Dialogue with a Woman Departed
Over an eight-year period in the 1970s, Hurwitz made this film tribute to his deceased wife and colleague, the film editor and director Peggy Lawson. His most personal work and his last major production, Hurwitz’s film is at once epic and lyrical; a portrait of an individual and chronicle of the times; an ode to the spirit of artistic collaboration and a testament to political idealism. The film contains beautiful original material plus documentary footage and reconstructions — excerpts from a number of Hurwitz’s films; the voices of Paul Robeson, Kaiulani Lee and Alfred Drake; and music that ranges from Bach to Marc Blitzstein. –Harvard Film Archive
This is a transfer from a 1-inch tape made in the 1980’s
Leo Hurwitz
Year
1980
Runtime
225 minutes
Format
16mm
Collaborators
- Tom Fleischman
- Peggy Lawson
- Charles Pratt
- Tom Hurwitz
- Dick Vorisek
- Saul Levitt
- Thomas McGrath
- Marc Blitzstein
- David Diamond
- Paul Robeson
- Alfred Drake
DIALOGUE WITH A
WOMAN DEPARTED
A FILM by
LEO
HURWITZ
for
PEGGY LAWSON
Written,
Photographed,
Edited and
Directed by
LEO HURWITZ
Voices
KAIULANI LEE
LEO HURWITZ
Music
JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH
JIMMY GIUFFRE
BILLY HOLIDAY
PHIL OCHS
WOODY GUTHRIE
SARAH GONZALES
PETE SEEGER
and anonymous others
Stills
YOSHIO KISHI
CHARLES PRATT
EDWIN S. CURTIS
DANNY LYON and
numberless other photographers
Assistants
TOM HURWITZ
NELLY BURLINGHAM
WILLIAM KRUZYKOWSKI
STANLEY SALFAS
ED PRYOR
MOLLY HOWARD
DEBORAH DICKSEN
KATHY McCLURE
CONNIE FIELD
AARON LIPETZ
Quotations
from Other Films
HEART OF SPAIN (Hurwitz, Strand)
NATIVE LAND (Hurwitz, Strand)
STRANGE VICTORY (Hurwitz)
THE MUSEUM AND THE FURY (Hurwitz, Lawson)
DO YOU KNOW A MAN NAMED GOYA (L. Hurwitz, Lawson, T. Hurwitz)
With Mixes by RICHARD VORISEK
Portions of
Film Quotations
Written by
DAVID WOLFF
SAUL LEVITT
THOMAS McGRATH
Music of Film Quotations
Composed by
MARC BLITZSTEIN
DAVID DIAMOND
DMITRI SHOSTAKOVICH and others
Voices of
Film Quotations
PAUL ROBESON
ALFRED DRAKE
JOSEPHINE KIRK
JOHN O’SHAUGHNESSY
Mix by
TOM FLEISCHMAN
Timing by
HARRY RUBEL
Thanks to
THE NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR THE ARTS
THE N.Y. COUNCIL ON THE ARTS
(for partial funding)
ATLANTIC
FOLKWAYS
VANGUARD
COMMODORE
DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON
ELEKTRA
(for music rights)
And thanks to
WBAI-FM
3rd WORLD NEWSREEL
LIBERATION NEWS
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES
(for historical sounds)
TRANSAUDIO INC. (for studio facilities)
LAUMIC CO. (for editing equipment)
DIALOGUE WITH A
WOMAN DEPARTED
A
LEO HURWITZ
PRODUCTION
Photos
Hurwitz's second wife and collaborator, Peg Lawson. Still from Dialogue with a Woman Departed
Hurwitz's second wife and collaborator, Peg Lawson. Still from Dialogue with a Woman Departed
Hurwitz's second wife and collaborator, Peg Lawson. Still from Dialogue with a Woman Departed
Leo's second wife, great film editor, Peg Lawson, subject of Dialogue with a Woman Departed.