Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

1980 · 51 min · ★ 7.5 · Documentary

A zesty paean of praise to the greater glories of garlic. This lip-smacking foray into the history, consumption, cultivation and culinary/curative powers of the stinking rose features chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse, and a flavorful musical soundtrack. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Directed by Les Blank

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Cast

Alice Waters Self - Chez Panisse Restaurant, Berkeley
Werner Herzog Self - Film Director: Nosferatu
Harrod Blank Self - Youth Saved From Dysentery
Michael Goodwin Self - Interviewer, Recordist, Writer, Garlic Peeler
Christopher Pray Narrator (voice)

Trailers & Videos

Make it a double feature

2h 28m together

Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers

Burden of Dreams

Both from Les Blank.

Les Blank: Always for PleasureSee all →

God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance

God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance · 1968

God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance

MovieDocumentary

Les Blank's poetic documentation of 1967's Los Angeles Easter Sunday Love-In. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2002.

The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins

The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins · 1968

The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of Texas bluesman 'Lightnin' Hopkins. The film includes interviews and a performance by Hopkins. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2002.

A Well Spent Life

A Well Spent Life · 1971

A Well Spent Life

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of Texas blues songster Mance Lipscomb.

Spend It All

Spend It All · 1972

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Another short documentary of "Real Food, Roots Music, and People Full of Passion for what they do!", Spend It All is Les Blank's spirited look at the French-speaking Cajun community of southwest Louisiana. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

Hot Pepper

Hot Pepper · 1973

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of Zydeco King Clifton Chenier, who combines the pulsating rhythms of Cajun dance music and black R&B with African overtones, belting out his irresistible music in the sweaty juke joints of South Louisiana.

Dry Wood

Dry Wood · 1973

MovieDocumentary

Featuring the stories and music of seminal Cajun musicians "Bois Sec" Ardoin and Canray Fontenot, Dry Wood is a short, vibrant documentary portrait of life, food, music and festivity in the Louisiana Delta from the singular Les Blank. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Always for Pleasure

Always for Pleasure · 1978

Always for Pleasure

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of New Orleans' street celebrations and unique cultural gumbo in 1977: second-line parades, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. Features live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more. This glorious, soul-satisfying film is among Blank's special masterworks. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Sprout Wings and Fly

Sprout Wings and Fly · 1983

Sprout Wings and Fly

MovieDocumentaryMusic

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.

In Heaven There Is No Beer?

In Heaven There Is No Beer? · 1984

In Heaven There Is No Beer?

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A joyous romp through the dance, food, music, friendship, and even religion of the Polka. The explosive energy and high spirits of the polka subculture are rendered with warmth and dedication to scholarship in this journey through Polish-American celebrations. Polka stars like Jimmy Sturr, Eddie Blazonzyck and Walt Solek are featured.

Gap-Toothed Women

Gap-Toothed Women · 1987

Gap-Toothed Women

MovieDocumentary

A charming valentine to women born with a space between their teeth, ranging from lighthearted whimsy to a deeper look at issues like self-esteem and societal attitudes toward standards of beauty. Interviews were conducted with over one hundred women, including model Lauren Hutton and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of the Cajun and Creole Cooking of Louisiana

Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of the Cajun and Creole Cooking of Louisiana · 1990

Yum, Yum, Yum! A Taste of the Cajun and Creole Cooking of Louisiana

MovieDocumentary

Les Blank marries his passion for spicy, down home food and his love for Cajuns and Creoles in this mouth-watering, exploration of the cooking, and other enthusiasms, of French-speaking Louisiana. Features tangy music, and food by Marc Savoy, Paul Prudhomme, and other greats.

Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella

Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella · 1995

Sworn to the Drum: A Tribute to Francisco Aguabella

MovieDocumentary

When you think of Latin percussion, think of Francisco Aguabella. Perhaps the finest Afro-Cuban master percussionist still living, he has become synonymous with his instrument — one of the highest compliments a musician can receive. Indeed, what Carlos Santana is to the guitar, Aguabella is to the conga drum.

The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists

The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists · 1995

The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists

MovieDocumentaryMusic

What happens when a dedicated husband and father quits his job, adopts the persona of a Western-Movie Singing Cowboy, takes on the entire art establishment (including Christo and Andy Warhol), and refuses to accept money for his art ? Meet Gerry Gaxiola, AKA The Maestro, an ex-wage slave who gave up everything to make art for art's sake. The Maestro's story could inspire a whole new generation of Van Goghs.

More from Les BlankSee all →

Tattoo Uprising

Tattoo Uprising · 2019

Tattoo Uprising

MovieDocumentary

An examination of the artistic and historical roots of today's tattoo explosion.

Innocents Abroad

Innocents Abroad · 1991

Innocents Abroad

MovieDocumentary

A warmly amusing look at a bus-full of American tourists on a whirlwind tour of Europe. The eclectic soundtrack includes Mozart, Bob Dylan, Sandy Denny, Jonathan Richman, others.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse · 1991

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

MovieDocumentary

A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.

A Poem Is a Naked Person

A Poem Is a Naked Person · 1974

A Poem Is a Naked Person

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Les Blank's first feature-length documentary captures music and other events at Leon Russell's Oklahoma recording studio during a three-year period (1972-1974).

I Went to the Dance

I Went to the Dance · 1989

I Went to the Dance

MovieDocumentaryMusic

The definitive film on the history of the toe-tapping, foot-stomping music of French Southwest Louisiana. Includes many Cajun and Zydeco greats, featuring Michael Doucet and Beausoleil, Clifton Chenier, Marc and Ann Savoy, D.L. Menard, and many others.

Burden of Dreams

Burden of Dreams · 1982

Burden of Dreams

MovieDocumentary

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

Fitzcarraldo

Fitzcarraldo · 1982

MovieDramaAdventure

Fitzcarraldo is a dreamer who plans to build an opera house in Iquitos, in the Peruvian Amazon, so, in order to finance his project, he embarks on an epic adventure to collect rubber, a very profitable product, in a remote and unexplored region of the rainforest.

Always for Pleasure

Always for Pleasure · 1978

Always for Pleasure

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of New Orleans' street celebrations and unique cultural gumbo in 1977: second-line parades, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest. Features live music from Professor Longhair, the Wild Tchoupitoulas, the Neville Brothers and more. This glorious, soul-satisfying film is among Blank's special masterworks. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

Gap-Toothed Women

Gap-Toothed Women · 1987

Gap-Toothed Women

MovieDocumentary

A charming valentine to women born with a space between their teeth, ranging from lighthearted whimsy to a deeper look at issues like self-esteem and societal attitudes toward standards of beauty. Interviews were conducted with over one hundred women, including model Lauren Hutton and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe · 1980

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

MovieDocumentaryComedy

Werner Herzog fulfills a bet he made with his assistant Errol Morris to inspire him to complete his first feature film, "Gates of Heaven".

Spend It All

Spend It All · 1972

MovieDocumentaryMusic

Another short documentary of "Real Food, Roots Music, and People Full of Passion for what they do!", Spend It All is Les Blank's spirited look at the French-speaking Cajun community of southwest Louisiana. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.

POV

SeriesDocumentary

The home for the world's boldest contemporary filmmakers, celebrating intriguing personal stories that spark conversation and inspire action.

Chulas Fronteras

Chulas Fronteras · 1976

Chulas Fronteras

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A complex, insightful look at the Chicano experience as mirrored in the lives and music of the most acclaimed Norteño musicians of the Texas-Mexican border, including Flaco Jimenez and Lydia Mendoza. Video includes bonus feature, Del Mero Corazon.

Hot Pepper

Hot Pepper · 1973

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of Zydeco King Clifton Chenier, who combines the pulsating rhythms of Cajun dance music and black R&B with African overtones, belting out his irresistible music in the sweaty juke joints of South Louisiana.

A Well Spent Life

A Well Spent Life · 1971

A Well Spent Life

MovieDocumentaryMusic

A musical portrait of Texas blues songster Mance Lipscomb.

Dry Wood

Dry Wood · 1973

MovieDocumentary

Featuring the stories and music of seminal Cajun musicians "Bois Sec" Ardoin and Canray Fontenot, Dry Wood is a short, vibrant documentary portrait of life, food, music and festivity in the Louisiana Delta from the singular Les Blank. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 1999.

More Like This

Harlan County U.S.A.

Harlan County U.S.A. · 1976

Harlan County U.S.A.

MovieDocumentary

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Hoop Dreams

Hoop Dreams · 1994

MovieDocumentary

Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Illinois, a predominately white suburban school well-known for the excellence of its basketball program. Gates and Agee dream of NBA stardom, and with the support of their close-knit families, they battle the social and physical obstacles that stand in their way. This acclaimed documentary was shot over the course of five years.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter