Documentary Growing 1981 Larry Rivers Download Updated May 2026

You will find links on Soulseek or private trackers like Karagarga. However, these files are almost always corrupted, infected with malware, or the infamous “fake” – a different 1981 documentary about plant growth. Furthermore, downloading these files actively hurts the chance of a future official release, as the Rivers Estate uses piracy metrics to argue "no demand."

You need to verify you have the correct file. The original 1993 VHS transfer had a distinctive brownish tint and cut the scene where Rivers argues with his mother on the phone (10:42 mark).

The Updated 2024/2025 restoration features: documentary growing 1981 larry rivers download updated

The Whitney holds Rivers’ personal print. Occasionally, during special retrospectives (like the upcoming 2025 “NYC Underground” series), they screen Growing to the public. Follow the Whitney’s events calendar for “updated” screening dates.

Directed by acclaimed experimental filmmaker D.A. Pennebaker (known for Don’t Look Back and Monterey Pop) and Chris Hegedus, Growing was never meant to be a simple chronological biography. Instead, the film follows Rivers over a single intensive year as he battles with a massive, complex painting titled The History of Matzah (The Story of the Jewish People). You will find links on Soulseek or private

Unlike the polished art docs of HBO or Netflix today, Growing is raw, vérité, and unflinchingly chaotic. It captures Rivers in his element: chain-smoking, shouting at canvases, womanizing, and confronting his own mortality. The title Growing is ironic; at 58, Rivers was not growing up, but growing into the messiest version of his artistic self.

For collectors, the "holy grail" is the uncut, original 1981 theatrical cut—which runs 88 minutes—before it was trimmed for PBS broadcasts. You need to verify you have the correct file

Growing is not a museum doc. It is a hangover movie. It is watching a brilliant bull in a china shop try to paint the entire history of a people while his life falls apart around him.

There is a famous five-minute shot in the third act where Rivers stares at his half-finished canvas. He doesn't paint. He just looks. His face cycles from rage to grief to boredom. No voiceover explains it. No talking head analyzes it. That is the power of 1981 vérité.

For artists, Growing is a warning. For historians, it is a primary source. For downloaders, it is a treasure hunt that finally has a map.