Interview by Paul Salfen
SYNOPSIS:
Continuing his vibrant and invaluable documentaries about iconic American artists and musicians such as George Harrison: Living in the Material World, No Direction Home: Bob Dylan, and the Fran Lebowitz portrait Public Speaking, Martin Scorsese turns his camera on another beloved New York institution: the singular David Johansen. Equally celebrated as the lead singer-songwriter of the androgynous ’70s glam punk groundbreakers The New York Dolls and for his complete reinvention as hepcat Buster Poindexter in the ’80s, the chameleonic Johansen has created an entire genre unto himself, combining swing, blues, and rock for something at once mischievous and deeply personal. In Personality Crisis: One Night Only, Scorsese and co-director David Tedeschi (The 50 Year Argument), with the help of cinematographer Ellen Kuras (American Utopia), luminously capture the entertainer’s January 2020 Cafe Carlyle set, where he performs as Poindexter singing the Johansen songbook, bringing downtown irreverence to this storied uptown joint. Presented alongside new and archival interviews, the concert is marvelously intimate and a testament to both a lost New York and a performer who remains as fresh and exciting as ever.
DIRECTED BY: Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi
FEATURING: David Johansen
PRODUCED BY: Margaret Bodde, Martin Scorsese, Justin Wilkes, Sara Bernstein
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Mara Hennessey, Rick Yorn, Vinnie Malhotra
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Ellen Kuras
EDITED BY: David Tedeschi
INTERVIEWS WITH DAVID JOHANSEN FILMED & CONDUCTED BY: Leah Hennessey
MUSIC SUPERVISOR: Randall Poster
MUSIC PRODUCER: Jack Douglas
MUSIC MIXES: Jay Messina
MUSICAL SUPERVISION AND ARRANGEMENTS: Brian Koonin
THE BOYS IN THE BAND BAND:
Brian Koonin, guitar
Keith Cotton, piano
Richard Hammond, bass
Ray Grappone, drums
