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Revisiting ‘Wisconsin Death Trip,’ 50 Years Later

The times’s critic dwight garner looks back on michael lesy’s cult classic of documentary literature, which was first published in 1973..

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It’s been 50 years since Michael Lesy’s influential cult classic “Wisconsin Death Trip” was published. A documentary text of found material, the book gathered prosaic historical photos of Wisconsin residents from the turn of the 20th century and paired them to haunting effect with fragmentary newspaper archives from the same time period reporting on often garish deaths — what our critic Dwight Garner, evaluating the book for its anniversary , called “horrific local news items that point, page by page, toward spiritual catastrophe. Nearly every person in it looks as if they are about to be struck by lightning.”

Garner appears on the podcast this week to talk with the host Gilbert Cruz about “Wisconsin Death Trip” and the resonance it still holds in the culture.

“It evokes what long nights felt like in America,” he says, “before there was electricity and radio, and before — if your child was very sick, there were no antibiotics. And maybe your child was dying. And anxiety of course could not be treated then by antidepressants or other kinds of pills. And people quote-unquote went mad more often than we’d like to think. And there were bankruptcies, people threw themselves in front of trains. There are all kinds of suicides in this book. And it just makes you wonder what was happening, what kind of spiritual crisis was going on in Wisconsin in the 1890s.”

Garner is a fan of unusual documentary literature, he tells Cruz, and in “Wisconsin Death Trip” he sees not only a portrait of a vanished small-town America but also a portrait of vanished journalism. “Newspapers in America have been gutted out,” he says. “You don’t have small-town papers like this in many places anymore, that have real staffs who report on this stuff. There’s a kind of reporting in this book that is sort of the ‘crazy death’ that we don’t read about anymore: the person at the sawmill who gets tangled up. Maybe you’ll read about it somewhere. But it was more of a staple of small-town news reporting then. Even papers like The New York Times did a lot of that. … But in general what Lesy is after is stuff that almost suggests, as I said before, a kind of spiritual crisis. So many people having breakdowns. And it just makes you realize that our nostalgia for the good old American heartland, there’s a real dark shadow there. And in many ways it’s false nostalgia. And this book is one of those correctives that puts you in touch with the night side of life in this way that few books of documentary that I’ve read actually do.”

We would love to hear your thoughts about this episode, and about the Book Review’s podcast in general. You can send them to [email protected] .

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Wisconsin death trip.

By michael lesy.

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Published in 1973, this remarkable book about life in a small turn-of-the-century Wisconsin town has become a cult classic. Lesy has collected and arranged photographs taken between 1890 and 1910 by a Black River Falls photographer, Charles Van Schaik. (Goodreads.com)

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Bibliography: [2] p. at end. Originally presented as the author's thesis, Rutgers. Consists chiefly of excerpts from the Badger State banner, Black River Falls, Wis., for the years 1885-1900 and of photos. taken by Charles Van Schaick from 1890 to 1910.

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Wisconsin Death Trip

Michael Lesy, Charles Van Schaick

Verlag: University of New Mexico Press 2000-01-30, Albuquerque, 2000

ISBN 10: 0826321933 ISBN 13: 9780826321930

Anbieter: Blackwell's , Oxford, OX, Vereinigtes K�nigreich

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paperback. Zustand: New. Language: ENG.

Lesy, Michael, Van Schaick, Charles

Verlag: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1973

ISBN 10: 0394483669 ISBN 13: 9780394483665

Anbieter: Better World Books , Mishawaka, IN, USA

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Zustand: Good. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.

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Pantheon Books, New York. A Division of Random House. 1973. Andrew Roth, The Book of 101 books, page 222/223. Black and white photographs. Purple cloth with photographically illustrated dustjacket. 220 x 280 mm. No pagination. Ca. 250 pages. Condition: In sensational clean condition without defects. Dustjacket 100% complete without tears or missing parts. Scarce first printing (there is a later printing and a reprint also)! Scarce hardcover edition! A collector`s copy! A selection of photographs taken between 1890 and 1910 by Charles Van Schaick, a local town photographer. Combined with texts, selected by the author from local archives, newspapers, novels, madhouse records. This approach resulted in a fascinating book, offering a totally different view on American history: a haunting perception reminiscent in some ways of the experiments of the early surrealist film makers.***************Pantheon Books, New York. A Division of Random House. 1973. Amerikanische Erstausgabe. Originalausgabe. Andrew Roth, The Book of 101 books, Seite 222/223. Schwarz-wei� Fotos. Leinen mit illustriertem Original-Schutzumschlag. 220 x 280 mm. Unpaginiert. Ca. 250 Seiten. Zustand: In sensationellem Zustand. Innen sauber und ohne M�ngel. Der Schutzumschlag ebenfalls hervorragend erhalten. Ohne Einrisse oder Fehlstellen. Hier die seltene Erstausgabe (nicht zu verwechseln mit dem Zweitdruck und dem Reprint)! In der seltenen Hardcover-Version! Tolles Sammler-Exemplar! Sprache: Englisch Gewicht in Gramm: 1600. Seller Inventory # 11245

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Wisconsin Death Trip

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First published in 1973, this remarkable book about life in a small turn-of-the-century Wisconsin town has become a cult classic. Lesy has collected and arranged photographs taken between 1890 and 1910 by a Black River Falls photographer, Charles Van Schaik.

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• Release date: August 15, 2016

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Publisher: University of New Mexico Press

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OverDrive Read ISBN: 9780826358400 Release date: August 15, 2016

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• Michael Lesy - Author
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Product Description

Inspired by the Michael Lesy book of the same name, Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking, and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that befell one small town in Wisconsin during the 1890s. The town of Black River Falls is gripped by a peculiar malaise and the weekly news accounts are dominated by bizarre talk of madness, eccentricity, and violence amongst the local population. Suicide and murder are commonplace, and people are haunted by ghosts, possessed by devils, and terrorized by teenage outlaws and arsonists. Featuring music by Debussy, Blind Mellon Jefferson, John Cale, and DJ Shadow. Narrated by Ian Holmes.

Inspired by the cult-favorite book by Michael Lesy, Wisconsin Death Trip is an eerily dreamlike film about the moral, spiritual, and physical collapse of a small American town in the 1890s. Stricken by economic depression, harsh winters, and a diphtheria epidemic that decimated the local infant population, the citizens of Black River Falls, Wisconsin--primarily German and Norwegian immigrants hoping for a better life in America--fell victim to a rising tide of insanity, murder, arson, and moral breakdown. By creating moody black-and-white reenactments of the horrid events chronicled in Lesy's book (which includes the haunting vintage photographs of the town's official photographer), director James Marsh conveys, through chilling detachment and the subtly sardonic narration by Ian Holm, the impression of sly bemusement, as if Black River Falls was preordained by fate to become a village of the damned. It's both fiendishly macabre and yet strangely compelling, weakened only by Marsh's suggestion (through color sequences of present-day Wisconsin) that things have never really changed since those creepy, ill-fated days when death was seemingly everywhere. Apart from that half-baked attempt at irony, Wisconsin Death Trip is a film you won't soon forget. --Jeff Shannon

Product details

• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
• Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.75 inches; 3.2 ounces
• Director ‏ : ‎ James Marsh
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Color, Black & White, Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 16 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 24, 2004
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ian Holm, Jeffrey Golden, Jo Vukelich, Marcus Monroe, Marilyn White
• Producers ‏ : ‎ Anthony Wall, Carol Hirschi, James Marsh, Maureen A. Ryan, Nancy Abraham
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Home Vision Entertainment
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0000BWVL3
• Writers ‏ : ‎ James Marsh, Michael Lesy
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• #13,786 in Special Interests (Movies & TV)

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Wisconsin death trip.

1999 Directed by James Marsh

Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the 19th century.

Ian Holm Marcus Monroe Marilyn White John Baltes Molly Nikki Anderson Brittany Haydock Eddie Kunz Steven Strobel

Director Director

James Marsh

Producers Producers

James Marsh Maureen A. Ryan

Executive Producer Exec. Producer

Anthony Wall

Writer Writer

Original writer original writer.

Michael Lesy

Editor Editor

Jinx Godfrey

Cinematography Cinematography

Eigil Bryld

Additional Photography Add. Photography

Frankie DeMarco

Composers Composers

John Cale DJ Shadow

Costume Design Costume Design

Ellen Kozak

BBC BBC Arena Hands On Cinemax

Documentary Crime

Intense violence and sexual transgression Challenging or sexual themes & twists Show All…

Releases by Date

05 sep 1999, 02 jul 2000, releases by country.

• Theatrical NR

76 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by laird ★★★★ 1

Old, Weird America

Mary Sweeney , the schoolteacher who became a serial window-smasher/coke-addict, is my new favorite folk hero.

Review by mrbalihai ★★★★ 6

Film 1 of my Behind the Cheddar Curtain Film Festival .

If you've ever paged through a copy of Michael Lesy's 1973 book, with its melancholy daguerreotypes of child corpse photos, stoic immigrant farmers, and newspaper clippings describing the bizarre, disturbing, and murderous activities that took place in and around the small town of Black River Falls, Wisconsin at the turn of the century, then you can probably imagine how difficult it would be to turn it into a documentary that wouldn't have viewers running for the exits in terror or putting a gun in their mouths.

Fortunately, director James Marsh figured out how to translate the book's exceedingly weird cabin-fever dream into an intimate, oddly beautiful, and heartfelt examination…

Review by Niall Urquhart ★★★½ 1

This was surprisingly enjoyable. It felt more like an essay film than a documentary. It mostly consisted of Ian Holm reading out newspaper reports of grisly goings-on in 1890s Wisconsin. Most involved people with mental health issues, many of whom were immigrants. There were recurring characters like the woman addicted to cocaine who loved breaking windows. There were also 1890s photos plus reconstructions of some events. The footage from modern day America wasn't needed though.

Review by Evan “Kaizō Haya-shill” Pincus ★★★★★ 1

Northern gothic. One of those movies that should be FAR wider known- it's an odd little docudrama from a director who went on to win Oscars, which means it's at least got a somewhat big name behind the camera, and the mood here is so incredibly thick, full of violence, death, and absurdity that it's shocking this isn't a popular cult classic. Needs a blu-ray stat, and a release of the absolutely incredible soundtrack wouldn't hurt either.

Review by s. mill ★★★★½ 3

life is temporary, death is forever, and photography cannot save us. folk murder ballad cinema. one of the most essential midwest movies i’ve ever seen. it is rather slight and still and quiet and certainly not for everybody, but it’s sorta made for me.

Review by Split Tooth

The beauty of 'Wisconsin Death Trip' is its balance of lurid imagery and numbing monotony. Any piece worth its salt on James Marsh’s film is sure to include a depressing list of everyday horrors: dead and abandoned children, pestilence, suicide, murder, starvation, poverty, famine, despair, economic collapse, arson, addiction, witchcraft and satanic rituals, drunk bees, blind rage, rampant gun violence, self-immolation. The list goes on, all tied to events that occurred over a 10-year period, the last decade of the 19th century, in the greater Black River Falls, Wisconsin, area.

The volume and intensity of the events depicted in the film has a cumulative effect, and the matter-of-fact, adjective-free recitation of each tale makes the aberrant feel ordinary, even expected…

Review by Matt Lavender ★★★½

An account of some fucked up shit that happened in Black River Falls, Wisconsin between 1890 and 1900. Uses newspaper articles and black and white photos from the time with some black and white shot recreated scenes so it's not just a slideshow. Here's some shit from the first 15 minutes: Suicide by dynamite, a serial window smasher, kids murdering siblings, people losing their minds, creeping depression, a spreading diphtheria epidemic, burning houses and dead children. A tour de force of misery and suffering. Changes it's style up a bit after the relentless opening, goes to the present day (or sometime in the 90s at least) and a quick hello from the Mayor. Then it's back to the black and…

Review by Klon ★★★★★

Each sentence of narration could be the subject of its own Nick Cave song, but Mary Sweeney, the coked up teacher that gets her jollies breaking windows, is the breakaway star of this movie.

Review by The Professor ★★★½ 1

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

I watched this movie back in September of last year, and it's just been sitting here, waiting for someone to request it. It had been so long, that I had to do a rewatch, and, further research (including acquiring the original 1973 Michael Lesy book [no easy task] and absorbing it completely).

And this is what I have to say about Wisconsin Death Trip .

It's a perfectly creepy adaptation of a perfectly unfilmable book.

The book itself is a masterpiece, plain and simple. Just news clippings, random quotations and photographs from Black River Falls, Wisconsin, taken from the years 1895-1910. Apparently, life was pretty hard back then.

You would think that this would be something that would be completely…

Review by Lochlan Ashton ★★★

I wasn’t planning on watching this but my uncle stuck it on i. The caravan and I ended up enjoying it. It’s something different for a documentary. It was really enjoyable but also scary at the same time.

Review by Evan “Kaizō Haya-shill” Pincus ★★★★★

Murder. Suicide. Disease. Crime. Welcome to Wisconsin heading into the turn of the 20th century, a place where bad news is plentiful and every change in weather just heralds a slightly different case of seasonal depression. Director James Marsh (Man on Wire, The Theory of Everything) recreates selected headlines from the era in beautifully staged reenactments. This has gotta have one of the best compiled soundtracks of all time.

Review by cameron fetter ★★★★ 2

really worth watching

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Wisconsin Death Trip

• A series of grisly events that took place in the state of Wisconsin between 1890 and 1900 is dramatized as reported in the Black River Falls newspaper.
• Wisconsin Death Trip is an intimate, shocking and sometimes hilarious account of the disasters that befell one small town in Wisconsin during the final decade of the nineteenth century. The film is inspired by Michael Lesy's book of the same name, which published in 1973. Lesy discovered a striking archive of black and white photographs in the town of Black River Falls, dating from the 1890s and married a selection of these images to extracts from the town's newspaper from the same decade. The effect was surprising and disturbing. The town of Black River Falls seems gripped by some peculiar malaise, and the weekly news is dominated by bizarre tales of madness, eccentricity, and violence amongst the local population. Suicide and murder are commonplace. People in the town are haunted by ghosts, possessed by demons, and terrorized by teenage outlaws and arsonists. Like the book, the film is constructed entirely from authentic news reports from the Black River Falls' newspaper, with occasional excerpts from the records of the nearby Mendota Asylum for the Insane. The film also makes use of the haunting black and white photographs taken by the resident portrait photographer of Black River Falls at the end of the nineteenth century. Contemporary color documentary footage of the town today, is also included at the end of each section of the film that take place over the course of four seasons. — MAR

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