Documentary fans the world over are mourning the passing of the great Richard Leacock, who died yesterday at 89. Leacock, known as “Ricky” to his friends and colleagues, was best known as one of the founding fathers of the “direct cinema” movement. Direct cinema (often conflated with cinéma vérité, though there are subtle differences between the two forms) was the groundbreaking documentary technique that utilized handheld cameras and portable sound recording equipment to create observational, fly-on-the-wall works — films that “directly” captured their subjects, without the interference of the filmmaker.

This might sound like a no-brainer, since the direct cinema style has become our most immediate notion of what a documentary is, from the films of Leacock and his contemporaries right down to the reality shows of today. But before these groundbreakers, most documentaries were just talking-head-and-archival-footage jobs — films that explained the past, rather than capturing the present. The direct cinema directors and cameramen saw the development of lightweight 16mm Arriflex film cameras and Nagra’s mobile audio gear in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a way to shake all of that up. In the process, they created a vital new film form. In honor of Leacock, join us after the jump for a look at a few of the touchstones of the movement. … Read More