Sprout Wings and Fly

1983 0h 30m EN

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 14

DocumentaryMusic

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Set in the North Carolina Appalachians, Sprout Wings and Fly honors the fiddle playing of 82-year-old Tommy Jarrell of Toast, NC. Tommy was quirky, gregarious and generous, and this film shows him at his best, in fine fiddling form.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

Criterion ChannelSubscription

Cast

Tommy Jarrell
Himself

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alice Gerrard
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

43 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "Les Blank: Always for Pleasure" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alice Gerrard, shot by Les Blank. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Maureen Gosling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0086353 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alice Gerrard directs. Les Blank behind the camera. Maureen Gosling cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 30-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
243 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Les Blank: Always for Pleasure" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Alice Gerrard, shot by Les Blank. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Maureen Gosling shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7IMDB entry: tt0086353 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 14 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Les Blank
Editing: Maureen Gosling
Runtime: 30 min · 0h 30m
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: Sprout Wings and Fly (1983)

Part of

Les Blank: Always for Pleasure

An uncompromisingly independent filmmaker, Les Blank made documentaries for nearly fifty years, elegantly disappearing with his camera into cultural spots rarely seen on-screen—mostly on the peripheries of the United States, but also occasionally abroad. Seemingly off-the-cuff yet poetically constructed, these films are humane, sometimes wry, always engaging tributes to music, food, and all sorts of regionally specific delights. This collector’s set provides a diverse survey of Les Blank’s vast output, including fourteen of his best-known works and eight related short films.