I had seen a clip from this a few months ago and finally got around to getting it from the library. Very interesting synergy between visuals and score. The pace of the story, like the pace of the bayou life (?), is languid. Languid, visual/music combo, and enviromental focus: made me think a little bit of Koyaanisqatsi, but at the same time is quite different. But this is certainly a work of art.

Some bits from the VHS cover: "this is one of the first full length environmental documentaries." Calling this a doc is stretching a lot, but then Flaherty was known for combining doc and fiction.

The film was funded by Standard Oil of NJ, but the VHS cover notes that they gave him full artistic freedom. Maybe. But by today's standards it sure makes oil companies look like pretty nice people and the final scene with the boy climbing on the Christmas tree (oil patch jargon for valves built atop the well head) in the middle of the bayou certainly makes the point that oil production doesn't harm the environment.

Oh, and a note about the music: It got the Pulitzer for music in 1949.

One of my favorite movies!

I love how Robert Flaherty approaches each project as a collaboration with his subjects. His reputation as a documentarian may be a matter of dispute, but he was an inarguably great imagist, and like you said, Darrel, the relationship between Flaherty's visuals and Virgil Thomson's score are fascinating. And it's such a beautifully cadenced film. The only "flaw" is Flaherty's assertion that the oil drilling will have no adverse effect on the environment. Kind of sketchy, but it's easy to admire his romantic vision of the world.

I feel about Louisiana Story how Jeffrey feels about The New World.

Darrel, you should check out Man of Aran when you get a chance!

Don't know why I didn't comment on this back in the summer, but one reason for the "flaw" could be that Standard Oil commissioned the film. And it was a world that thought a bit less about ecology and saw industry in a much better light.