Zoomer (trailer) (2010, 26MB, 2:24 min.)
ZOOMER is a feature-length documentary about the life of Mary
DeBoutez Zellmer-Fenoglio, an eccentric and charismatic owner
of ‘Zoomer’s Treasures’ in Kansas, USA.
ZOOMER is Sam Huntley‘s first feature-length film and was entirely self-funded.
Utterly compelling clip from a 1960s German documentary featuring a
spine tingling live performance in a Piraeus taverna by the great
rembetiko singer Markos Vamvakaris.
I could watch & listen all day.
PS I think atakti means ‘bad’ or ‘naughty’
Claim Excerpts (clip, 1971, 1MB, 29 secs)
Face Off (clip, 1972, 1MB, 28 secs)
Open Book (clip, 1974, 1MB, 31 secs)
Two Track (clip, 1971, 1MB, 31 secs)
Four tiny (in every respect) but nonetheless great clips
from the fearless, troubling & wonderful Vito Acconci in his writer &
video artist phase.
The clips are from the Video Data Bank site where you’ll
be pleased to know you can with seminal
(perhaps not the best choice of word) pieces by
Acconci and others for a mere $3600…
Or you could go and check out more of his work on UBUWEB..
Some stuff about the later Acconci coming shortly.
Fun with Muybridge (2009, 18 MB, 1:30 min)
Conversations with Eadweard J. Muybridge.
By Wreck & Salvage – a package of three video producers:
Erik Nelson, Adam Quirk & Aaron Valdez
Music by Kevin Bewersdorf.
to the young, youth (195?/2008, 13 MB, 2:04 min)
Poignant & beautiful work from DVblog contributor Brian Gibson
gently & quirkily re-configuring footage shot by his late grandfather
on a European visit in the 50s.
Brian’s work is always striking, always affecting, but the secret extra
ingredient is the luminous intelligence underlying everything he does.
THE HERETICS (2009, 124 MB, 10:08 min)
THE HERETICS, A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics
Frames (1985, 31 MB, 6:25 min)
Early experimental Super8 films by Owen O’Toole.
Short interview with him here.
Deadlock (1970, 7.7MB, 46 sec)
from Roland Klick’s Deadlock with music by Can.
Listen to the title track here.
What a remarkable film.
What a remarkable band.
Scandal – trailer (1950, 7.7MB, 1:38 min)
The Idiot – trailer (1951, 6.3MB, 1:22 min)
Don’t know whether these are the original, or re-edited, trailers
but they’re wonderful, wonderful.
Watch and marvel.
I know neither of these films but I can’t wait to get my sweaty
palms on the DVDs from Eureka Cinema’s Masters of Cinema series.
A Scanner Darkly (trailer) (2006, 3MB, 1:15 min.)
“A Scanner Darkly” movie was filmed digitally and then animated
using interpolated rotoscope over the original footage.
by Richard Linklater.
a couple waltzing – spinning disc (1893, 4MB, 2 sec. loop)
a couple waltzing – mirror simulation (1893, 2.4MB, 2 sec. loop)
Endlessly fascinating work from luminary Eadweard Muybridge.
Read more here. See more here.
In the Turbine Hall in 2006 and Realityfilm presented
a ‘psychoanalytical, cinematic cabaret’ with live music by
The Real Tuesday Weld providing a new original score for the
film
When Clouds Clear (2008, 15.3MB, 2:26)
Directed by Anne Slick and Danielle Bernstein,
When Clouds Clear is a remarkably intimate portrait
of a tiny Ecuadorian village’s struggle against
mining companies that seek to take over (and destroy)
the land they have long cultivated as their home.
Shot on a lovely mix of Super 8, 16mm, and video
to show the complexities of different viewpoints, the
film is one of the most beautiful I have had the
privilege of viewing this year.
Robert Todd – NEST (2008, 33.2MB, 4:36)
More from the brilliant, always poignant Robert Todd.
The NEST is a place of resting, but for the restless spirit,
it is a moving island. Here we find silence, if not solace.
This film is both the third in a series and the first of a
trilogy. To understand how it fits within Todd’s vision,
you should go watch more on his site. It will take your
breath away.
mouth study (2005, 7.8MB, 3:40 min)
Using footage from the ‘cutting edge cinema‘ thing
we posted here before Lewis LaCook,
created an utterly exuberant & assured piece of appropriation
video with 186,000 ideas per second.
Must Read After My Death – Morgan Dews (2007, 23.9MB, 1:47)
When a Hartford couple turns to psychiatry for help
with their marriage in 1960, things quickly spiral out
of control. Couples counseling, individual and group
therapy and 24-hour marathon sessions ensue. Their
four children suffer and are given their own psychiatrists.
Pills are prescribed, people are institutionalized, shock-therapy
is administered. This is an intimate story in the family
Gunvor Nelson – My Name Is Oona (1969, 26.9MB, 9:12)
Historic piece from the Swedish filmmaker about her daughter.
Typical of Gunvor’s work, this film addresses themes about
nature, childhood, and maintains an ethereal quality.
Excellent early piece from a uniquely talented woman.
Earth to Earth (2005, 23MB, 3:22 min.)
“This film was made according to the hardcore rules of Straight8, which gives
filmmakers a single roll of Super8, forcing them to edit in camera and shoot
every shot as a first take. You submit the exposed cartridge plus a separately
recorded soundtrack and hope that the two match up. Luckily ours turned out
OK and it was selected one of the straight8 Cannes finalists in 2005.
The idea came from having a crappy DVD player which kept skipping and I was
overcome by an incredible desire to drive a garden fork through the front of it –
you can see the result in the background.
We had great fun shooting the film, during which time it snowed heavily
La vitesse – Toma (2005, 7MB, 1 min.)
La Vitesse – Raphael (2005, 6.8 MB, 1 min.)
La telephon portable – Linda (2005, 5.6MB, 1 min.)
Another round of videos from Les Filmistes Associ
By Mica.
David Byrne – Report from L.A. (1986, 49MB, 4:30 min.)
Phillip Glass – Mad Rush (1986, 29MB, 3:17 min.)
Both of these pieces, although incredibly different in feel and nature, were
preformed for the “multidisciplinary event” which showcased “experimental
video, film, visual art, performance and music in a theatrical framework”.
Shot at New York City’s infamous Kitchen, and broadcast on television sets
across the states in 1986, the production “reflects a moment when art centers
were experimenting with new modes of presenting the arts for television.”
Read more and see more here.
“More fun than you can shake your stick at”
Bataille (clip) (2003, 1MB, 32 sec.)
“In Bataille, fragments from the Akira Kurosawa’s film Rashomon
are subject to a mirror effect. A scene in which two samurai fight
each other becomes a cosmic field of monsters where horror and
pain evoke beauty and joy.”
from Nicolas Provost.
Alphaville ( extract) (2008, 32.MB, 51 secs)
Rather fetching art-work-over of Godard’s
great film Alphaville, by Kurt Ralske.
Saturdays Only (2008, 50MB, 1:18 min)
We’re quite keen here at DVblog on Giles Perkins & his quirky &
beautiful Super8 work.
He also maintains the excellent all-things-Super8 site onsuper8.org.
You might remember his beach huts piece
or his Burnley Panopticon mini-documentary.
Here he turns his poetic but clear eye to “Britain’s oddest train
– the once a week Stockport to Stalybridge.”
A great way to kick off our new season…
Screen Kiss (clip) (2005, 3.1MB, 1:00 min.)
Jillian is trying to make Billy Bob Thornton jealous, inserting
herself into existing film clips and getting kisses from Daniel Day Lewis,
Vincent Gallo, Johnny Depp, and Billy Bob
Robert Todd – Creation Myth (2007, 39.3MB, 5:46)
Robert Todd is a master of 16mm. With an enormous
catalog behind him and no sign of his work ceasing in
the near future, Todd is slowly migrating his work onto
his personal website.
What a treat for us.
This piece, Creation Myth, is one of several I will repost
here over time, to show respect for these subtle, moving
visions.
Todd says: “Love of sky, love of earth and air, with
water helping us along form the backdrop to this
reflection of life-essence and its evolution.”
And, full disclosure: Rob has previously been my
professor, and I personally consider him one of
the kindest, most knowledgeable and professional
working artists under whom I have had the privilege
of studying. I wish I had been better able to absorb
his teachings at the time. He is truly a Bolex genius.
Sadie Benning – Me and Rubyfruit (1990, 24.9MB, 5:40)
Classically beautiful and poignant video-diary-esque
early work from the innovative Sadie Benning. Me
and Rubyfruit, a reinterpretation of Rita Mae Brown’s
Rubyfruit Jungle, finds Benning lamenting the limitations
of being a young lesbian woman in modern culture.
Roughly sixteen when she made this piece, it was shot
on a Fisher-Price Pixelvision 2000 camera, making the
intense grainy footage all the more raw.
Roundhay Remix (2006, 15.6MB, 1.57 min.)
A beautiful remix of the Roundhay Garden Scene,
from 1888, one of the first films ever made.
From Pouringdown.
By Mica.
MOON CRASH (2008, 58 MB, 4:42 min.)
“MOON CRASH is a 360 degree immersive experience using DJ sets
and mutant slides, painted live with video projections.
All visuals are painted on acetate using slide mounts, vitrail glass paint
and drops of water. The paints are solvent based and don
Jeff Nichols – Shotgun Stories (2008, 10.3MB, 1:50)
Shotgun Stories tells the tale of two families with the
same father. One, in which the children are named
Kid, Boy, and Son, came before dad sobered up and
found Jesus. The second, his marriage to a beautiful
woman who had four more boys, was his do-over.
After his death, an explosive feud breaks out between
the grown half-siblings.
It opened to rave reviews, and from the chilling
trailer alone, I can see why.
My Temporary Visiting Position From The Sunset Terrace Bar (2008, 30 MB, 4:10 min.)
“Set in the city of Ahlen, Germany, “My Temporary Visiting Position From The Sunset Terrace Bar“, imitates an amateur’s film of the landscape framed at sunset.
While the city strip is pre recorded the sky is captured in real time from a webcam shooting the sky of Naples (Italy) at sunset and as such, always changing.
The work, confronting themes such as exile, migration and border control, is enhanced by a poem by the esteemed author Ghada Samman and music by the international band Gotan Project and legendary composer Gabriel Yared.”
Clip from the beautiful project by Carlo Zanni.
Errol Morris – Standard Operating Procedure (2008, 11.2MB, 2:00)
We don’t hide our love for Errol Morris – see here
and here – but there’s no need for us to apologize.
The man is a genius. His latest feature, Standard
Operating Procedure, interviews Abu Ghraib prison
guards and tells the story behind the now-infamous
photographs of abuse from the prison, uncovered in
2003. Dubbed a “nonfiction horror film” by Morris,
this investigative film, much like A Thin Blue Line,
helped Morris once again dig deeper into a crime
file, this one just more contemporary.
When you see a picture, you don’t see outside the frame.
With the frightening pictures as a jumping off point,
Morris interviews those involved with the scandal to
get the whole story.
Can’t wait to see this one.
Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli – SHE:contaminated (2005, 33.5MB, 13:58)
Brooklyn-based Anna Chiaretta Lavatelli works in
video and super 8 film.
An explanation of SHE:contaminated:
An examination of cellular abnormalities in video and
super 8mm film in which the three identities of the
character SHE confront the nature of their malformation,
and the affected woman they have collectively become.
I find this piece so moving, particularly the openly segment.
Her metaphors are completely brilliant and resonate with me,
perhaps mostly as a woman but also as an artist.
Also a huge fan of her supposedly poor compression –
love the idea, love the execution.
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005, 27.3MB, 2:43)
Trailer for the brilliant 2005 film
Lovely and humorous teaser for an equally delightful movie
From female mastermind Miranda July
Carla Cope (2004, 14.5 MB, 5:30 min.)
‘In loose response to 9/11, a woman in New York talks about
her life against a backdrop of old film footage. She describes in
circuitous manner two of her ex-boyfriends who were first responders.
A pulsing beat provides the driving rhythm of urban life’.
From ‘Too Much Freedom’ by freewaves.org
Iris Piers – Paris 1983 (2005, 33.3MB, 2:39)
8mm film of her parents in Paris from 1983,
reedited by Iris Piers, who was in utero at the time.
Music by Vincent Delerm.
via [PAM]
Maya Deren – Meshes of the Afternoon (1943, 99.4MB, 13:30)
A fabulous old film about the subconscious and
the psychology of film noir,
Deren’s first major avant-garde work, a seminal piece,
made with her collaborator (and later husband)
Alexander (Hackenschmied) Hammid.
Originally a silent film without dialog,
music was composed for the piece
in 1959 by Deren’s third husband Teiji Ito.
No Country For Old Men (trailer) (2007, 15 MB, 2:30 min.)
“Based on the acclaimed novel by Pulitzer Prize winner Cormac McCarthy.
The film simultaneously strips down the American crime drama and broadens
its concerns to encompass themes as ancient as the Bible and as bloodily
contemporary as this morning�s headlines.”
From – Miramax Films. directed by the Coen Brothers.
Still Project 07 (2007, 5.7MB, 1:29 min)
Half of the splendid & indispensable MTAA, whose work we feature here
whenever possible – conceptualist pranksters with a rare (for the territory)
& self deprecating human warmth – Mark River makes interesting video stuff
(amongst other things) on his Tinjail site.
A lot of them are kind of multi-channel (go look) & don’t fit the dvblog format.
This one does & is excellent too..
Here’s his preamble to it:
‘The wild blue yonder, the decent, la jetee, fearless, street fight,
loud QUIET loud, a sound of thunder, enemy at the gate, so wrong they
Quiet City (2007, 11.2MB, 1:52)
Stunning, reflective trailer for Quiet City,
a movie by Aaron Katz, available from Benten Films.
These are my favorite kinds of films.
I love living in – being in – cities, but I prefer them
when they are their most silent and empty.
Text loosely taken from the Apple trailer site, edited by me:
Together, Samantha and Charlie, two somewhat aimless youths,
share twenty-four hours drifting from late night diners, to city parks,
to abandoned apartments, to a party and art gallery deep in the heart
of industrial Brooklyn. Delicately realized with generous humanity,
Quiet City offers hope for intimate connection in a world that grows
larger by the day.
Volver trailer (2006, 30 MB, 1:38 min)
A long time ago I sat stony faced and unmoved through the much lauded
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown & concluded,
quite wrongly, that Almodovar was not for me.
In 2006 about him by Bob Light in the UK Socialist Worker
prompted me to go & see his latest movie, Volver,
& I’m so glad I did – it’s simply magnificent.
Since then I’ve done a bit of catching up.
Eyes on the Fair Use of the Prize (2006, 20.9MB, 2:19)
Another important, striking piece from the
Media That Matters Film Festival 6.
The filmmaker, Jacob Caggiano, is a young man who I
believe is even younger than me, and according to him,
the whole short film came together at the last minute.
I think this is a beautiful effort.
Body of War (2007, 16.8MB, 2:30)
Trailer for the forthcoming documentary about
paralyzed Iraqi veteran Tomas Young’s fight to tell
the truth about the war.
Sad and informative, not to be missed.
Produced by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue,
original music by Eddie Vedder.
Jaan Pehechan Ho (1966, 55.4MB, 5:33 min)
Clip from the 1966 film Gumnaam sung by
Bollywood legend Mohammed Rafi, which you might
recognise from the opening sequence of Ghost World.
There’s the full lyrics & several translations here.
From WFMU’s Beware of the Blog
Mes Amis (2007, 37.8MB, 7:35 min)
Giles Perkins, from the excellent onsuper8.org
(whose own great work we’ve shown, last week & previously)
pointed this one out to us.
Gorgeous he said, and he was right.
Comes from here & there’s a discussion here.
Psych-Out, trailer (1968, 8.8MB, 2:56 min.)
A look at the psychedelic world of the 1960’s flower children.
With Jack Nicholson, Bruce Dern, Dean Stockwell, Susan Strasberg.
Directed by Richard Rush. – from Bedazzled.tv.
Kennedy Assassination (1963, 300k, 28 sec.)
“The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the
United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas,
at 12:30 p.m. CST (18:30 UTC).
John F. Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding with his wife
Jacqueline in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza.
The assassination is still the subject of widespread speculation and has spawned
numerous conspiracy theories.” – from wikipedia.
Close-up, extract from the Zapruder Film.
Su Friedrich – The Ties That Bind (1984, 14.2MB, 4:03)
From the classic avant-garde filmmaker; a found-footage,
personal and historical documentary reflection on wartime
and Friedrich’s mother’s coming of age in Nazi Germany,
presented here during yet another period of unrest
in our uncertain world.
The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema -Trailer (2007, 8.97MB, 1:06 min.)
Slavoj Žižek, philosophy’s PT Barnum, struts his stuff
con shed-loads of brio in this Sophie Fiennes directed opus.
Doesn’t seem to be much genuinely new (the terrible fate of
the celebrity academic being to be lionised for what we already
know they’re going to do/say) but still vastly entertaining.
Lichtspiel Schwarz, Weiss, Grau (clip) (1932, 12MB, 1:39 min.)
“Lichtspiel Schwarz, Weiss, Grau”, a doc concerning Moholy-Nagy’s kinetic sculpture,
the Light Space-Modulator. Moholy-Nagy believed the motion picture played a significant
role as both art & investigative tool.
‘Painting, photography, and film are parts of one problem although their techniques
may be entirely different. They belong to the same realm; that is, to visual expression,
where cross-fertilizations are possible.’
László Moholy-Nagy
The Movie Movie (2002, 17MB, 4:16 min.)
A four-minute film produced by documentary filmmaker Errol Morris featuring
quick-cut interviews with celebrities and regular folks alike was screened
during the opening segment of the Academy Awards in 2002. The film, which
was introduced by Tom Cruise, featured such luminaries as First Lady Laura Bush,
former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, writer Susan Sontag, Phillip Glass,
Iggy Pop of the Stooges, Lou Reed, Donald Trump, Walter Cronkite and the Rev.
Al Sharpton. Morris interviewed close to 120 subjects in New York, Los Angeles and Boston.
Fay Grim trailer (2007, 10.7MB, 1:54 min)
In the case of Hal Hartley I feel so at odds with the world’s
apparent consensus that I fear for the balance of my mind.
Why is he not feted as one of the world’s smartest & most inventive directors?
Why did folk briefly seem to understand in the early nineties that something
special was going on, then bizarrely seem almost immediately to forget about it?
It beats me, it defeats me.
Here is the trailer for Fay Grim, touted by some as Hartley’s return to form
Me I think he never lost it.
Yes – it has moments that feel eggy, awkward and mystifying but
then so does La Divina Commedia.
point of view (2006, 11.3MB, 2:06 min.)
A silent B/W short by Joseph Chomiak –
a terrifying story of a man that finds a viewfinder that can look
into another time and place. From undergroundfilm.
down and out (2006, 15.3MB, 2:35 min.)
A silent comedy from undergroundfilm.
by Joseph Chomiak.
