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:09.760
they start to cut off the
joints of your fingers.
00:09:09.920 --> 00:09:11.999
Like one by one.
00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:13.080
You have one like
there, one like there,
00:09:13.240 --> 00:09:14.240
one like there,
and one like there.
00:09:14.400 --> 00:09:15.999
So, that really draws blood.
00:09:16.120 --> 00:09:18.880
You have all these tattoos
(intense music)
00:09:18.999 --> 00:09:20.560
that are symbolic
of different things.
00:09:20.720 --> 00:09:22.120
I don't know what
each one means.
00:09:22.280 --> 00:09:24.120
But I did photograph them.
00:09:24.280 --> 00:09:25.600
What I liked about them is
00:09:27.440 --> 00:09:28.440
how they look like
00:09:29.800 --> 00:09:31.120
they're influenced by
old gangster movies
00:09:32.400 --> 00:09:34.840
in their garish dress
00:09:34.999 --> 00:09:36.760
and how they look.
00:09:36.920 --> 00:09:37.960
'Cause a lot of
them are big guys.
00:09:37.999 --> 00:09:39.680
And they look like
they're Yakuza.
00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:41.680
But I'm sure that there's
plenty Yakuza top-level that
00:09:41.840 --> 00:09:44.240
run the biggest
businesses in Japan
00:09:44.400 --> 00:09:47.600
and they look like
00:09:47.760 --> 00:09:49.999
average people.
00:09:50.080 --> 00:09:51.840
So, I mean, that's the myth.
00:09:51.999 --> 00:09:53.840
But there are people
that do look like that.
00:09:53.999 --> 00:09:56.480
Me, it's all about visuals.
00:09:57.999 --> 00:09:59.280
I don't care, for
example, if you're
00:10:02.160 --> 00:10:05.040
the biggest Mafia,
the biggest anything.
00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.400
If I'm not interested
in photographing you,
00:10:08.560 --> 00:10:12.160
doesn't matter to me.
00:10:12.320 --> 00:10:13.400
I'm not gonna photograph you.
00:10:13.560 --> 00:10:14.880
There's a couple of
people, out of X amount,
00:10:14.999 --> 00:10:17.320
that I will photograph
00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:18.520
because they're
interesting visually.
00:10:18.680 --> 00:10:20.360
And my statement comes
from those people.
00:10:20.520 --> 00:10:23.560
(guitar strumming)
00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:25.000
(electronic skipping)
00:10:25.160 --> 00:10:25.999
(percussive rhythmic music)
00:10:26.040 --> 00:10:28.680
- [Voiceover] Bruce Gilden's
reportage on the Yakuza
00:10:28.840 --> 00:10:30.720
is certainly one of his
pieces of greatest impact.
00:10:30.999 --> 00:10:33.480
The photographer establishes
himself in that world
00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.200
by obtaining the
necessary trust.
00:10:38.360 --> 00:10:40.680
Stealing, but at the same time,
00:10:40.840 --> 00:10:42.200
showing himself to be
a conscious witness
00:10:42.360 --> 00:10:44.720
to attitudes,
habits and rituals,
00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:47.560
an original portrait
of rare incisiveness,
00:10:50.160 --> 00:10:52.000
which remains among the
few visible documents
00:10:52.160 --> 00:10:54.040
of a world in
continuous expansion.
00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:56.760
- You stand by your family.
(soft pensive music)
00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:01.240
You have to.
00:11:01.400 --> 00:11:02.720
There's a hierarchy.
00:11:02.880 --> 00:11:03.999
For example, in the
picture that you selected,
00:11:04.120 --> 00:11:06.999
those two guys work in Ginza.
00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.640
The guy lighting the cigarette
00:11:11.760 --> 00:11:13.240
is an underling
of the other guy.
00:11:13.400 --> 00:11:14.999
So that's why he
lights the cigarette.
00:11:15.120 --> 00:11:17.240
There's an order.
00:11:17.400 --> 00:11:19.240
You respect the ones
that are above you.
00:11:19.400 --> 00:11:22.560
And I don't know how high
they are on the ladder,
00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.080
but neither one of them
is low, I would say.
00:11:26.240 --> 00:11:28.640
Because they're in a good area.
00:11:28.800 --> 00:11:30.600
So that means they're
controlling some
monied interests.
00:11:30.760 --> 00:11:33.999
They dress very well.
00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:36.880
Expensive suits.
00:11:36.999 --> 00:11:38.440
And they look like they're
big boys, you know?
00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:40.800
The guy who was having
his cigarette lit,
00:11:40.960 --> 00:11:43.760
if I remember, it's
been many years,
00:11:45.280 --> 00:11:46.999
I'd say he's about 5'7", 5'8".
00:11:47.040 --> 00:11:49.000
A ex-boxer.
00:11:49.160 --> 00:11:50.400
And he's 5'7", 5'8", wide.
00:11:50.560 --> 00:11:53.080
He's imposing, I would say.
00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.999
And I'd say both of the
figures are imposing.
00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:59.800
And to be imposing,
00:11:59.960 --> 00:12:02.520
you don't have to be always
the biggest guy on the block.
00:12:02.680 --> 00:12:05.760
It's how you carry yourself.
00:12:05.920 --> 00:12:07.520
I had met a guy who was
00:12:08.880 --> 00:12:10.560
the partner of the guy who
was getting his cigarette lit.
00:12:12.040 --> 00:12:16.080
And he introduced me
to a couple of Yakuza.
00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:22.040
They took me, 'cause I had,
00:12:23.160 --> 00:12:24.920
I think I had taken
him to dinner.
00:12:24.999 --> 00:12:27.240
So he took me to dinner.
00:12:27.400 --> 00:12:30.320
And then he said,
00:12:30.480 --> 00:12:32.120
"Well, let's meet a couple of
my friends in a coffee shop."
00:12:32.280 --> 00:12:34.360
That was taken in a
coffee shop in Ginza.
00:12:34.520 --> 00:12:36.999
So, the guy lit the
cigarette (coughs)
00:12:37.040 --> 00:12:39.880
and I took a picture
with the flash.
00:12:39.999 --> 00:12:41.200
And I said, "Can you hold it?"
00:12:41.360 --> 00:12:43.800
So I took about five
or six pictures,
00:12:43.960 --> 00:12:46.160
and one of them
was that picture.
00:12:48.999 --> 00:12:49.840
(acoustic guitar strumming)
00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.975
Welcome to Coney Island!
00:12:58.999 --> 00:13:00.280
- [Man] Welcome, yeah.
00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:01.640
- There's nobody here.
00:13:01.800 --> 00:13:02.640
This is like the winter!
00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:04.040
Today's a terrible day.
00:13:07.160 --> 00:13:08.360
It's not like a summer day.
00:13:08.520 --> 00:13:09.880
It's more like
the winter almost.
00:13:09.999 --> 00:13:12.240
Though there are more people.
00:13:12.400 --> 00:13:14.120
Normally, in the
40s and the 50s,
00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:16.360
30s, 20s, this was packed!
00:13:17.760 --> 00:13:19.680
When WeeGee was here,
00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:20.680
Lisette Model,
00:13:20.840 --> 00:13:21.960
on the beach you
couldn't get a spot!
00:13:26.240 --> 00:13:27.720
At the turn of the century, a
lot of rich people came here.
00:13:31.400 --> 00:13:33.560
Then it became people,
00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:34.920
the most recent immigrants
would come here.
00:13:36.440 --> 00:13:38.240
And you didn't have
air conditioning,
00:13:38.400 --> 00:13:39.440
so they came here
because of the fact that
00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:40.999
it was cool by the beach.
00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:42.920
You'd go swimming.
00:13:42.999 --> 00:13:43.840
I mean, you'd have a day out.
00:13:43.999 --> 00:13:45.440
Now,
00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:46.640
what I like is,
00:13:46.800 --> 00:13:47.960
well, my wife will
kill me for saying it,
00:13:47.999 --> 00:13:50.120
but you can always tell
00:13:50.280 --> 00:13:51.320
who are the most
recent immigrants
00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:52.999
because they all come to
Coney Island. (laughs)
00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:55.200
I remember one of the
first times I was here.
00:13:58.520 --> 00:14:01.320
I was 24.
00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:02.999
A black guy grabbed
my wrist, like this.
00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.040
He went like that.
00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:09.000
He said, "Give me your camera."
00:14:09.160 --> 00:14:11.800
And I said, "You must be
fucking kidding." (chuckles)
00:14:11.960 --> 00:14:13.975
I said, "Take a fucking
walk," you know?
00:14:13.999 --> 00:14:16.360
That was it, but, you know,
00:14:16.520 --> 00:14:17.560
you had that kind of characters.
00:14:17.720 --> 00:14:19.920
Well, I'm pretty fearless,
00:14:19.999 --> 00:14:21.680
well, not stupid, but
00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:23.720
I know where I
feel secure or not.
00:14:32.560 --> 00:14:33.999
If they play "Coney
Island Baby," that
would really be good.
00:14:37.720 --> 00:14:41.080
That's one of my
favorite Doo-Wop songs!
00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:43.800
(doo wop crooning)
00:14:43.960 --> 00:14:47.999
Are you taping any of this?
- [Voiceover] Yeah.
00:14:48.040 --> 00:14:49.999
♪ So young ♪
00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:55.960
(hip hop rhythm and jazzy music)
00:15:03.520 --> 00:15:03.999
I'm basically,
00:15:08.680 --> 00:15:09.920
people might find
this hard to believe,
00:15:09.999 --> 00:15:11.760
but I'm basically
a shy person, okay?
00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:14.080
I didn't really like
to talk to people.
00:15:15.760 --> 00:15:17.999
I don't know if I had
a lot of confidence,
00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:19.840
except in sports, at that time.
00:15:19.999 --> 00:15:21.680
So I wanted to pick a place,
00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.280
Coney Island,
00:15:24.440 --> 00:15:25.320
'cause I lived in New York.
00:15:25.480 --> 00:15:26.840
And I'd only been to Coney
Island twice in my life before,
00:15:27.600 --> 00:15:29.680
so it wasn't like,
00:15:29.840 --> 00:15:31.000
even though I grew up there,
I'd never have gone there.
00:15:31.760 --> 00:15:32.840
I wanted to pick a
place that's near,
00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:38.320
where there are a lot
of interesting people.
00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:39.920
And, of course, 1967 was
different than 1945 or 50.
00:15:39.999 --> 00:15:44.000
But it was a place
where you could go.
00:15:44.160 --> 00:15:46.280
People are, there,
generally a little looser.
00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.999
So, I just went to Coney Island.
00:15:49.120 --> 00:15:50.960
And I continued.
00:15:50.999 --> 00:15:52.520
I liked it.
00:15:52.680 --> 00:15:53.920
But I work so close,
00:15:57.280 --> 00:15:59.240
that people don't realize
sometimes I take their picture.
00:15:59.400 --> 00:16:02.480
They look behind them,
00:16:02.640 --> 00:16:03.320
like, "That wasn't me."
00:16:03.480 --> 00:16:05.040
But for me, I wanna try to
get the guts out of somebody.
00:16:05.200 --> 00:16:08.400
I want their soul.
00:16:08.560 --> 00:16:10.320
And when I'm that close,
it has more energy.
00:16:10.480 --> 00:16:14.400
And it's funny.
00:16:14.560 --> 00:16:15.440
I don't crop my pictures.
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:17.320
And, sometimes, it would be
wiser if I backed up a little.
00:16:17.480 --> 00:16:20.999
But I don't feel I have the
right thrust if I back up.
00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:24.120
You don't have
that in your face.
00:16:24.280 --> 00:16:26.240
So, to me, that's
very important.
00:16:26.400 --> 00:16:28.120
It's also very important
that I'm a blunt person.
00:16:28.280 --> 00:16:31.160
So, I'm not trying to hide.
00:16:31.320 --> 00:16:32.800
And you have to use stealth,
00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:36.600
otherwise, you
don't get the shot
00:16:36.760 --> 00:16:38.280
because then someone knows
you're gonna take their picture.
00:16:38.440 --> 00:16:40.920
Everything changes.
00:16:40.999 --> 00:16:42.360
But, I'm so close
00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:45.240
that it's not,
00:16:46.999 --> 00:16:47.999
the other shots like
most people work,
00:16:48.120 --> 00:16:49.999
there'd be like a stage set.
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:51.800
I'm part of the whole situation.
00:16:51.960 --> 00:16:54.680
And I'm comfortable.
00:16:54.999 --> 00:16:56.560
(thoughtful music)
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:03.520
- [Voiceover] Both the world
of fashion and magazines
00:17:03.680 --> 00:17:05.680
have found in Gilden
the right approach
00:17:05.840 --> 00:17:07.080
to authentic, original,
dynamic narration,
00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.999
from The Time's reportage
of the new candidacies
00:17:10.080 --> 00:17:12.680
for the seat of
Mayor of New York
00:17:12.840 --> 00:17:14.680
to the photo features for
Nike, Diesel, Burberry.
00:17:19.720 --> 00:17:20.440
His gaze does not change.
00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:26.560
His subjects follow
no aesthetic criteria.
00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:28.975
They live and perform,
00:17:28.999 --> 00:17:30.720
like in the mafia
funeral reportage,
00:17:33.280 --> 00:17:35.000
which has become a cult sequence
for style and narration.
00:17:35.160 --> 00:17:38.040
and, once again, the Mafia,
00:17:39.080 --> 00:17:40.840
as an excuse to narrate the
ordinary moments of daily life.
00:17:43.360 --> 00:17:44.400
- It's funny because
almost every,
00:17:48.520 --> 00:17:50.520
I won an award in Germany
00:17:50.680 --> 00:17:52.000
for my pictures in
Stern of the Yakuza.
00:17:52.160 --> 00:17:55.120
And there's a friend of mine
00:17:55.280 --> 00:17:56.560
who did pictures on
00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.000
the Firm in England.
00:17:58.160 --> 00:17:59.000
He won the award.
00:17:59.160 --> 00:18:00.240
So it's always like
they like that.
00:18:00.400 --> 00:18:02.120
They like the dark side of life.
00:18:02.280 --> 00:18:03.999
The idea of the mafia
funeral fashion shoot
00:18:06.600 --> 00:18:08.999
was my idea.
00:18:09.999 --> 00:18:11.280
The idea I had was,
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:13.320
I was sitting at
the table over there
00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:15.360
in my apartment,
00:18:15.520 --> 00:18:17.400
and I said, "Wait a second.
00:18:17.560 --> 00:18:19.999
"I like the Mafia.
00:18:20.120 --> 00:18:20.999
"I do fashion.
00:18:21.040 --> 00:18:22.320
"So why don't I do a
story combining the two?"
00:18:22.480 --> 00:18:24.999
(abstract music)
00:18:25.120 --> 00:18:28.360
The original idea was that
I'm the head of the Mafia.
00:18:28.520 --> 00:18:32.760
You didn't know that, but, no,
00:18:32.920 --> 00:18:34.840
in the shoot, the
person who's gonna
00:18:34.999 --> 00:18:36.720
represent the protagonist is,
00:18:36.880 --> 00:18:38.160
he's dead.
00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:42.440
And he sees,
00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:43.280
he's in the grave, okay?
00:18:43.440 --> 00:18:44.640
But he sees, now,
when he's dead,
00:18:45.720 --> 00:18:47.760
all the people.
00:18:47.920 --> 00:18:48.975
His wife, his mistress
and everything.
00:18:48.999 --> 00:18:51.840
And how they all were
fucking him over.
00:18:51.999 --> 00:18:53.200
Like his second-in-command
was fucking his miss,
00:18:53.360 --> 00:18:56.280
you know, whatever.
00:18:56.440 --> 00:18:57.160
All this bullshit.
00:18:57.320 --> 00:18:58.680
So it was
00:18:58.840 --> 00:18:59.999
I wanted to have the angle
of the main Mafia guy.
00:19:00.200 --> 00:19:03.920
All the pictures
were shot from the,
00:19:03.999 --> 00:19:05.760
but we couldn't do it, okay?
00:19:05.920 --> 00:19:06.999
So the funny thing was
00:19:07.120 --> 00:19:08.600
that everybody refused it.
00:19:09.999 --> 00:19:12.640
Italian Vogue said,
"Oh, we got somebody
00:19:12.800 --> 00:19:14.880
"who can do that."
00:19:14.999 --> 00:19:16.120
But they can't do it like me.
00:19:16.280 --> 00:19:17.520
Magnum did a fashion
magazine on me.
00:19:19.560 --> 00:19:22.960
So we were able to
do it through them.
00:19:22.999 --> 00:19:24.840
Now, so my assistant called
up all the cemeteries around
00:19:24.999 --> 00:19:29.400
and all the Catholic
cemeteries said,
00:19:29.560 --> 00:19:32.360
"What, are you crazy?
00:19:32.520 --> 00:19:33.975
"We can't do that here!"
00:19:33.999 --> 00:19:34.999
The Jews said, "How
much?" (laughs)
00:19:35.120 --> 00:19:36.760
I'm Jewish, but...
00:19:36.920 --> 00:19:38.400
But I like that.
00:19:38.560 --> 00:19:39.160
I like that series.
00:19:39.320 --> 00:19:40.040
I think it's pretty good.
00:19:40.200 --> 00:19:40.999
(urgent pulsating music)
00:19:42.000 --> 00:19:45.880
- [Voiceover] Haiti is a
place of the soul for Gilden.
00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:50.000
A land in which he recaptures
the same vital force
00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.720
as the outlying streets of
the New York of his childhood.
00:19:56.560 --> 00:19:57.880
Preferred location since
his early years of activity,
00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:04.680
it has been narrated in
its roots, its colors
00:20:04.840 --> 00:20:07.320
and its dramas.
00:20:09.999 --> 00:20:10.880
- I've been in Haiti 22 times.
00:20:15.080 --> 00:20:16.880
I went 19 times
from 1984 to 1995,
00:20:18.080 --> 00:20:21.680
approximately two
weeks each trip.
00:20:21.840 --> 00:20:23.760
And then I thought I was
done with the country
00:20:23.920 --> 00:20:25.560
because once you do a book,
00:20:25.720 --> 00:20:26.840
that puts, like,
00:20:26.999 --> 00:20:28.000
you're never done,
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:29.440
but it puts a sort
of closure on it.
00:20:29.600 --> 00:20:31.999
And then the
earthquake happened.
00:20:32.040 --> 00:20:35.440
(pensive music)
00:20:35.600 --> 00:20:36.400
I wanted to go right back.
00:20:36.560 --> 00:20:38.480
But, as I said, I
couldn't go right back.
00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:40.720
But I got there
five weeks later.
00:20:40.880 --> 00:20:42.200
And I've been there two
times after that first trip.
00:20:42.360 --> 00:20:45.120
My favorite country.
00:20:45.280 --> 00:20:46.999
Everybody I photograph,
I identify with.
00:20:52.040 --> 00:20:52.840
After the earthquake,
00:20:57.200 --> 00:20:58.999
Medicins Sans
Frontiers allowed me
00:21:01.760 --> 00:21:02.880
to go into their
hospital in Cite Soleil.
00:21:02.999 --> 00:21:06.320
And I walked in, and
I see all these people
00:21:07.560 --> 00:21:09.440
missing a leg, broken
hips, whatever,
00:21:09.600 --> 00:21:13.080
and this is five weeks
after the earthquake, okay?
00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:15.999
And I went in.
00:21:16.080 --> 00:21:17.600
I start dancing for them.
00:21:17.760 --> 00:21:18.960
I make 'em all laugh.
00:21:18.999 --> 00:21:20.400
I know some dirty
words in Haiti.
00:21:20.560 --> 00:21:22.840
In Creole.
00:21:22.999 --> 00:21:24.280
Sometimes I use them,
00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:25.240
depending on who I'm talking to.
00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:26.999
I'm open, I'm honest,
I make them laugh.
00:21:27.040 --> 00:21:29.999
They like me and I like them.
00:21:30.120 --> 00:21:31.760
For example, my heart
was broken there
00:21:31.920 --> 00:21:33.800
that one time,
00:21:33.960 --> 00:21:34.960
and I cried
00:21:34.999 --> 00:21:36.640
because
00:21:36.800 --> 00:21:38.000
I have a picture of it.
00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:40.360
It's in the book.
00:21:40.520 --> 00:21:41.720
It's not in the book,
00:21:41.880 --> 00:21:42.840
it's on the Magnum site.
00:21:42.999 --> 00:21:45.000
I always show it when I lecture.
00:21:45.999 --> 00:21:48.120
It's of a beautiful girl
00:21:48.280 --> 00:21:49.840
who's about, I'd say, early 20s,
00:21:49.999 --> 00:21:51.920
and she lost one of
her legs at the knee.
00:21:51.999 --> 00:21:55.080
And she's laughing.
00:21:55.240 --> 00:21:57.080
Laughter from the soul.
00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:59.280
I mean, she just
lost her fucking leg!
00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:01.999
I mean, she's laughing from the,
00:22:02.120 --> 00:22:03.640
I owe it to her.
00:22:03.800 --> 00:22:05.160
What strength!
00:22:06.760 --> 00:22:07.480
What courage!
00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:08.560
I mean, I cried 'cause,
00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:12.560
if there is a God up there,
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.840
why her?
00:22:14.999 --> 00:22:15.999
You know, there are
plenty of other people
00:22:16.080 --> 00:22:17.760
that don't have
what she has inside.
00:22:17.920 --> 00:22:20.080
I love their spirit!
00:22:20.880 --> 00:22:21.999
I don't think,
00:22:25.999 --> 00:22:26.640
I'm not glorifying this.
00:22:26.800 --> 00:22:28.280
I don't think they always to
the best things for themselves
00:22:28.440 --> 00:22:30.880
because it's like a vicious
cycle of them going nowhere.
00:22:34.080 --> 00:22:34.999
And the other picture is one
00:22:39.240 --> 00:22:40.640
that I think is a
very good picture,
00:22:40.800 --> 00:22:42.440
much better than the
one of the smiling girl,
00:22:42.600 --> 00:22:45.120
is of a lady in a
camp that was built,
00:22:45.280 --> 00:22:49.680
a temporary camp across from
the Presidential Palace.
00:22:49.840 --> 00:22:52.840
And that was a candid shot.
00:22:52.999 --> 00:22:54.360
I saw her
00:22:54.520 --> 00:22:55.200
to my left.
00:22:56.280 --> 00:22:57.520
And I whirled and
I turned quickly
00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:59.200
with the flash in one hand,
00:22:59.360 --> 00:23:00.640
and I took a picture.
00:23:00.800 --> 00:23:01.480
I snapped it.
00:23:01.640 --> 00:23:02.999
And it's a strong picture.
00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.920
She's wearing like a man's coat.
00:23:04.999 --> 00:23:07.040
And she's young.
00:23:07.200 --> 00:23:08.480
When I say young, I say mid-20s.
00:23:08.640 --> 00:23:10.800
And every time my
wife sees that,
00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:13.360
she felt that she was violated
sexually the night before.
00:23:13.520 --> 00:23:16.999
And she may not be wrong because
00:23:17.120 --> 00:23:19.480
in the camps,
supposedly, at night,
00:23:19.640 --> 00:23:21.600
you have these
thugs that go around
00:23:21.760 --> 00:23:23.400
and do and take what they want.
00:23:23.560 --> 00:23:26.560
And also
00:23:26.720 --> 00:23:27.975
I've done the houses,
00:23:27.999 --> 00:23:29.360
the structures in
black and white.
00:23:29.520 --> 00:23:30.840
And then I went back
and I did 'em in color.
00:23:30.999 --> 00:23:33.160
That's very poignant
pictures for me
00:23:33.320 --> 00:23:35.520
because some of
these structures,
00:23:35.680 --> 00:23:38.320
you know, how do you live
in there for one day?
00:23:40.999 --> 00:23:41.480
(hopeful music)
00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:50.080
Black and white is
the abstraction.
00:23:50.240 --> 00:23:52.440
Color's the reality.
00:23:53.760 --> 00:23:54.975
So, for me, I see
in black and white.
00:23:54.999 --> 00:23:57.360
Now, having said that,
00:23:57.520 --> 00:23:59.975
in the last year,
year and a half,
00:23:59.999 --> 00:24:01.200
I've been working in color.
00:24:01.360 --> 00:24:02.720
But I still see in
black and white.
00:24:03.999 --> 00:24:05.760
I've walked around the
streets of New York
00:24:07.120 --> 00:24:08.720
with a friend of mine who's
also a street photographer,
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.760
but he works in color.
00:24:11.920 --> 00:24:13.840
And he'll say to me,
00:24:13.999 --> 00:24:15.160
"Bruce, did you see that
person with the red kerchief?"
00:24:15.320 --> 00:24:18.200
I said, "What are
you talking about?"
00:24:18.360 --> 00:24:19.560
You know, because
I see differently.
00:24:19.720 --> 00:24:21.999
Now I'm going to a lot of
assisted living facilities
00:24:24.520 --> 00:24:27.960
and I'm photographing
the people there.
00:24:27.999 --> 00:24:29.760
And I'm photographing,
not exclusively,
00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:31.760
but a lot of women.
00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:33.520
And it's my catharsis.
00:24:33.680 --> 00:24:35.280
It's like, I guess,
00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:36.760
the ode to my mother.
00:24:36.920 --> 00:24:39.480
And I'm able to deal
with it now at 66.
00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:43.120
My mother had a pretty sad life.
00:24:43.280 --> 00:24:45.600
She was institutionalized,
00:24:47.400 --> 00:24:48.480
and she also eventually
committed suicide.
00:24:48.640 --> 00:24:50.999
And that's always been
very tough for me.
00:24:52.080 --> 00:24:53.920
Not the act of suicide,
00:24:53.999 --> 00:24:54.999
but I don't think
I gave her enough
00:24:55.120 --> 00:24:56.920
of what I should
give to a mother.
00:24:57.600 --> 00:25:00.080
I don't really photograph
my father or my mother.
00:25:02.760 --> 00:25:05.080
I photograph my experiences
with my father and my mother.
00:25:05.240 --> 00:25:08.999
There's a difference.
00:25:09.999 --> 00:25:11.120
I photograph
00:25:14.999 --> 00:25:16.240
the effect they had on me.
00:25:23.160 --> 00:25:23.960
(subtle reverberating)
00:25:30.720 --> 00:25:32.960
(gentle indie rock
and piano music)
Distributor: First Hand Films
Length: 26 minutes
Date: 2014
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Italian; French / English subtitles
Grade: College, Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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