#howard worth

“Raga” director Howard Worth with George Harrison and Ravi Shankar‬, off the coast of Cannes, May 1972. Phots: Ventura County Star.

“You know, though, the film [Raga] very nearly never made it. We had to stop production for 9 months because we ran out. The only reason RAGA finally became a reality is due to only one person — George Harrison. There was a time when most of the film was completed and I was in terrible financial straits. I couldn’t really complete the film and I didn’t know where to turn. I was calling up all the distributors and screening, and they were all telling me, It’s a great film but it’s different and what are we going to do with it?’ Now, George Harrison is in the film, briefly, and we had just that relationship — doing the film. He did his piece and that was it. But out of desperation I called him to see if he could pull any weight with the distributors. He came over and saw the film, and then he just got up and walked out. I figured it was all over, but he called the next morning and said, ‘What do you need?’ I said, ‘I need distribution.’ And he said, ‘You need money to finish it. The film really moved me; that’s why I left. What you’re trying to say is what matters.’" - Howard Worth, interview conducted by Stephen T. Smith, Filmmakers Newsletter Summer 1972: Vol 5 Issue 9-10

“In 1968, I did a documentary film with Ravi Shankar called ‘Raga,’ and in that film, Ravi said, ‘Music is the only language I really understand, for I believe in Nada Brahma, meaning The sound is God.’ All music, whether it’s deep within the cosmos, or it becomes more gross in the physical world, is still based on the subtlest manifestations of God. I feel like Ravi does about music, and I want to see that sound.” - George Harrison, Billboard, 5 December 1992 (x)