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I! S! A! D! O! R! A!
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Isadora!
3
00:00:23,289 --> 00:00:25,985
Isadora Duncan
was banned here today,
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00:00:26,059 --> 00:00:27,993
following an incident
at the Symphony Hall.
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00:00:28,061 --> 00:00:30,689
Boston Sentinel, October 20, 1922.
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00:00:39,873 --> 00:00:43,240
Isadora Duncan, the Bolshevist,
and her husband, Soviet poet Yessenin,
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00:00:43,309 --> 00:00:45,470
were deported
after pushing a grand piano
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00:00:45,545 --> 00:00:48,742
through the window of
their 14th-storey hotel suite.
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00:00:48,815 --> 00:00:52,148
Indianapolis Examiner,
November 23, 1922.
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00:00:52,218 --> 00:00:54,880
Orgy in dancer�s Riviera studio.
11
00:01:06,032 --> 00:01:08,865
Captain Patterson
thwarts Duncan �s suicide attempt.
12
00:01:08,935 --> 00:01:11,563
Journal de Nice, October 5, 1926.
13
00:01:12,138 --> 00:01:13,833
The car stalled a few feet from the river.
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The chauffeur attempted to start it
with the handle, but it was still in gear,
15
00:01:17,811 --> 00:01:20,473
so it rushed forward and
plunged into the Seine.
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00:01:20,547 --> 00:01:22,674
The bodies of
the dancer�s two drowned children
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00:01:22,749 --> 00:01:25,479
now lie at rest in
Madame Duncan �s Paris studio.
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00:01:25,552 --> 00:01:27,918
Figaro, April 20, 1913.
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00:01:35,495 --> 00:01:39,727
Soviet poet, Yessenin, scores love poem
to ex-wife, Isadora Duncan, in blood
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00:01:39,799 --> 00:01:41,130
after slashing wrists.
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00:01:41,201 --> 00:01:44,693
His body was found today in Leningrad hotel
in which they spent honeymoon.
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00:01:44,771 --> 00:01:47,399
Pravda, December 28, 1925.
23
00:01:48,842 --> 00:01:51,606
I ki lled the Madonna! I killed...
24
00:01:51,678 --> 00:01:53,737
Isadora strangled at Nice.
25
00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:56,839
Daily Telegraph, September 15, 1927.
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00:01:56,916 --> 00:02:00,784
Crowds of 10,000 thronged
the P�re Lachaise crematorium today
27
00:02:00,854 --> 00:02:02,287
at the funeral of the decade.
28
00:02:02,355 --> 00:02:04,755
The Paris Conservatory Orchestra
played Air On The G-String
29
00:02:04,824 --> 00:02:08,225
as final homage was paid
to this great American dancer.
30
00:02:09,395 --> 00:02:11,955
The constant companion of Isadora
at the end of her life
31
00:02:12,031 --> 00:02:15,899
was the writer, Sewell Stokes.
He has written a play about her, a novel
32
00:02:15,969 --> 00:02:19,461
and the definitive account
of her last days at Nice.
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00:02:19,539 --> 00:02:22,872
I suppose Isadora
led the most sensational life
34
00:02:22,942 --> 00:02:26,002
of any woman who�s lived in this century.
35
00:02:26,079 --> 00:02:29,776
I only knew her
during the last year of her life.
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00:02:29,849 --> 00:02:35,719
And to the young man that I was then,
she still had tremendous glamour.
37
00:02:36,556 --> 00:02:42,495
She was warm-hearted.
She was lovable. She was exasperating.
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00:02:42,562 --> 00:02:47,829
But why am I telling you about Isadora
in the graveyard of Chelsea Old Church?.
39
00:02:49,068 --> 00:02:55,098
Well, it was here, as a young girl, when she first
came to England, absolutely penniless,
40
00:02:55,175 --> 00:02:57,837
that she slept among the tombstones
41
00:02:57,911 --> 00:03:00,744
but, nevertheless,
determined to become a success.
42
00:03:01,347 --> 00:03:06,751
From the start, she was always
a very ambitious young girl.
43
00:03:08,421 --> 00:03:10,446
Isadora Duncan
taught herself to dance
44
00:03:10,523 --> 00:03:12,718
on the beaches of California.
45
00:03:12,792 --> 00:03:15,761
By the time she was 16,
she was dancing professionally
46
00:03:15,828 --> 00:03:18,126
and trying to support her family.
47
00:03:18,198 --> 00:03:21,964
But Broadway in 1894
had no interest in her dancing -
48
00:03:22,035 --> 00:03:24,799
it was uncontrolled and uncommercial -
49
00:03:24,871 --> 00:03:28,500
so she gave private recitals
in the drawing rooms of the wealthy
50
00:03:28,575 --> 00:03:32,534
and eventually earned enough
for a passage, by cattle-boat,
51
00:03:32,612 --> 00:03:34,842
to a place
where she could enjoy freedom.
52
00:05:39,287 --> 00:05:41,551
And so, at the height of her solo career,
53
00:05:41,623 --> 00:05:44,285
when she was one of
the best-known names in Europe,
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00:05:44,359 --> 00:05:48,887
she founded a school of dancing.
And by the age of 30 when, already,
55
00:05:48,964 --> 00:05:51,899
self-indulgence was beginning
to weaken her powers,
56
00:05:51,967 --> 00:05:54,527
this school had become an obsession.
57
00:05:57,339 --> 00:05:58,465
Oh, that�s nice.
58
00:05:58,540 --> 00:06:01,100
Her pupils were of all nationalities,
rich and poor.
59
00:06:01,176 --> 00:06:03,770
But they rarely stayed with her for long.
60
00:06:03,845 --> 00:06:06,439
As the school moved
from country to country,
61
00:06:06,515 --> 00:06:10,542
always searching for a permanent
sponsor, promising pupils disappeared,
62
00:06:10,619 --> 00:06:14,248
new, untrained ones
joined to take their place.
63
00:06:14,322 --> 00:06:17,382
One or two faithful disciples
always stuck by her,
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00:06:17,459 --> 00:06:19,757
ready to take over
whenever she was away
65
00:06:19,828 --> 00:06:22,319
earning the money
that kept everything going.
66
00:06:22,397 --> 00:06:24,490
But large symphony orchestras
and Greek temples
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00:06:24,566 --> 00:06:29,435
Ieft little over to pay the rent and supply
the needs of 40 growing children.
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00:06:29,504 --> 00:06:32,530
The only thing that never worried her
was a shoe bill.
69
00:06:32,974 --> 00:06:36,239
But apart from her ideas
on free expression in the dance,
70
00:06:36,311 --> 00:06:38,472
she did more than
throw away ballet slippers.
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00:06:38,547 --> 00:06:42,176
Victorian corsets, long hair
and high-buttoned boots
72
00:06:42,250 --> 00:06:44,218
were all thrown out of the window.
73
00:06:44,286 --> 00:06:47,744
In the early 1900s
Rodin painted and sketched her,
74
00:06:47,823 --> 00:06:50,451
d�Annunzio celebrated her in verse.
75
00:06:50,525 --> 00:06:53,494
Her life, her art,
caught the imagination of the day.
76
00:06:53,562 --> 00:06:56,156
She became the patron saint
of the art world.
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00:06:56,932 --> 00:06:59,093
- Man.
- Man.
78
00:07:01,436 --> 00:07:04,132
- Earth.
- Earth.
79
00:07:05,207 --> 00:07:08,608
- Universe.
- Universe.
80
00:07:09,511 --> 00:07:12,071
- Friendship.
- Friendship.
81
00:07:13,348 --> 00:07:16,010
Caring for this large and demanding family
82
00:07:16,084 --> 00:07:20,145
was far from being a substitute
for some lack in her personal life.
83
00:07:20,222 --> 00:07:22,588
Isadora had a baby of her own, Deidre.
84
00:07:22,657 --> 00:07:25,990
The father was the famous
theatrical designer, Gordon Craig.
85
00:07:26,061 --> 00:07:27,653
She refused to marry him.
86
00:07:27,729 --> 00:07:31,096
The memory of her parents�
unhappy marriage never left her
87
00:07:31,166 --> 00:07:34,260
and she swore
never to make the same mistake herself.
88
00:07:34,336 --> 00:07:38,705
Anyway, life was too full and rich
to be shared with only one man.
89
00:07:38,773 --> 00:07:41,264
And if Rodin or d�Annunzio
weren �t available,
90
00:07:41,343 --> 00:07:44,506
she contented herself
with lesser mortals.
91
00:07:44,579 --> 00:07:49,312
Oh, you shunned people.
I, at least, do not shun you.
92
00:07:49,384 --> 00:07:52,012
I come forth into your midst.
93
00:07:52,087 --> 00:07:54,146
I will be your poet.
94
00:07:54,222 --> 00:07:57,453
I shall be more to you
than to any of the rest.
95
00:08:20,215 --> 00:08:22,843
Run along, dear.
96
00:08:22,951 --> 00:08:28,821
- Isadora, aren�t you feeling well?.
- I�ve never felt happier in my life.
97
00:08:28,890 --> 00:08:31,324
I am in love.
98
00:08:34,129 --> 00:08:36,461
In love?. With a sewing machine?.
99
00:08:36,531 --> 00:08:41,400
No.
The man who makes them. Paris Singer.
100
00:08:41,469 --> 00:08:43,835
The millionaire, dear.
101
00:08:43,905 --> 00:08:46,237
And she wasn�t kidding.
Mr. Paris Singer�s
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00:08:46,308 --> 00:08:48,674
sewing machine factories
were hers to command.
103
00:08:48,743 --> 00:08:51,906
In 1908 he sent his wife and family
off to Egypt in his yacht
104
00:08:51,980 --> 00:08:54,346
and brought Isadora home in triumph.
105
00:08:54,416 --> 00:08:57,180
Paris was a great art-lover and collector.
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00:08:57,252 --> 00:08:59,618
He admired Isadora,
Palladian architecture,
107
00:08:59,688 --> 00:09:01,747
the Madeleine and Versailles.
108
00:09:01,823 --> 00:09:04,883
And down at Oldway, his chateau
at Paignton in South Devon,
109
00:09:04,960 --> 00:09:06,928
he collected them all together.
110
00:09:07,929 --> 00:09:12,059
Paris Singer was ruthless, impulsive
and constantly worried about his health.
111
00:09:12,133 --> 00:09:15,625
But Isadora saw him
as her knight in shining armor.
112
00:09:15,704 --> 00:09:17,467
She called him Lohengrin.
113
00:09:17,539 --> 00:09:20,474
This, he said, was to be her fairy castle.
114
00:09:20,542 --> 00:09:24,376
To Isadora at that moment,
it was simply a fascinating mausoleum
115
00:09:24,446 --> 00:09:26,846
of commerce and bad taste.
116
00:09:26,948 --> 00:09:29,576
But also, she saw
what it might become -
117
00:09:29,651 --> 00:09:33,849
a Mecca for the faithful,
a magnificent, shining temple of art.
118
00:09:33,922 --> 00:09:35,253
How do you get in?.
119
00:09:35,323 --> 00:09:38,622
What did it matter if everything
was solid gold? So much the better.
120
00:09:38,693 --> 00:09:41,457
Her dream of the future,
to see all America dancing -
121
00:09:41,529 --> 00:09:44,225
just as Walt Whitman
had seen all America singing -
122
00:09:44,299 --> 00:09:46,096
seemed just around the corner.
123
00:09:46,167 --> 00:09:49,967
- Boo!
- Oh, Lohengrin! What is it?.
124
00:09:50,038 --> 00:09:53,769
Oh, it�s nothing.
Just a trivial gift I picked up.
125
00:09:55,343 --> 00:09:59,746
I thought it might amuse my goddess
if she was feeling bored.
126
00:09:59,814 --> 00:10:01,975
Pull it. Pull it.
127
00:10:17,666 --> 00:10:20,032
Lohengrin, how can I thank you?.
128
00:10:21,269 --> 00:10:25,763
I�ll dance my gratitude to you.
I�ll dance all night.
129
00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,172
I�ll dance until the dawn.
130
00:10:29,210 --> 00:10:31,235
- Er...
- And...
131
00:10:46,328 --> 00:10:48,694
Right. There.
132
00:10:51,866 --> 00:10:53,697
And again.
133
00:11:11,619 --> 00:11:13,177
Stop.
134
00:11:14,656 --> 00:11:17,022
And once more, girls.
135
00:11:51,393 --> 00:11:53,759
OK, that�s enough.
136
00:12:04,606 --> 00:12:06,540
After the er...honeymoon,
137
00:12:06,608 --> 00:12:10,100
Paris settled back into his hypochondria
and his water cures
138
00:12:10,178 --> 00:12:12,738
and Isadora saw little of him.
139
00:12:12,814 --> 00:12:15,146
The arrangement was straightforward.
140
00:12:15,216 --> 00:12:18,344
Lohengrin would provide a home
in France for her precious school
141
00:12:18,420 --> 00:12:22,550
but Isadora must live with him here,
in splendid solitude.
142
00:12:22,624 --> 00:12:25,024
Little Deidre was her only pupil now.
143
00:12:25,093 --> 00:12:28,654
A year passed
and a second child was born - Patrick.
144
00:12:28,730 --> 00:12:31,597
But this was small consolation
for her loneliness.
145
00:12:31,699 --> 00:12:34,463
Devon was an artistic wilderness.
146
00:12:34,536 --> 00:12:39,200
Bohemian visitors were frowned upon
with disdain at Oldway
147
00:12:39,274 --> 00:12:44,177
and even dancing palls in the end
if one dances only for oneself.
148
00:13:15,109 --> 00:13:18,806
Oh, lovely Pussy, oh Pussy, my love,
149
00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:22,338
what a beautiful Pussy you are.
You are, you are.
150
00:13:22,417 --> 00:13:25,011
What a beautiful Pussy you are.
151
00:13:25,086 --> 00:13:30,922
Pussy said to the owl, �'You elderly fowl,
how charmingly sweet you sing.�'
152
00:13:32,260 --> 00:13:35,320
I�m terribly sorry, madam.
I�m just clearing the tray.
153
00:13:37,332 --> 00:13:40,563
Have you ever thought of
going on the stage?.
154
00:13:41,703 --> 00:13:45,332
Lohengrin! Lohengrin!
155
00:13:45,406 --> 00:13:48,773
Oh, my dear, I�ve just made
the most wonderful discovery!
156
00:13:48,843 --> 00:13:51,243
Another one?. That�s very clever of you.
157
00:13:51,312 --> 00:13:53,678
Has there been trouble
in the servants� hall?.
158
00:13:53,748 --> 00:13:58,651
The trouble is John shouldn�t be in
the servants� hall. His place is on the stage!
159
00:13:58,720 --> 00:14:00,085
Oh, really?.
160
00:14:00,154 --> 00:14:04,557
Now, read out loud. And don�t be timid.
161
00:14:04,626 --> 00:14:07,652
But soft, what light
through yonder window breaks?.
162
00:14:07,729 --> 00:14:10,289
It is the east and Juliet is the sun.
163
00:14:10,365 --> 00:14:14,358
Arise, fair sun,
and kill the envious moon...
164
00:14:14,435 --> 00:14:17,233
My bounty is as boundless as the sea,
165
00:14:17,305 --> 00:14:19,239
my love as deep.
166
00:14:19,307 --> 00:14:22,504
The more I give to thee, the more I have,
167
00:14:22,577 --> 00:14:25,603
for both are infinite.
168
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:29,138
My God, he has talent. Lohengrin?.
169
00:14:30,118 --> 00:14:32,245
Lohengrin!
170
00:14:33,588 --> 00:14:37,524
- You called?.
- Really, this young man has genius.
171
00:14:37,592 --> 00:14:40,527
He must be trained
at the best school of drama.
172
00:14:40,595 --> 00:14:43,792
Of course, he�ll need a little allowance
to live on. And plenty of...
173
00:14:43,865 --> 00:14:48,859
Plenty of shirts, suits,
shoes, cravats, hats. Underwear.
174
00:14:48,970 --> 00:14:52,804
- And all of the very best quality.
- I knew you�d understand, dear!
175
00:14:52,874 --> 00:14:55,934
From now on, there was an extra place
for breakfast.
176
00:15:06,154 --> 00:15:09,715
# Oh, the sewing machine,
the sewing machine
177
00:15:09,791 --> 00:15:11,656
# A girl�s best friend
178
00:15:11,726 --> 00:15:15,184
# If I didn �t have my sewing machine
I�d have come to no good end
179
00:15:15,263 --> 00:15:17,493
# But a bobbin a bobbin
a pedal a pedal
180
00:15:17,599 --> 00:15:19,089
# And wheel the wheel by day
181
00:15:19,200 --> 00:15:23,034
# So, by night I feel so weary
that I never get out to play #
182
00:15:23,104 --> 00:15:28,406
Lohengrin! Lohengrin, stop, please.
He�s disappeared!
183
00:15:28,476 --> 00:15:31,809
And I do not know where he is!
184
00:15:33,381 --> 00:15:37,477
Don�t you pretend you�re not responsible.
Just look at these unpaid bills!
185
00:15:37,552 --> 00:15:40,817
You�ve cut off his allowance
and I know why!
186
00:15:40,888 --> 00:15:43,914
It was just to humiliate me!
187
00:15:43,992 --> 00:15:46,586
You swine!
188
00:15:46,661 --> 00:15:49,994
You...you bloody capitalist!
189
00:15:51,432 --> 00:15:55,892
And if the poor boy
has committed suicide....murderer!
190
00:16:17,191 --> 00:16:19,716
Have you ever thought of
becoming a musician?.
191
00:16:23,064 --> 00:16:27,091
Thus a pattern was set up which
blighted the rest of their relationship.
192
00:16:27,201 --> 00:16:29,999
Singer would buy her
the Metropolitan Opera House one day
193
00:16:30,071 --> 00:16:32,198
and sell it the next to spite her.
194
00:16:32,273 --> 00:16:35,436
They were still together
but saw less and less of each other.
195
00:16:35,510 --> 00:16:38,308
But she did have the children,
who grew up happily
196
00:16:38,379 --> 00:16:41,109
and were a constant
source of pleasure to her.
197
00:16:52,894 --> 00:16:56,728
Singer provided for their needs
with his customary extravagance.
198
00:16:56,798 --> 00:16:58,663
She was now living in France,
199
00:16:58,733 --> 00:17:02,669
a rather more suitable place than
South Devon for a favorite mistress.
200
00:17:02,737 --> 00:17:06,002
There was a studio in Paris,
a chateau at Versailles
201
00:17:06,074 --> 00:17:09,043
and, best of all, his latest gift to her -
202
00:17:09,110 --> 00:17:12,944
a fine, new school just built
on the heights of Passy.
203
00:17:14,215 --> 00:17:16,547
For the moment,
he �d returned to his wife,
204
00:17:16,617 --> 00:17:18,744
so Isadora was left with her children,
205
00:17:18,820 --> 00:17:22,517
free to plan new dances
and new performances.
206
00:17:22,590 --> 00:17:28,392
In the spring of 1913, everything seemed set
for a wonderful future.
207
00:20:25,373 --> 00:20:30,606
Isadora lamented the death
of her two children in her own way.
208
00:20:30,678 --> 00:20:34,409
The car had plunged into the Seine
and both were drowned.
209
00:21:42,683 --> 00:21:45,584
Life after the death of her children
was a nightmare.
210
00:21:45,653 --> 00:21:48,213
There was another child
but it was stillborn.
211
00:21:48,289 --> 00:21:51,850
She took to drugs and alcohol.
She was in despair.
212
00:21:51,926 --> 00:21:55,327
The school became
a grotesque mockery.
213
00:21:55,396 --> 00:21:59,457
When war came and the pupils were dispersed
it was almost a relief.
214
00:21:59,533 --> 00:22:01,899
The school was turned into a hospital
215
00:22:01,969 --> 00:22:05,063
and for a time,
Isadora became a Red Cross nurse.
216
00:22:05,139 --> 00:22:09,041
But even the war couldn �t blot out
her personal tragedy.
217
00:22:09,110 --> 00:22:12,443
Singer disappeared
and his millions with him.
218
00:22:12,513 --> 00:22:16,779
When a tour of South America
was offered in 1916, she took it.
219
00:22:16,851 --> 00:22:21,618
But in Rio, the years of alcohol
and lost training proved fatal.
220
00:22:21,689 --> 00:22:24,419
Her performances were a disaster,
221
00:22:24,492 --> 00:22:26,858
her private life a scandal.
222
00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:03,490
Times were now changed.
Where once she �d danced in drawing rooms
223
00:23:03,564 --> 00:23:06,658
to an audience of admiring
princes and prime ministers,
224
00:23:06,734 --> 00:23:10,830
she now danced in a small-time brothel
where they didn �t give a damn.
225
00:23:10,905 --> 00:23:15,501
Her true agony failed to penetrate
the alcoholic haze in which she lived.
226
00:23:15,576 --> 00:23:18,841
She was just another
drunken American showing off.
227
00:23:55,449 --> 00:23:57,849
The despair was repressed.
228
00:23:57,918 --> 00:24:00,853
Her visions, her obsessions, returned.
229
00:24:00,955 --> 00:24:05,415
In Paris she created a dance
to express the spirit of France at war
230
00:24:05,493 --> 00:24:11,227
and at the same time, her own struggle
to create a new school out of the ashes.
231
00:24:23,144 --> 00:24:26,773
Whatever her weakness,
she was a woman of extraordinary courage.
232
00:24:26,847 --> 00:24:30,112
Two years after the war
she was still carrying the torch.
233
00:24:30,184 --> 00:24:33,244
At the Champs-�lys�es Theatre
on July 3rd 1920
234
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,845
she made a final appeal
to the French nation.
235
00:24:38,492 --> 00:24:41,017
You know why I �m here today?.
236
00:24:41,095 --> 00:24:46,658
I need money for my school.
For the children who will dance in the future.
237
00:24:46,734 --> 00:24:49,862
Children like the orphans
of the terrible war.
238
00:24:49,937 --> 00:24:53,873
There is no better way to put happiness
into the hearts of the children
239
00:24:53,941 --> 00:24:56,000
than to teach them to dance.
240
00:24:56,076 --> 00:24:58,101
For to dance is to live!
241
00:24:58,179 --> 00:25:02,343
And that is what I want - a school of life!
242
00:25:02,416 --> 00:25:07,251
Give it to me. Ask your president
to give it to me.
243
00:25:07,354 --> 00:25:12,155
If not, I shall have to go to Russia,
to the Bolshevists.
244
00:25:12,226 --> 00:25:14,558
- Yes, Russia.
245
00:25:14,628 --> 00:25:19,656
And I will say to those Bolshevist leaders,
�'Give me your children.
246
00:25:19,733 --> 00:25:24,534
�'And if I do not teach them
to dance like gods, assassinate me.�'
247
00:25:26,140 --> 00:25:28,734
And they will either give me my school
248
00:25:28,809 --> 00:25:31,175
or they will assassinate me.
249
00:25:32,179 --> 00:25:36,912
For if I do not have my school
I would rather be dead!
250
00:25:36,984 --> 00:25:40,420
��Come to Moscow. We will give you
a school and 1,000 children.
251
00:25:40,487 --> 00:25:43,012
��You may carry out your plan
on a vast scale. ��
252
00:25:43,090 --> 00:25:45,524
What the President of France
had declined,
253
00:25:45,593 --> 00:25:47,356
the Russian government welcomed.
254
00:25:47,428 --> 00:25:50,556
So, full of renewed hope,
Isadora and one faithful pupil
255
00:25:50,631 --> 00:25:54,931
set off on the long journey to Moscow,
full of wonderful visions.
256
00:25:55,035 --> 00:25:59,904
- You�re on a diet.
- Passion! Like a sucking pig, that is.
257
00:25:59,974 --> 00:26:03,774
The Russian people had obviously
recognized in her a fellow revolutionary.
258
00:26:03,844 --> 00:26:06,642
There would be celebrations,
banquets and speeches.
259
00:26:06,714 --> 00:26:09,478
By the time she arrived,
she �d written one of her own.
260
00:26:09,550 --> 00:26:15,216
Comrades, people of Moscow, greetings.
261
00:26:15,289 --> 00:26:20,386
My pupil and I have long awaited,
with eager expectancy,
262
00:26:20,461 --> 00:26:23,624
your joyous peasant faces.
263
00:26:23,697 --> 00:26:28,361
Your tumultuous reception
has moved me deeply.
264
00:26:28,435 --> 00:26:34,499
And I know that this welcome
promises great things for the future.
265
00:26:34,575 --> 00:26:40,536
From this day forward,
we shall be united in friendship and love
266
00:26:40,614 --> 00:26:45,313
for ever and ever. Amen!
267
00:26:45,386 --> 00:26:48,253
Spending the night in the open
was nothing new to Isadora.
268
00:26:48,322 --> 00:26:51,052
For months, she�d passed nights
under the stars in Greece
269
00:26:51,125 --> 00:26:52,683
when building her temple.
270
00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:56,696
And before that, when she �d arrived
in England on a cattle-boat long ago,
271
00:26:56,764 --> 00:26:58,664
she �d slept in the Green Park.
272
00:26:58,732 --> 00:27:01,929
But then she had not had the comfort
of a Fortnum & Mason hamper.
273
00:27:02,036 --> 00:27:05,062
Gordon Selfridge, who �d given it her
as a going-away present,
274
00:27:05,139 --> 00:27:08,131
had no idea how useful it was to become
275
00:27:08,208 --> 00:27:12,770
in this Moscow station suddenly filled
with starving Russian children.
276
00:27:35,536 --> 00:27:37,094
Whoo!
277
00:28:07,000 --> 00:28:08,365
Come on!
278
00:28:28,989 --> 00:28:31,048
Oh, no!
279
00:28:40,401 --> 00:28:43,302
Of course, they�d never
really expected her to come.
280
00:28:43,370 --> 00:28:46,464
They had thought she would never
give up the easy life of the West
281
00:28:46,540 --> 00:28:49,304
to suffer, with them,
the birth pangs of a new Russia.
282
00:28:49,376 --> 00:28:55,440
The economy was in ruins, desolation
caused by the revolution everywhere.
283
00:28:55,516 --> 00:29:01,011
In Moscow in 1921 it needed
a superhuman effort just to keep alive.
284
00:29:01,088 --> 00:29:05,081
There was near-famine,
no fuel to keep out the Russian winter
285
00:29:05,192 --> 00:29:07,592
and an acute housing shortage.
286
00:29:07,661 --> 00:29:11,893
They�d promised her a school.
Well, here was a gutted Tsarist palace.
287
00:29:11,965 --> 00:29:13,694
She could have that.
288
00:29:13,767 --> 00:29:18,670
She needed beds. Here was timber.
She could make them herself.
289
00:29:18,739 --> 00:29:23,142
The only thing of which there was
no shortage was homeless children.
290
00:29:23,210 --> 00:29:25,610
They came to the school
in their hundreds,
291
00:29:25,679 --> 00:29:28,648
seeking refuge rather than tuition.
292
00:29:28,715 --> 00:29:31,980
But before they could have either,
there was much work to be done.
293
00:29:32,052 --> 00:29:36,250
And all on a diet of potatoes
and champagne.
294
00:29:36,323 --> 00:29:40,817
Whatever the circumstances, there was
one luxury she never gave up.
295
00:29:40,894 --> 00:29:43,829
After six weeks, she was invited to meet
296
00:29:43,897 --> 00:29:46,365
some leading members
of the Communist Party.
297
00:29:46,433 --> 00:29:50,301
She �d obviously proved herself.
It was something to celebrate.
298
00:29:50,370 --> 00:29:52,338
Our work.
299
00:30:34,848 --> 00:30:37,510
Did you murder the Tsar
just to take his place?.
300
00:30:39,820 --> 00:30:42,084
Even the dead
whose belongings you�ve stolen
301
00:30:42,155 --> 00:30:44,555
would have made
tougher revolutionaries.
302
00:30:44,625 --> 00:30:47,594
You goddamn bourgeois usurpers.
303
00:30:47,661 --> 00:30:50,960
You�re just a load of bloated fish
and you stink.
304
00:30:51,064 --> 00:30:53,965
Communists?. My sweet ass!
305
00:31:08,382 --> 00:31:11,647
After almost a year,
the classes were in progress.
306
00:31:11,752 --> 00:31:14,084
She was starting
from the beginning again,
307
00:31:14,187 --> 00:31:17,054
as she had so many times before.
308
00:31:17,124 --> 00:31:20,355
The first lessons
began with the arm positions,
309
00:31:20,427 --> 00:31:23,260
each with a symbolic or
ritualistic meaning
310
00:31:23,330 --> 00:31:27,699
and taken from the frescoes, paintings
and statues of Ancient Greece.
311
00:31:27,768 --> 00:31:31,295
The temperature of the studio
was more Arctic than Hellenic.
312
00:31:31,371 --> 00:31:34,397
Lack of fires, thin tunics and bare feet
313
00:31:34,508 --> 00:31:38,103
made Stoicism an essential part
of the curriculum.
314
00:32:16,917 --> 00:32:19,249
Hai! Hai!
315
00:32:57,057 --> 00:32:59,548
- (Speaks Russian)
- Who do you think you are,
316
00:32:59,626 --> 00:33:02,561
bursting into this temple of art
with your gang of hooligans?.
317
00:33:02,663 --> 00:33:04,460
(Speaks Russian)
318
00:33:04,531 --> 00:33:07,125
Are you Duncan?. Yes?.
You understand English?.
319
00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:11,102
I do not understand what you�re doing
here. And who is this wild animal?.
320
00:33:11,171 --> 00:33:14,140
This is famous poet.
Most famous poet in Russia.
321
00:33:14,207 --> 00:33:18,166
- Sergei Alexandrovich Yessenin.
- A poet!
322
00:33:18,245 --> 00:33:20,770
(Greets him in Russian)
323
00:33:25,185 --> 00:33:28,018
Enchant�e!
324
00:34:15,135 --> 00:34:17,501
Yessenin was
the new Russian Pushkin.
325
00:34:17,571 --> 00:34:20,131
No less a person than Maxim Gorky
had said so.
326
00:34:20,207 --> 00:34:22,801
He was a peasant, a poet of the people
327
00:34:22,876 --> 00:34:25,709
enjoying the indulgence
of a new regime.
328
00:34:25,779 --> 00:34:31,012
He was also an epileptic, a drunkard,
a lecher, a layabout and a thief.
329
00:34:31,084 --> 00:34:33,484
Isadora found him irresistible.
330
00:34:33,587 --> 00:34:36,579
The fact that they couldn �t understand
each other�s language
331
00:34:36,656 --> 00:34:38,556
didn �t bother them at all.
332
00:34:38,625 --> 00:34:43,085
They communicated in mime
and when this failed, they drew pictures.
333
00:34:43,163 --> 00:34:45,893
He needed the medical attention
Russia could not afford.
334
00:34:45,966 --> 00:34:48,764
He needed fresh horizons
to broaden his art.
335
00:34:48,835 --> 00:34:51,201
Isadora would show him the world.
336
00:35:07,854 --> 00:35:10,550
But she would
never have contemplated the idea
337
00:35:10,657 --> 00:35:13,683
if the authorities had not threatened
to close down the school.
338
00:35:13,760 --> 00:35:16,320
They could no longer afford
to support it.
339
00:35:16,396 --> 00:35:18,762
A quick, lucrative tour of America
340
00:35:18,832 --> 00:35:21,426
seemed the only way
of averting disaster.
341
00:35:21,501 --> 00:35:25,938
On landing, they were put on Ellis Island
as suspected revolutionaries.
342
00:35:26,006 --> 00:35:29,965
They were accused of coming to the USA
to sow the seeds of anarchy.
343
00:35:30,610 --> 00:35:33,238
Their books were suspected of
being subversive,
344
00:35:33,313 --> 00:35:36,009
their music of being
a cleverly coded message.
345
00:35:36,082 --> 00:35:38,107
They were communist agents.
346
00:35:38,185 --> 00:35:42,281
In 1922 the USA had reason
to fear such people.
347
00:35:42,355 --> 00:35:46,121
But Isadora pronounced
all their charges preposterous
348
00:35:46,193 --> 00:35:50,254
and in Boston the tour commenced
with an all-Russian program.
349
00:35:50,330 --> 00:35:54,130
She promised the authorities
there would be no trouble whatsoever.
350
00:36:09,616 --> 00:36:11,846
There was trouble, too,
in their private lives.
351
00:36:11,918 --> 00:36:14,352
They were married now,
and still on the honeymoon
352
00:36:14,454 --> 00:36:17,855
that had started
a few weeks ago in Leningrad.
353
00:36:40,947 --> 00:36:43,415
Their rows usually took the same form.
354
00:36:43,483 --> 00:36:46,350
He would start off
with an unintelligible tirade,
355
00:36:46,419 --> 00:36:49,445
she would get hold of luckless
interpreter to translate.
356
00:36:49,522 --> 00:36:52,753
His art was great, immortal,
it would live forever.
357
00:36:52,826 --> 00:36:55,556
When she died,
her art would die with her.
358
00:36:55,629 --> 00:36:58,655
Her dancing was a joke.
She would be quickly forgotten.
359
00:36:58,732 --> 00:37:00,962
What nonsense the boy talks.
360
00:37:01,034 --> 00:37:04,697
My message of beauty and freedom
will never die.
361
00:37:04,771 --> 00:37:07,399
It�ll be kept alive
by the children I�ve inspired.
362
00:37:07,474 --> 00:37:09,999
And live on in their children.
363
00:37:10,076 --> 00:37:14,012
And their children,
and children for generations to come!
364
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:16,173
Now you tell him that!
365
00:37:20,053 --> 00:37:21,611
No!
366
00:37:41,942 --> 00:37:44,206
In Chicago, the police were alerted
367
00:37:44,277 --> 00:37:46,745
to prevent a repetition
of the Boston incident.
368
00:37:46,813 --> 00:37:49,213
Yessenin caused trouble
wherever he went.
369
00:37:49,282 --> 00:37:52,615
He was turned out of hotels
and banned from theaters.
370
00:37:52,686 --> 00:37:54,881
His kleptomania knew no bounds.
371
00:37:54,955 --> 00:37:58,083
He even robbed his own wife
when the opportunity arose.
372
00:37:58,158 --> 00:38:00,126
It was not a little ironical
373
00:38:00,193 --> 00:38:02,957
that in order to get him out of Russia
and into America,
374
00:38:03,029 --> 00:38:07,022
Isadora had had to break one of
her strictly held commandments -
375
00:38:07,100 --> 00:38:08,761
never to marry.
376
00:38:08,835 --> 00:38:11,633
The police had their doubts
about her, too.
377
00:38:11,705 --> 00:38:14,139
Dancing to Russian music was one thing,
378
00:38:14,207 --> 00:38:17,176
but actually to express
the Russian Revolution
379
00:38:17,243 --> 00:38:21,009
in a dance which symbolized
the oppression of the masses
380
00:38:21,081 --> 00:38:23,015
and the overthrow of government
381
00:38:23,083 --> 00:38:25,051
was a very different matter.
382
00:42:12,745 --> 00:42:15,475
What the hell�s the matter
with you people?.
383
00:42:15,548 --> 00:42:17,482
Don�t you like Russian music?.
384
00:42:19,319 --> 00:42:22,880
Are you just afraid of
a Russian Revolution?.
385
00:42:22,956 --> 00:42:27,518
In Russia, there is freedom!
Here, you don�t know what it is.
386
00:42:28,228 --> 00:42:31,925
I came here to teach you people
what freedom really is.
387
00:42:31,998 --> 00:42:35,957
And your capitalist press
darn near ruined my tour.
388
00:42:36,035 --> 00:42:39,801
I am not an anarchist!
Or a Bolshevik!
389
00:42:39,872 --> 00:42:42,432
My husband and I are revolutionists!
390
00:42:43,309 --> 00:42:46,107
But they put us on Ellis Island.
391
00:42:46,746 --> 00:42:50,375
If anybody here speaks their mind,
the government prosecutes them.
392
00:42:50,450 --> 00:42:52,577
Well, they prosecute you if you drink.
393
00:42:54,220 --> 00:42:57,712
- That doesn�t stop you drinking, does it?.
394
00:42:57,790 --> 00:43:01,055
Some of the liquor I drank here
would have killed an elephant.
395
00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:02,650
It darn near killed me.
396
00:43:04,097 --> 00:43:07,157
Yeah, it�s a very good thing
I�m going back to Moscow.
397
00:43:09,435 --> 00:43:12,097
You should all read Maxim Gorky.
398
00:43:13,039 --> 00:43:16,236
He says there are three kinds of people -
399
00:43:16,309 --> 00:43:18,937
the black, the red and the gray.
400
00:43:19,812 --> 00:43:23,077
Now, the black people
are people who like to terrorize,
401
00:43:23,149 --> 00:43:27,518
people who want to command.
Like the Kaiser and the Tsar.
402
00:43:27,587 --> 00:43:33,184
The red people are people
who rejoice in freedom. Freedom.
403
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:39,759
And the gray people are like...
well, they�re like this hall.
404
00:43:42,535 --> 00:43:45,129
And that goes for your statues, too.
405
00:43:46,105 --> 00:43:48,437
They�re not Greek gods.
406
00:43:48,508 --> 00:43:52,205
They�re false.
And you�re as false as they are.
407
00:43:53,846 --> 00:43:56,246
You don�t know what real is!
408
00:43:56,349 --> 00:43:59,716
This...this is real!
409
00:44:10,096 --> 00:44:12,587
You were once wild here!
410
00:44:13,466 --> 00:44:16,094
Don�t let them tame you!
411
00:44:16,869 --> 00:44:19,565
They were deported from America,
kicked out of France
412
00:44:19,639 --> 00:44:22,164
and finally landed back in Russia.
413
00:44:22,241 --> 00:44:24,869
Yessenin made off
with what money was left.
414
00:44:24,944 --> 00:44:27,003
Isadora never saw him again.
415
00:44:34,821 --> 00:44:37,984
Darlings, how lovely! Where�s Wilma?.
416
00:44:38,057 --> 00:44:40,287
- Here.
- Oh, Wilma!
417
00:44:40,360 --> 00:44:42,885
Oh, it�s so wonderful to be back!
418
00:44:42,962 --> 00:44:45,556
I can�t tell you
how often I�ve wished I was here.
419
00:44:45,631 --> 00:44:47,599
Oh, what a nightmare.
420
00:44:47,667 --> 00:44:51,103
Boston, Ellis Island,
Indianapolis. Oh...
421
00:44:51,170 --> 00:44:53,331
But you�ve brought money
for the school?.
422
00:44:53,406 --> 00:44:56,637
- There�s little left of what you sent us.
- Oh, I haven�t any.
423
00:44:56,709 --> 00:45:00,770
You�ve no idea how expensive it is
replacing smashed-up furniture.
424
00:45:00,847 --> 00:45:03,509
In the end,
no decent hotel would take us.
425
00:45:03,583 --> 00:45:05,744
- Yessenin?.
- Yes.
426
00:45:05,818 --> 00:45:09,754
Didn�t work out.
We�re not together any more.
427
00:45:10,289 --> 00:45:13,258
- Man.
- (Repeat in Russian)
428
00:45:14,093 --> 00:45:15,651
Earth.
429
00:45:17,263 --> 00:45:18,821
Universe.
430
00:45:21,701 --> 00:45:23,259
Friendship.
431
00:45:27,740 --> 00:45:29,469
Eugh!
432
00:45:33,913 --> 00:45:38,282
To save the school, she would
have to start on yet another tour,
433
00:45:38,351 --> 00:45:42,754
this time accompanied
only by her impresario and a pianist.
434
00:45:42,822 --> 00:45:45,256
Surely there would be a profit this time.
435
00:45:45,324 --> 00:45:47,690
Their destination was the Volga district -
436
00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:50,991
and beyond, Siberia and China.
437
00:45:51,063 --> 00:45:54,658
Dear Wilma, we go
from one catastrophe to another.
438
00:45:54,734 --> 00:45:57,294
Arrived in Tashkent without a kopek.
439
00:45:57,370 --> 00:46:00,771
Spent two days wandering around
the streets, very hungry.
440
00:46:00,840 --> 00:46:03,070
Zenon Melchik slept in the theater,
441
00:46:03,142 --> 00:46:05,940
I next door in a little house
without water or toilet.
442
00:46:06,012 --> 00:46:09,448
All night long, I kill bedbugs
and listen to the dogs howl.
443
00:46:09,549 --> 00:46:13,349
I haven �t had soap or toothpaste
for a month. Tr�s amusant.
444
00:46:13,419 --> 00:46:16,752
I dance to large publics
of communists and workmen.
445
00:46:16,823 --> 00:46:20,020
No one has money for tickets
except the new bourgeoisie
446
00:46:20,092 --> 00:46:22,083
and they cordially detest me.
447
00:46:22,161 --> 00:46:26,495
But courage. It�s a long way,
but light is ahead.
448
00:46:27,366 --> 00:46:29,891
My art was the flower of an epoch.
449
00:46:29,969 --> 00:46:32,836
That epoch is dead
and Europe is the past.
450
00:46:32,905 --> 00:46:35,703
The little, red, tunicked ones
are the future.
451
00:46:35,775 --> 00:46:38,107
Plough the ground, sow the seed
452
00:46:38,177 --> 00:46:41,772
and prepare for the next generation
that will express the new world.
453
00:46:41,848 --> 00:46:44,043
With them I see the future.
454
00:46:44,116 --> 00:46:47,745
It is there and we will
dance to the Ninth Symphony yet.
455
00:46:48,621 --> 00:46:53,354
Love to you and the children.
ps Let�s hope Siberia turns out better.
456
00:46:55,595 --> 00:46:59,622
# Oh, bury me not
457
00:46:59,699 --> 00:47:03,135
# On the lone prairie
458
00:47:04,670 --> 00:47:09,039
# Where the wild coyotes
459
00:47:09,108 --> 00:47:12,100
# Will howl o �er me #
460
00:47:13,613 --> 00:47:16,605
Things were not better
in Siberia. They were worse.
461
00:47:16,682 --> 00:47:18,411
No one came to see her.
462
00:47:18,484 --> 00:47:22,420
How to get money? She contemplated
selling her love letters.
463
00:47:22,488 --> 00:47:25,150
She took them with her
wherever she went.
464
00:47:25,224 --> 00:47:28,660
A newspaper had once offered her
$1,000 for them
465
00:47:28,728 --> 00:47:30,787
but she never parted with them.
466
00:47:30,863 --> 00:47:33,263
They, at least, were some consolation
467
00:47:33,332 --> 00:47:35,732
for a career
that had seemed so promising
468
00:47:35,801 --> 00:47:38,201
on the beaches of California in the �90s
469
00:47:38,271 --> 00:47:40,535
and which she now realized
had come to an end
470
00:47:40,606 --> 00:47:43,905
on the Russian steppes in 1924.
471
00:47:43,976 --> 00:47:48,777
Indifference from the Russians troubled
her less than rejection by America.
472
00:47:48,848 --> 00:47:52,340
She loved America as much as
her grandparents had done,
473
00:47:52,418 --> 00:47:56,354
who had crossed the plains in a covered wagon
and fought the Indians.
474
00:47:56,422 --> 00:47:58,356
Exile was bitter.
475
00:47:58,424 --> 00:48:02,656
# Oh, bury me not
476
00:48:02,728 --> 00:48:07,427
# On the lone prairie
477
00:48:07,500 --> 00:48:11,834
# In a narrow grave
478
00:48:11,904 --> 00:48:16,364
# Six foot by three
479
00:48:16,442 --> 00:48:20,344
- # Where the buffalo pause
- Oh, my God!
480
00:48:20,413 --> 00:48:23,439
- Fool!
- # On a prairie sea... #
481
00:48:27,086 --> 00:48:29,987
What have they done?. My letters!
482
00:48:30,056 --> 00:48:32,490
Look, they�re all over the place.
483
00:48:46,372 --> 00:48:48,169
She never reached China,
484
00:48:48,240 --> 00:48:51,971
but back in Moscow she determined
to have one more go at the authorities.
485
00:48:52,044 --> 00:48:56,310
Oh, my dear, you don�t have to teach me
the true meaning of communism.
486
00:48:56,382 --> 00:48:59,215
In my heart I�ve been a communist
all my life.
487
00:48:59,285 --> 00:49:01,480
I�m the queen of communists.
488
00:49:01,554 --> 00:49:04,216
I�ve come here to help you
create the land
489
00:49:04,290 --> 00:49:08,659
in which every man, woman and child
shall inherit the fruits of the earth,
490
00:49:08,728 --> 00:49:12,357
united in a vast brotherhood of love.
491
00:51:06,078 --> 00:51:11,914
When I came to Russia, I had no idea
of giving public performances.
492
00:51:11,984 --> 00:51:15,511
I only wanted to give the greatest joy
and the greatest beauty
493
00:51:15,621 --> 00:51:17,748
to the children of the workers.
494
00:51:17,823 --> 00:51:21,224
You see here
children of the workers and peasants.
495
00:51:21,293 --> 00:51:24,319
And aren�t they fine, beautiful children?.
496
00:51:25,197 --> 00:51:28,325
Doesn�t it prove
they can be cultured and intelligent?.
497
00:51:28,400 --> 00:51:31,927
I want all the children in Russia
to be like them.
498
00:51:32,805 --> 00:51:35,740
But I can only give my art to a very few
499
00:51:35,808 --> 00:51:40,142
because my school doesn�t have a studio
large enough for them to dance in.
500
00:51:40,212 --> 00:51:42,612
I have asked those in power
501
00:51:42,681 --> 00:51:45,411
to give me a big arena in the summer
502
00:51:45,484 --> 00:51:47,952
and a big, heated place in the winter,
503
00:51:48,020 --> 00:51:51,512
where I could teach
a thousand children my art.
504
00:51:51,590 --> 00:51:56,254
But three years have passed
and nothing has been done.
505
00:51:56,328 --> 00:51:59,092
I have waited in vain.
506
00:51:59,165 --> 00:52:02,532
Tomorrow, I leave by plane
to tour Germany.
507
00:52:03,402 --> 00:52:06,098
So... I must say goodbye.
508
00:52:07,173 --> 00:52:12,236
But I will never give up my dream of
teaching thousands of your children.
509
00:52:12,311 --> 00:52:14,609
And you must help me!
510
00:52:16,582 --> 00:52:21,281
Art is so much greater...
than government.
511
00:52:22,288 --> 00:52:24,256
Her appeal was ignored.
512
00:52:24,323 --> 00:52:28,521
She said goodbye to her pupils.
She never saw any of them again.
513
00:52:29,495 --> 00:52:31,895
Berlin. Eden Hotel.
514
00:52:31,964 --> 00:52:34,592
December 16, 1925.
515
00:52:35,501 --> 00:52:40,404
Dear Wilma, I am stranded here
in this awful city.
516
00:52:40,472 --> 00:52:44,340
I�ve signed three contracts
and been swindled three times,
517
00:52:44,410 --> 00:52:46,037
the last for Hanover.
518
00:52:46,111 --> 00:52:49,979
When the time came, the agent didn �t
have the money for the railroad ticket.
519
00:52:50,049 --> 00:52:52,381
I cannot move from here
520
00:52:52,451 --> 00:52:56,080
and since four weeks,
the hotel will serve no more food.
521
00:52:56,155 --> 00:52:59,215
An American friend brings me
a slice of roast beef a day,
522
00:52:59,291 --> 00:53:01,418
but he has no money, either.
523
00:53:01,493 --> 00:53:05,395
Yes, I was terribly shocked
about Sergei�s suicide.
524
00:53:05,464 --> 00:53:08,661
But I wept and sobbed so much
because of him while he was alive
525
00:53:08,734 --> 00:53:12,135
that I�ve exhausted
my capacity to suffer over him.
526
00:53:12,204 --> 00:53:15,537
Me? I�m having an epoch
of such continual calamity
527
00:53:15,608 --> 00:53:17,974
that I�m often tempted
to follow his example.
528
00:53:18,043 --> 00:53:20,068
Only I�ll walk into the sea.
529
00:53:20,145 --> 00:53:24,081
Now, in case I don �t do that,
here is a plan for the future.
530
00:53:24,149 --> 00:53:28,813
I have almost persuaded the French
Communist Party to give me a school.
531
00:53:28,888 --> 00:53:32,221
I promised them I would bring
my best pupils from Moscow
532
00:53:32,291 --> 00:53:34,054
to act as monitors.
533
00:53:34,126 --> 00:53:37,721
If the school can be started in Paris
for all the workers� children,
534
00:53:37,796 --> 00:53:40,264
I have great hopes.
535
00:53:45,037 --> 00:53:49,201
Isadora wandered forlornly
among the wreckage of her career.
536
00:53:49,275 --> 00:53:52,938
The dream of a new school in France
remained only a dream.
537
00:53:53,012 --> 00:53:58,075
Now in her middle 40s, engagements in
Europe came with growing infrequency.
538
00:53:58,150 --> 00:54:01,085
But in some circles
her name was still hallowed
539
00:54:01,153 --> 00:54:05,249
and more than once, she was asked
to attend and to give her blessing
540
00:54:05,324 --> 00:54:07,690
to a recital in her honor.
541
00:54:11,330 --> 00:54:12,729
Ready?.
542
00:55:41,286 --> 00:55:44,619
- May I call you Isadora?.
- You can call me anything you like.
543
00:56:10,749 --> 00:56:14,810
I lay this wreath
on the grave of my hopes.
544
00:57:02,201 --> 00:57:03,759
Faster!
545
00:57:04,870 --> 00:57:07,031
This is the way to die!
546
00:57:08,273 --> 00:57:09,831
Faster!
547
00:57:10,709 --> 00:57:12,267
Faster!
548
00:57:13,745 --> 00:57:15,303
Oh...!
549
00:57:35,467 --> 00:57:38,334
Isadora landed on her feet
in Nice, broke.
550
00:57:38,403 --> 00:57:40,997
She had mortgaged
all her property years ago
551
00:57:41,073 --> 00:57:45,510
and sent Yessenin�s estate,
for 400,000 francs, to his parents.
552
00:57:45,577 --> 00:57:48,273
She lived on credit
at the Negresco for a time,
553
00:57:48,347 --> 00:57:50,144
then became a Riviera bum,
554
00:57:50,215 --> 00:57:53,116
always ready to suffer
a wealthy hanger-on,
555
00:57:53,185 --> 00:57:55,949
good for an improvised performance
at a party,
556
00:57:56,021 --> 00:57:59,286
easy copy for a journalist
hard up for a story,
557
00:57:59,358 --> 00:58:02,486
always on the lookout
for a nice, young poet.
558
00:58:02,561 --> 00:58:04,927
Will you dance with me, madame?.
559
00:58:04,997 --> 00:58:07,795
Je suis enchant�e, monsieur.
560
00:58:08,634 --> 00:58:11,432
# Thanks for the buggy ride,
thanks for the buggy ride
561
00:58:11,503 --> 00:58:14,097
# I had a wonderful time
562
00:58:14,206 --> 00:58:17,073
# No smell of gasoline,
just an old-fashioned team
563
00:58:17,142 --> 00:58:19,940
# It was a wonderful treat
to hear the patter of horses� feet
564
00:58:20,045 --> 00:58:22,809
# My boater nearly broke
I took it as a joke
565
00:58:22,881 --> 00:58:25,042
# It was all new to me
566
00:58:25,117 --> 00:58:28,018
# Cos I was used to riding
in a big limousine
567
00:58:28,086 --> 00:58:30,452
# But buggy-riding loving
sure beats any machine
568
00:58:30,522 --> 00:58:33,787
# Now, although I lost my pride,
thanks for the buggy ride
569
00:58:33,859 --> 00:58:35,952
# I had a wonderful time #
570
00:58:36,028 --> 00:58:38,963
Isadora, the press are still here.
571
00:58:39,031 --> 00:58:40,931
Coming.
572
00:58:41,800 --> 00:58:46,999
Isadora Duncan �s studio, Nice,
Wednesday 14th September 1927.
573
00:58:47,072 --> 00:58:48,869
Press conference.
574
00:58:48,941 --> 00:58:52,843
Well, can I say, then, that you�ll be given
a high price for your memoirs?.
575
00:58:52,911 --> 00:58:56,312
You can say that I hope to make
enough money to start my school.
576
00:58:56,381 --> 00:58:59,350
And then I shall show you 500 children
577
00:58:59,418 --> 00:59:02,876
dancing to
Beethoven�s Ninth Symphony. Whoo!
578
00:59:02,955 --> 00:59:07,688
- Do you consider, as a dancer...
- I�m not a dancer. I hate dancing.
579
00:59:07,759 --> 00:59:11,160
I am an expressionist...of beauty.
580
00:59:11,997 --> 00:59:17,128
But...but you are one of
the g-greatest dancers in the world.
581
00:59:17,202 --> 00:59:19,500
I think you can say that.
582
00:59:20,405 --> 00:59:22,635
I�ll tell you a secret.
583
00:59:22,708 --> 00:59:26,166
I don�t know how to dance at all.
Not at all.
584
00:59:26,245 --> 00:59:31,512
If you put your hand on your heart
and listen to your soul,
585
00:59:31,583 --> 00:59:34,143
you�ll be able to dance as well as I do.
586
00:59:34,219 --> 00:59:37,347
And that�s all there is to it, my friend.
587
00:59:37,422 --> 00:59:42,758
W-Well, if you�d care to take a few poses
that occur to you, we�d be most grateful.
588
00:59:44,796 --> 00:59:47,321
As a dancer, I�m really a great orator.
589
00:59:48,700 --> 00:59:51,533
My art is an expression of life.
590
00:59:52,571 --> 00:59:55,005
My dancing is of the spirit...
591
00:59:56,541 --> 00:59:58,805
not of the body.
592
00:59:58,877 --> 01:00:04,509
When my body moves
it�s because my spirit moves it.
593
01:00:05,584 --> 01:00:08,917
If my art is symbolic of any one thing,
594
01:00:08,987 --> 01:00:11,649
it�s symbolic of the freedom of women.
595
01:00:14,459 --> 01:00:17,019
My body is the temple of my art.
596
01:00:17,963 --> 01:00:23,458
I expose it as the shrine...
for the worship of beauty.
597
01:00:25,671 --> 01:00:28,435
Age is only self-hypnotism.
598
01:00:30,309 --> 01:00:34,871
Oh, wait. Oh, leaves. Yes.
Autumn leaves.
599
01:00:36,148 --> 01:00:39,675
- Ah, there�s my buggy boy.
- Oh, very effective, yes.
600
01:00:39,751 --> 01:00:41,946
I don�t need your props for inspiration.
601
01:00:42,821 --> 01:00:44,948
I need music.
602
01:00:45,023 --> 01:00:47,890
Beethoven. Wagner.
603
01:00:47,959 --> 01:00:50,587
One of the immortals.
604
01:00:55,467 --> 01:00:59,426
# Blackbird, blackbird,
singing the blues all day
605
01:00:59,504 --> 01:01:03,600
# Right outside of my home
606
01:01:03,675 --> 01:01:06,838
# Blackbird, blackbird,
why do you sit and say
607
01:01:06,912 --> 01:01:10,780
# There �s no sunshine in store?
608
01:01:12,084 --> 01:01:15,645
# All through the winter
you hung around
609
01:01:15,721 --> 01:01:19,748
# Now I begin to feel homeward bound
610
01:01:19,825 --> 01:01:23,124
# Blackbird, blackbird,
bound to be on my way
611
01:01:23,195 --> 01:01:27,359
- Look out! No, no, no!
- # Where there �s sunshine galore
612
01:01:27,432 --> 01:01:30,162
# Pack up all my cares and woe
613
01:01:30,235 --> 01:01:36,265
# Here I go, singing low,
bye-bye blackbird
614
01:01:36,341 --> 01:01:40,300
# Where somebody waits for me,
sugar�s sweet, so is she
615
01:01:40,379 --> 01:01:44,315
# Bye-bye blackbird
616
01:01:44,383 --> 01:01:48,183
# Here nobody loves or understands me
617
01:01:48,286 --> 01:01:52,347
# Oh, what hard-luck stories
they all hand me
618
01:01:52,424 --> 01:01:56,554
# Make my bed and light the light
I�ll be home late tonight
619
01:01:56,628 --> 01:01:59,927
# Blackbird bye-bye #
620
01:01:59,998 --> 01:02:02,865
Adieu, mes amis!
621
01:02:02,934 --> 01:02:05,300
Je vais � la gloire!
622
01:03:08,667 --> 01:03:10,862
# Blackbird, blackbird
623
01:03:10,936 --> 01:03:12,904
# Singing the blues all day
624
01:03:12,971 --> 01:03:15,633
# Right outside of my door
625
01:03:17,042 --> 01:03:19,033
# Blackbird, blackbird
626
01:03:19,111 --> 01:03:21,102
# Why do you sit and say
627
01:03:21,179 --> 01:03:24,376
# There �s no sunshine in store?
628
01:03:25,217 --> 01:03:28,914
# All through the winter
you hung around
629
01:03:28,987 --> 01:03:32,821
# Now I begin to feel homeward bound
630
01:03:32,891 --> 01:03:35,086
# Blackbird, blackbird
631
01:03:35,193 --> 01:03:37,320
# Bound to be on my way
632
01:03:37,396 --> 01:03:39,956
# Where there �s sunshine galore
633
01:03:41,300 --> 01:03:43,268
# Pack up all my cares and woe
634
01:03:43,335 --> 01:03:45,326
# Here I go, swinging low
635
01:03:45,404 --> 01:03:49,500
# Bye-bye blackbird
636
01:03:49,574 --> 01:03:51,474
# Where somebody waits for me
637
01:03:51,543 --> 01:03:53,670
# Sugar�s sweet, so is she
638
01:03:53,745 --> 01:03:57,408
# Bye-bye blackbird
639
01:03:57,516 --> 01:04:01,384
# Here nobody loves or understands me
640
01:04:01,453 --> 01:04:05,583
# Oh, what hard-luck stories
they all hand me
641
01:04:05,657 --> 01:04:07,625
# Make my bed and light the light
642
01:04:07,693 --> 01:04:09,593
# I�ll be home late tonight
643
01:04:09,661 --> 01:04:12,960
# Blackbird bye-bye
644
01:04:13,965 --> 01:04:17,799
# Here nobody loves or understands me
645
01:04:17,869 --> 01:04:22,067
# Oh, what hard-luck stories
they all hand me
646
01:04:22,140 --> 01:04:23,971
# Make my bed and light the light
647
01:04:24,042 --> 01:04:26,169
# I�ll be home late tonight
648
01:04:26,244 --> 01:04:30,408
# Blackbird, blackbird
649
01:04:30,482 --> 01:04:34,179
# Blackbird bye-bye #
54511
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