In 1983, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, along with Media Study/Buffalo, created a touring retrospective of avant-garde films, primarily feature-length ones and a few shorts, which they called “The American New Wave 1958-1967.” To accompany the tour, a hefty catalog was produced that included notes on the films, essays by film historians and critics, writings by major underground film figures and more.
The retrospective was created at a time when financially viable independent filmmaking was on the rise, such as films made by John Sayles, Wayne Wang and Susan Seidelman. According to the co-curators of the retrospective, Melinda Ward and Bruce Jenkins, the objective of the tour was to:
provide a more adequate picture than conventional history affords us of a rare period of American cinematic invention and thereby prepare a coherent critical and historical context for the reception of the new work by the current generation of independent filmmakers.
The retrospective was created at a time when financially viable independent filmmaking was on the rise, such as films made by John Sayles, Wayne Wang and Susan Seidelman. According to the co-curators of the retrospective, Melinda Ward and Bruce Jenkins, the objective of the tour was to:
provide a more adequate picture than conventional history affords us of a rare period of American cinematic invention and thereby prepare a coherent critical and historical context for the reception of the new work by the current generation of independent filmmakers.
- 11/25/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Don’T Blink – Robert Frank Screens September 23rd – 25th at 7:30pm at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood).
Robert Frank, now 91 years old, is among the most influential artists of the last half-century. His seminal volume, The Americans, published in 1958, records the Swiss-born photographer’s candid reactions to peculiarly American versions of poverty and racism. Today it is a classic work that helped define the off-the-cuff, idiosyncratic elegance that are hallmarks of Frank’s artistry. Director Laura Israel (Frank’s longtime film editor) and producer Melinda Shopsin were given unprecedented access to the notably irascible artist. The assembled portrait is not unlike Frank’s own movies – rough around the edges and brimming with surprises and insights – calling to mind Frank’s quintessential underground movie, the 1959 Beat short, Pull My Daisy (co-directed by Alfred Leslie). Don’t Blink includes clips from Frank’s rarely seen movies, among them Me and My Brother...
Robert Frank, now 91 years old, is among the most influential artists of the last half-century. His seminal volume, The Americans, published in 1958, records the Swiss-born photographer’s candid reactions to peculiarly American versions of poverty and racism. Today it is a classic work that helped define the off-the-cuff, idiosyncratic elegance that are hallmarks of Frank’s artistry. Director Laura Israel (Frank’s longtime film editor) and producer Melinda Shopsin were given unprecedented access to the notably irascible artist. The assembled portrait is not unlike Frank’s own movies – rough around the edges and brimming with surprises and insights – calling to mind Frank’s quintessential underground movie, the 1959 Beat short, Pull My Daisy (co-directed by Alfred Leslie). Don’t Blink includes clips from Frank’s rarely seen movies, among them Me and My Brother...
- 9/22/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The BAMcinématek series The Films of Robert Frank features the notorious Rolling Stones documentary Cocksucker Blues (1972) and "includes some 25 moving-image works of varying lengths and genres," notes Amy Taubin, writing for Artforum. "The series as a whole cannot be summarized, nor can the individual films except to say that they share the characteristic of having been made by someone who stubbornly insists on walking out on a high wire without a net. If you’ve not seen Pull My Daisy, it is the classic. But do not miss Conversations in Vermont (1969), Life Dances On (1980) and True Story (2008)—all of them naked in their confusion and anguish about fathering. Best of all is the seemingly casual Paper Route (2002), as close to a perfect movie as you’ll ever see." » - David Hudson...
- 8/4/2016
- Keyframe
The BAMcinématek series The Films of Robert Frank features the notorious Rolling Stones documentary Cocksucker Blues (1972) and "includes some 25 moving-image works of varying lengths and genres," notes Amy Taubin, writing for Artforum. "The series as a whole cannot be summarized, nor can the individual films except to say that they share the characteristic of having been made by someone who stubbornly insists on walking out on a high wire without a net. If you’ve not seen Pull My Daisy, it is the classic. But do not miss Conversations in Vermont (1969), Life Dances On (1980) and True Story (2008)—all of them naked in their confusion and anguish about fathering. Best of all is the seemingly casual Paper Route (2002), as close to a perfect movie as you’ll ever see." » - David Hudson...
- 8/4/2016
- Fandor: Keyframe
Since the late 1980’s, editor Laura Israel has spent much of her time as editor for legendary photographer Robert Frank. One of photography’s most intriguing and influential voices since the 1950s, Frank has become synonymous with avant-garde photography and filmmaking, and his recent work owes a great debt to the work of Israel, a filmmaker in her own right. And now, she’s decided to take a leap behind the camera, and give her collaborator the retrospective he so rightly deserves.
A Swiss-born photographer, Frank first truly burst onto the scene with the 1958 masterwork, The Americans a haunting and in many ways medium-shifting meditation on post-wwii America and the poverty and racism that became widespread therein. A groundbreaking work of photojournalism, this is only the launching pad for this new documentary, entitled Don’t Blink – Robert Frank. Israel uses this collection of photographs as an introduction into the world,...
A Swiss-born photographer, Frank first truly burst onto the scene with the 1958 masterwork, The Americans a haunting and in many ways medium-shifting meditation on post-wwii America and the poverty and racism that became widespread therein. A groundbreaking work of photojournalism, this is only the launching pad for this new documentary, entitled Don’t Blink – Robert Frank. Israel uses this collection of photographs as an introduction into the world,...
- 7/15/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Few people are living embodiments of their style. Now that David Bowie and Prince have left us in the same year, even fewer are. Robert Frank, the subject of Laura Israel‘s documentary Don’t Blink – Robert Frank, and his art — striking photographs and film of Americana — reflect one another like those collages of dog owners and their pets. Rather than both having droopy ears or a snooty nose, they crunch like shards of glass beneath boots. Frank and his creations grind against good taste while still being sharp and beautiful. His is an imperfect America, as if Norman Rockwell subjects stepped out of frame for a few drinks and a game of dice, then got lost on their way back home.
Frank is best-known for his 1958 photography collection The Americans, which recorded the photographer’s explorations of social and economic struggle. A documentary about this kind of artist has...
Frank is best-known for his 1958 photography collection The Americans, which recorded the photographer’s explorations of social and economic struggle. A documentary about this kind of artist has...
- 7/11/2016
- by Jacob Oller
- The Film Stage
Before its flame was extinguished, New York’s legendary Kim’s Video contributed further to the world of cinephilia by polling better-known customers about their favorite films. One of these customers happened to be Allen Ginsberg, a figure whose relative lack of experience in cinema certainly won’t stand as any sort of qualifier. Thanks to The Allen Ginsberg Project (via Open Culture), we can now get a wider — and, to our eyes, more immediately understandable — grasp of what made this generation-defining voice tick.
Two interests — French Poetic Realism and the work of (or at least work heavily relating to) his fellow Beat poets — announce themselves rather clearly, given the fact that they arguably occupy 90% of the final list. The sole “outsider” is Battleship Potemkin, a picture that, with fierce political intentions and poetic inclinations in its cutting, nevertheless makes perfect sense as a Ginsberg favorite. Some of these are...
Two interests — French Poetic Realism and the work of (or at least work heavily relating to) his fellow Beat poets — announce themselves rather clearly, given the fact that they arguably occupy 90% of the final list. The sole “outsider” is Battleship Potemkin, a picture that, with fierce political intentions and poetic inclinations in its cutting, nevertheless makes perfect sense as a Ginsberg favorite. Some of these are...
- 12/7/2015
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Watch: 30-Minute Short 'Pull My Daisy' Written By Jack Kerouac & Co-Directed By Robert Frank Robert Frank, one of the most important living photographers, now has a record of his own life in the form of the documentary "Don't Blink: Robert Frank," directed by his long-time editor, Laura Israel. Frank rose to fame with the book "The Americans," a candid outsider's observation of American life that won him comparisons to Alexis de Tocqueville. The photographer also built up 23 directing credits over the course of his career, including three features. The poster for "Don't Blink" is a minimalist representation of the director's work, featuring black and white photographs taped up against a blank wall. The highlights of red tape, the photographer's intense stare in the middle photographs and the unevenness of the composition suggests an intensity and frankness to both the director and his work. Check out an exclusive look at the poster above.
- 10/5/2015
- by Wil Barlow
- Indiewire
"What Robert Frank's The Americans did for the nation, presenting the post-war United States with an X-ray of its soul, the free-form, intensely personal films he started making a few years later did for New York City," begins Elise Nakhnikian at Slant. Frank "distilled the rebelliously ragged genius of people like a young Allen Ginsberg and a skeletal William Burroughs in films like Pull My Daisy and One Hour. As a result, Laura Israel's documentary is a portrait not just of the Swiss-born artist, but of his adopted city, especially during the Beat era that was his heyday." With the doc screening at the New York Film Festival, we're collecting reviews. » - David Hudson...
- 10/4/2015
- Keyframe
"What Robert Frank's The Americans did for the nation, presenting the post-war United States with an X-ray of its soul, the free-form, intensely personal films he started making a few years later did for New York City," begins Elise Nakhnikian at Slant. Frank "distilled the rebelliously ragged genius of people like a young Allen Ginsberg and a skeletal William Burroughs in films like Pull My Daisy and One Hour. As a result, Laura Israel's documentary is a portrait not just of the Swiss-born artist, but of his adopted city, especially during the Beat era that was his heyday." With the doc screening at the New York Film Festival, we're collecting reviews. » - David Hudson...
- 10/4/2015
- Fandor: Keyframe
If you, at the very least, have a passing interest in the Beat Generation, then you will definitely get a kick out of this oddball short film from 1959 called “Pull My Daisy.” The film stars Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky as themselves, more-or-less, and they’re invited into the home of a railway brakeman whose wife had invited a bishop over for dinner. After getting bombarded with a barrage of questions from the beat poets (“Is a cockroach holy?), the bishop leaves in a bit of a huff, much to the dismay of the wife. The short is set in the Lower East Side of New York and it’s shot in a very loose, casual, off-the-cuff style. The entire film is narrated by novelist/poet Jack Kerouac who also wrote the short. It was shot and directed by photographer Robert Frank and Abstract Expressionist painter Alfred Leslie, and according to Frank,...
- 5/20/2014
- by Ken Guidry
- The Playlist
Perhaps the most misleading aspect of the new crop of Beat movies that have surfaced during the past few years is that they obscure the fact that there was once an older crop of Beat movies. If your only exposure is Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s Howl, Walter Salles’ On the Road, John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings, and Michael Polish’s Big Sur, you might assume that the Beats participated in an artistic movement reserved exclusively for the written word. Yet Allen Ginsberg was front-and-center of experimental film projects like 1959’s Pull My Daisy (narrated by Kerouac) and 1966’s Chappaqua, while William S. Burroughs spent most of his career after the 1970s in independent films (alongside producing spoken word albums). Even Jack Kerouac, the most novelistic of the best-known Beats, showed his media literacy by recording improvisatory experiments in audio technology before he published “On the Road.” The literary Beats not only inspired later independent filmmakers...
- 11/26/2013
- by Landon Palmer
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed its 276-member-strong class of 2013.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
The list, published by The Hollywood Reporter, includes actors, cinematographers, designers, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, makeup artists and hairstylists, "members-at-large," musicians, producers, PR folks, short filmmakers and animators, sound technicians, visual effects artists, and writers.
Jason Bateman, Rosario Dawson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Milla Jovovich, Lucy Liu, Jennifer Lopez, Emily Mortimer, Sandra Oh, Jason Schwartzman, and Michael Peña are among the roster of actors, while "The Heat" and "Bridesmaids" helmer Paul Feig made the directors' cut.
"We did not change our criteria at all," says Academy president Hawk Koch of this year's larger-than-usual class. "Yes, this year there is a tremendous amount of women, a tremendous amount of people of color, people from all walks of life. This year, we asked the branches to look at everybody who wasn't in the Academy but who deserved to be.
- 7/4/2013
- by Laura Larson
- Moviefone
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today the 276 members of the entertainment industry invited to join organization. The list includes actors, directors, documentarians, executives, film editors, producers and more. Of those listed below, those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy's membership in 2013. "These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today," said Academy President Hawk Koch in a press release. "Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy." Koch also told Variety, "In the past eight or nine years, each branch could only bring in X amount of members. There were people each branch would have liked to get in but couldn't. We asked them to be more inclusive of the best of the best, and each branch was excited, because they got...
- 6/28/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
The Academy just added 276 Oscar voters.
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
That’s 100 more than last year, and part of an easing of a longstanding cap on the number of new members allowed to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences each year.
AMPAS usually adds between 130 and 180 new members, replacing those who have quit or passed away. The membership now stands around 6,000.
Jason Bateman, Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emmanuelle Riva, and Chris Tucker are among the actors who have been invited to join, the organization announced today.
Other interesting additions: the musician Prince, Girls and Tiny Furniture writer/director/actress Lena Dunham,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Anthony Breznican
- EW - Inside Movies
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is extending invitations to join the organization to 276 artists and executives who have distinguished themselves by their contributions to theatrical motion pictures. Those who accept the invitations will be the only additions to the Academy’s membership in 2013.
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
“These individuals are among the best filmmakers working in the industry today,” said Academy President Hawk Koch. “Their talent and creativity have captured the imagination of audiences worldwide, and I am proud to welcome each of them to the Academy.”
The 2013 invitees are:
Actors
Jason Bateman – “Up in the Air,” “Juno”
Miriam Colon – “City of Hope,” “Scarface”
Rosario Dawson – “Rent,” “Frank Miller’s Sin City”
Kimberly Elise – “For Colored Girls,” “Beloved”
Joseph Gordon-Levitt – “Lincoln,” “The Dark Knight Rises”
Charles Grodin – “Midnight Run,” “The Heartbreak Kid”
Rebecca Hall – “Iron Man 3,” “The Town”
Lance Henriksen – “Aliens,” “The Terminator”
Jack Huston – “Not Fade Away,” “Factory Girl”
Milla Jovovich – “Resident Evil,...
- 6/28/2013
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
It's no surprise that the film adaptation of Kerouac's book is rocky: the Beats have rarely fared well on the big screen
The Beat generation was vibrant for just a short cultural moment, proclaiming a loud "no way" to the great American "yes sir" sighed by fat, complacent Eisenhower-era America. The Beats sought escape in jazz, marijuana and heroin; in racial and sexual transgression and spiritual questing; in language still deemed obscene (Ginsberg: "America, go fuck yourself with your atom bomb"); and with a determination to live free of ambitions and schedules. Their exploits unfolded in a world now vanished, where racial segregation was the norm, and jazz was still a living music, not a museum art; before Eisenhower shrank America with the transcontinental highways, and the road was still The Road. They're people in history now, the Beats.
It's taken 55 years for Kerouac's On The Road, the movement's signature novel,...
The Beat generation was vibrant for just a short cultural moment, proclaiming a loud "no way" to the great American "yes sir" sighed by fat, complacent Eisenhower-era America. The Beats sought escape in jazz, marijuana and heroin; in racial and sexual transgression and spiritual questing; in language still deemed obscene (Ginsberg: "America, go fuck yourself with your atom bomb"); and with a determination to live free of ambitions and schedules. Their exploits unfolded in a world now vanished, where racial segregation was the norm, and jazz was still a living music, not a museum art; before Eisenhower shrank America with the transcontinental highways, and the road was still The Road. They're people in history now, the Beats.
It's taken 55 years for Kerouac's On The Road, the movement's signature novel,...
- 10/5/2012
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
The 7th annual Wndx Festival of Moving Image, in addition to the fest’s usually fantastic lineup of new experimental film and video, is presenting a virtual smorgasbord of special events. So, be on the look out for them as they completely take over the city of Winnipeg on Sept. 26-30.
The fun kicks off on Sept. 26 with the debut of “Situated Cinema,” a roving microcinema created by Thomas Evans and Craig Rodmore that will screen at different venues throughout the entire festival. The opening night will take place at Raw Gallery and feature five films curated by Solomon Nagler that will connect viewers with their environment. The filmmakers presenting work at this unique screening experience are Heidi Phillips, Alexandre Larose, Caroline Monnet, Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof and Alex MacKenzie.
Another fantastic multi-part special event at Wndx will be hosted by underground film historian Jack Sargeant, the world’s foremost authority on Beat Cinema.
The fun kicks off on Sept. 26 with the debut of “Situated Cinema,” a roving microcinema created by Thomas Evans and Craig Rodmore that will screen at different venues throughout the entire festival. The opening night will take place at Raw Gallery and feature five films curated by Solomon Nagler that will connect viewers with their environment. The filmmakers presenting work at this unique screening experience are Heidi Phillips, Alexandre Larose, Caroline Monnet, Izabella Pruska-Oldenhof and Alex MacKenzie.
Another fantastic multi-part special event at Wndx will be hosted by underground film historian Jack Sargeant, the world’s foremost authority on Beat Cinema.
- 9/24/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Shadows
Written by John Cassavetes
Directed by John Cassavetes
USA, 1959
“We did everything wrong, technically…. The only thing we did right was to get a group of people together who were young, full of life, and wanted to do something of meaning.” – John Cassavetes
As one of the first movies to be produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, John Cassavetes’ self-financed Shadows (1959) is a pioneering movie in the history of American independent cinema. Favoring an approach influenced by theatre, Cassavetes cast amateur actors and friends in a semi-improvised character study about three siblings living in 1950’s New York. Produced on a small budget, Shadows was shot in Cassavetes’ own apartment and out on the streets of Manhattan, while friends stood on look out watching for the police.
In the final credits of Shadows Cassavetes mischievously proclaimed, “The film you have just seen was an improvisation”. If Jean-Luc Godard’s...
Written by John Cassavetes
Directed by John Cassavetes
USA, 1959
“We did everything wrong, technically…. The only thing we did right was to get a group of people together who were young, full of life, and wanted to do something of meaning.” – John Cassavetes
As one of the first movies to be produced outside of the Hollywood studio system, John Cassavetes’ self-financed Shadows (1959) is a pioneering movie in the history of American independent cinema. Favoring an approach influenced by theatre, Cassavetes cast amateur actors and friends in a semi-improvised character study about three siblings living in 1950’s New York. Produced on a small budget, Shadows was shot in Cassavetes’ own apartment and out on the streets of Manhattan, while friends stood on look out watching for the police.
In the final credits of Shadows Cassavetes mischievously proclaimed, “The film you have just seen was an improvisation”. If Jean-Luc Godard’s...
- 11/1/2011
- by Tom Jarvis
- SoundOnSight
(This article is posted to honor filmmaker George Kuchar, who passed away just this week. As an artist, he was a pioneer and a visionary and the impact of his legacy on the film world is too great to comprehend. But, we try.)
On Friday, Dec. 11, 1964, several filmmakers met at a meeting hall called the Eventorium in NYC to participate in a symposium called 8 mm.: Avant-Garde of the Future?.
Speaking on the panel were Lenny Lipton, Alfred Leslie, Serge Gavronsky and Mike & George Kuchar. Two members of the panel are not primarily known for working with 8 mm. Leslie, co-director of the legendary film Pull My Daisy, filmed primarily — and maybe exclusively — in 16 mm; while Gavronsky is a poet and novelist.
As for the others, a decade later, Lipton would go on to literally write the book on this particular film gauge, 1975′s The Super 8 Book. And the Kuchar brothers were known,...
On Friday, Dec. 11, 1964, several filmmakers met at a meeting hall called the Eventorium in NYC to participate in a symposium called 8 mm.: Avant-Garde of the Future?.
Speaking on the panel were Lenny Lipton, Alfred Leslie, Serge Gavronsky and Mike & George Kuchar. Two members of the panel are not primarily known for working with 8 mm. Leslie, co-director of the legendary film Pull My Daisy, filmed primarily — and maybe exclusively — in 16 mm; while Gavronsky is a poet and novelist.
As for the others, a decade later, Lipton would go on to literally write the book on this particular film gauge, 1975′s The Super 8 Book. And the Kuchar brothers were known,...
- 9/9/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
March 14
7:30 p.m.
Anthology Film Archives
2nd Ave at 2nd St.
NYC, NY
Hosted by: Flaherty Seminar
Take an unusual tour of the planet with this collection of short films all produced in 16mm and “centered around themes of environment, cognition and emotion.” Curated by Penny Lane, the screening includes two films by Joel Schlemowitz and one film each by Kathryn Ramey and Jason Livingston.
All three filmmakers will be in attendance at the screening and will participate in a discussion moderated by Colin Beckett, Critical Writing Fellow at UnionDocs.
The two films by Joel Schlemowitz — who teaches filmmaking at the New School — are Weimar, an ode to Bohemia starring Mm Serra, Stephen Callahan, Marchette DuBois, Lee Ellickson and others; and Tombeau for Arnold Eagle, a tribute to Robert Flaherty’s cinematographer and a mentor to Schlemowitz.
Kathryn Ramey — an associate professor at Emerson College — presents Yanqui Walker and the Optical Revolution,...
7:30 p.m.
Anthology Film Archives
2nd Ave at 2nd St.
NYC, NY
Hosted by: Flaherty Seminar
Take an unusual tour of the planet with this collection of short films all produced in 16mm and “centered around themes of environment, cognition and emotion.” Curated by Penny Lane, the screening includes two films by Joel Schlemowitz and one film each by Kathryn Ramey and Jason Livingston.
All three filmmakers will be in attendance at the screening and will participate in a discussion moderated by Colin Beckett, Critical Writing Fellow at UnionDocs.
The two films by Joel Schlemowitz — who teaches filmmaking at the New School — are Weimar, an ode to Bohemia starring Mm Serra, Stephen Callahan, Marchette DuBois, Lee Ellickson and others; and Tombeau for Arnold Eagle, a tribute to Robert Flaherty’s cinematographer and a mentor to Schlemowitz.
Kathryn Ramey — an associate professor at Emerson College — presents Yanqui Walker and the Optical Revolution,...
- 3/9/2011
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
There's a definite thrill in seeing James Franco recite Ginsberg's Howl in its entirety, reckons John Patterson
As well as having the audacity to be a movie entirely about a single poem, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein's Howl tugs Allen Ginsberg and his fellow Beats out from under a mountain of insults, cliches and calumny. A poem long since embalmed and neutered by respectability, familiarity and academic attention, Howl, in whose loping, loosely strung lines hum the fevered, incantatory spirits of Blake and Whitman, Rimbaud and Verlaine, regains here some of the power to shock and delight.
Its intent and, for the most part, its execution are in the Beat spirit. Howl is a landmark American poem, and simply to watch an actor like James Franco read it aloud in full is a showstopping experience. Furthermore the trial scenes, featuring nonplussed judge and jurors, snooty English professors and the antic proto-hippy Beats themselves,...
As well as having the audacity to be a movie entirely about a single poem, Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein's Howl tugs Allen Ginsberg and his fellow Beats out from under a mountain of insults, cliches and calumny. A poem long since embalmed and neutered by respectability, familiarity and academic attention, Howl, in whose loping, loosely strung lines hum the fevered, incantatory spirits of Blake and Whitman, Rimbaud and Verlaine, regains here some of the power to shock and delight.
Its intent and, for the most part, its execution are in the Beat spirit. Howl is a landmark American poem, and simply to watch an actor like James Franco read it aloud in full is a showstopping experience. Furthermore the trial scenes, featuring nonplussed judge and jurors, snooty English professors and the antic proto-hippy Beats themselves,...
- 2/19/2011
- by John Patterson
- The Guardian - Film News
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sanctum and The Mechanic - Advance Screenings
I haven’t heard anything about these films.
Whether the buzz is great, whether the buzz is tepid, I couldn’t tell you. That’s exactly why I’m looking forward to sending some of you guinea pigs to see the latest from Jason Statham on Tuesday, January 25th at 7 p.m. at Harkins Tempe Martketplace and then on February 1st at 7 p.m. at Harkins Tempe Marketplace as well.
It’ll be a 2 for 1 if you like or, if you so choose, you can pick one or the other. Either way, you’ll be seeing either the latest from the brawniest Englishman this side of the Atlantic or the latest creation blessed by the wizard himself,...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
Sanctum and The Mechanic - Advance Screenings
I haven’t heard anything about these films.
Whether the buzz is great, whether the buzz is tepid, I couldn’t tell you. That’s exactly why I’m looking forward to sending some of you guinea pigs to see the latest from Jason Statham on Tuesday, January 25th at 7 p.m. at Harkins Tempe Martketplace and then on February 1st at 7 p.m. at Harkins Tempe Marketplace as well.
It’ll be a 2 for 1 if you like or, if you so choose, you can pick one or the other. Either way, you’ll be seeing either the latest from the brawniest Englishman this side of the Atlantic or the latest creation blessed by the wizard himself,...
- 1/21/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
As both a celebration and an exploration of one of the literary cornerstones of the counter-culture movement, fronted by indie darling James Franco, it's unsurprising this hyper-stylized account of Allen Ginsberg's seminal poem and the bruhaha surrounding its publication rode a wave of must-see hype all the way to opening night at Sundance. That it came out the other side with nary a whimper should tell you a lot. Disjointed and rambling, Howl is a frustrating watch that is both overly-showy and yet oddly dull in equal measure.
While co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey indisputably both accomplished non-fiction filmmakers (they boast three Academy Awards between them) they are clearly all at sea here. Unsure how to approach their subject matter they demonstrate a keen eye for striking composition and are clearly handy in the edit suite, but demonstrate little in the way of dramatic flair. With a wealth of...
While co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey indisputably both accomplished non-fiction filmmakers (they boast three Academy Awards between them) they are clearly all at sea here. Unsure how to approach their subject matter they demonstrate a keen eye for striking composition and are clearly handy in the edit suite, but demonstrate little in the way of dramatic flair. With a wealth of...
- 1/14/2011
- by Neil Pedley
- JustPressPlay.net
By Christopher Stipp
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
The Dilemma -Advance Screening
After all the brouhaha concerning whether Vince Vaughn’s character could say whether a car was or was not “ghey” (spelled the way the Internet intended) the movie is finally here to say once and for all if a vehicle is capable of having a sexual preference. Yes, I know, these are probably the same radicals who think that censoring Huck Finn of its nasty n-words was a good idea. It isn’t and it’s a form of censorship and good for Ron Howard for keeping the joke in tact. In fact, I may even buy a ticket just for pushing aside those who think he should have excised it from the film.
For those of you...
The Archives, Right Here
Check out my other column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp
The Dilemma -Advance Screening
After all the brouhaha concerning whether Vince Vaughn’s character could say whether a car was or was not “ghey” (spelled the way the Internet intended) the movie is finally here to say once and for all if a vehicle is capable of having a sexual preference. Yes, I know, these are probably the same radicals who think that censoring Huck Finn of its nasty n-words was a good idea. It isn’t and it’s a form of censorship and good for Ron Howard for keeping the joke in tact. In fact, I may even buy a ticket just for pushing aside those who think he should have excised it from the film.
For those of you...
- 1/7/2011
- by Christopher Stipp
Chicago – James Franco gave a riveting performance in Danny Boyle’s “127 Hours” that is likely to earn one of the best actors of his generation an Academy Award nomination in a few weeks, but it wasn’t his only stellar turn in 2010. He also thoroughly delivered as the legendary poet Allen Ginsberg in the hybrid “Howl,” a film that’s part poem, part courtroom drama, and part history lesson. It doesn’t always come together but it’s worth seeing just for Franco’s work and the strength of the source material alone.
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
The name of the film refers to Ginsberg’s legendary 1955 poem, one that not only inspired an increasingly important cultural movement but nearly got its author thrown in jail. Over half a century after its release, “Howl” still has incredible power, something obviously recognized by writer/directors Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman as they eschew the...
Blu-Ray Rating: 3.5/5.0
The name of the film refers to Ginsberg’s legendary 1955 poem, one that not only inspired an increasingly important cultural movement but nearly got its author thrown in jail. Over half a century after its release, “Howl” still has incredible power, something obviously recognized by writer/directors Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman as they eschew the...
- 1/6/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Machete
Extras include:
Deleted Scenes Dinner For Schmucks
Extras include:
The Biggest Schmucks in the WorldThe Men Behind the MousterpiecesMeet the WinnersGag ReelDeleted ScenesPaul and Steve: The Decision - Actors Paul Rudd and Steve Carell host a fictional press conference during the 2010 Espy Awards mimicking LeBron James' Espn special "The Decision" Catfish
Extras include:
Filmmakers 25-minute Q&A
The Last Exorcism
Extras include:
CommentariesThe Devil You Know: The Making of 'The Last Exorcism'Real Stories of Exorcism: Interviews with Actual Victims and ParticipantsActors' Audition Footage Howl
Extras include:
CommentaryHoly! Holy! Holy! Making of HowlOriginal Interviews with Ginsberg's friends and collaboratorsNever-before-seen performance by Ginsberg in 1995 at NYC's Knitting FactoryAudio feature: James Franco reads HowlAllen Ginsberg reads Sunflower Sutra and Pull My Daisy (Bd-exclusive)Q&A with filmmakers moderated by John Cameron Mitchell (Bd-exclusive)
The pics of the titles are linked to Amazon, where if you decide to buy, your order goes...
Extras include:
Deleted Scenes Dinner For Schmucks
Extras include:
The Biggest Schmucks in the WorldThe Men Behind the MousterpiecesMeet the WinnersGag ReelDeleted ScenesPaul and Steve: The Decision - Actors Paul Rudd and Steve Carell host a fictional press conference during the 2010 Espy Awards mimicking LeBron James' Espn special "The Decision" Catfish
Extras include:
Filmmakers 25-minute Q&A
The Last Exorcism
Extras include:
CommentariesThe Devil You Know: The Making of 'The Last Exorcism'Real Stories of Exorcism: Interviews with Actual Victims and ParticipantsActors' Audition Footage Howl
Extras include:
CommentaryHoly! Holy! Holy! Making of HowlOriginal Interviews with Ginsberg's friends and collaboratorsNever-before-seen performance by Ginsberg in 1995 at NYC's Knitting FactoryAudio feature: James Franco reads HowlAllen Ginsberg reads Sunflower Sutra and Pull My Daisy (Bd-exclusive)Q&A with filmmakers moderated by John Cameron Mitchell (Bd-exclusive)
The pics of the titles are linked to Amazon, where if you decide to buy, your order goes...
- 1/4/2011
- by josh@reelartsy.com (Joshua dos Santos)
- Reelartsy
Maverick director best known for his film of Ulysses – widely seen as a noble failure
There must be something quixotic about a director who sets out to make a film of James Joyce's Ulysses. A passionate Joycean, Joseph Strick, who has died aged 86, was undeterred by the challenge and the obstacles: "Even before I made it, people were saying it was unfilmable. I think the truth is, some people just find the book unreadable."
The iconoclastic Strick first envisaged an 18-hour version, faithful to every word, but unsurprisingly he could not get anyone to finance it. When the final two-hour version, shot in Dublin, was completed in 1967, it fell foul of censorship – just like the novel. The British Board of Film Censors requested 29 cuts to remove sexual references from Molly Bloom's final, expletive-laden soliloquy. Strick obliged by replacing all of the offending footage with a blank screen and a high-pitched shrieking sound.
There must be something quixotic about a director who sets out to make a film of James Joyce's Ulysses. A passionate Joycean, Joseph Strick, who has died aged 86, was undeterred by the challenge and the obstacles: "Even before I made it, people were saying it was unfilmable. I think the truth is, some people just find the book unreadable."
The iconoclastic Strick first envisaged an 18-hour version, faithful to every word, but unsurprisingly he could not get anyone to finance it. When the final two-hour version, shot in Dublin, was completed in 1967, it fell foul of censorship – just like the novel. The British Board of Film Censors requested 29 cuts to remove sexual references from Molly Bloom's final, expletive-laden soliloquy. Strick obliged by replacing all of the offending footage with a blank screen and a high-pitched shrieking sound.
- 6/17/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Kenneth Anger rocks the theremin in this performance of his band Technicolor Skull at the 40th anniversary bash for the Anthology Film Archives held on May 19 in NYC. The band is actually just Anger and fellow occult filmmaker Brian Butler, who perform in front of a giant screen showing clips — some seeming to be remixed or rejiggered somehow — from various Anger films, such as Lucifer Rising and other sources.
It’s not known if any devils were actually raised at this performance, but the roof certainly was! (Sorry, that’s a lame attempt at some occult humor.)
The event was also a fundraiser for the Anthology to raise funds for a project to digitize over 70,000 rare film titles in its library before they completely disintegrate.
It’s interesting to watch this performance as Anger’s playing of the theremin appears to be somewhat random, except he keeps looking back at the screen,...
It’s not known if any devils were actually raised at this performance, but the roof certainly was! (Sorry, that’s a lame attempt at some occult humor.)
The event was also a fundraiser for the Anthology to raise funds for a project to digitize over 70,000 rare film titles in its library before they completely disintegrate.
It’s interesting to watch this performance as Anger’s playing of the theremin appears to be somewhat random, except he keeps looking back at the screen,...
- 5/26/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
First the history, then the list:
In 1969, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage, and Jonas Mekas decided to open the world’s first museum devoted to film. Of course, a typical museum hangs its collections of artwork on the wall for visitors to walk up to and study. However, a film museum needs special considerations on how — and what, of course — to present its collection to the public.
Thus, for this film museum, first a film selection committee was formed that included James Broughton, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, Jonas Mekas and P. Adams Sitney, plus, for a time, Stan Brakhage. This committee met over the course of several months to decide exactly what films would be collected and how they would be shown. The final selection of films would come to be called the The Essential Cinema Repertory.
The Essential Cinema Collection that the committee came up with consisted of about 330 films.
In 1969, Jerome Hill, P. Adams Sitney, Peter Kubelka, Stan Brakhage, and Jonas Mekas decided to open the world’s first museum devoted to film. Of course, a typical museum hangs its collections of artwork on the wall for visitors to walk up to and study. However, a film museum needs special considerations on how — and what, of course — to present its collection to the public.
Thus, for this film museum, first a film selection committee was formed that included James Broughton, Ken Kelman, Peter Kubelka, Jonas Mekas and P. Adams Sitney, plus, for a time, Stan Brakhage. This committee met over the course of several months to decide exactly what films would be collected and how they would be shown. The final selection of films would come to be called the The Essential Cinema Repertory.
The Essential Cinema Collection that the committee came up with consisted of about 330 films.
- 5/3/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, with this week, I’m thinking up and trying to implement new ways to pull links from more diverse sources, so that I’m not just linking to the same types of posts. Although some of my “regulars” are posting consistently interesting things, too. Let’s start mixing it up!
You might have to register for these, but first here’s a classic review from the 1975 New York Times by Richard Eder for a re-release of Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie’s Pull My Daisy, the notorious 1959 Beat film. Then, more recently, Dave Itzkoff interviews Chuck Workman, the director of Visionaries, a documentary about Jonas Mekas and the history of avant-garde film. The site Guest of a Guest also reviews Visionaries and includes an early — and I mean early — acting clip of Robert Downey Jr. in one of his dad’s films. Another blast from the past, Making Light...
You might have to register for these, but first here’s a classic review from the 1975 New York Times by Richard Eder for a re-release of Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie’s Pull My Daisy, the notorious 1959 Beat film. Then, more recently, Dave Itzkoff interviews Chuck Workman, the director of Visionaries, a documentary about Jonas Mekas and the history of avant-garde film. The site Guest of a Guest also reviews Visionaries and includes an early — and I mean early — acting clip of Robert Downey Jr. in one of his dad’s films. Another blast from the past, Making Light...
- 4/25/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Feb. 15
8:00 p.m.
Glasslands Gallery
289 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Hosted by: Sarah Jacobson Film Grant
This special event honoring the late, great Sarah Jacobson is both a celebration of her pioneering work as a Diy filmmaker and a fundraiser for the Sarah Jacobson Film Grant, which awards money to independent women filmmakers.
There will be screenings of some of Sarah’s early short films, plus samples from winning filmmakers who were awarded the grant in previous years. There will also be short video tributes from Sarah’s fans and friends, such as Kathleen Hanna, Allison Anders, Tamra Davis, Michelle Handelman, George Kuchar, Sam Green, and Craig Baldwin. Lastly, Barbara Hammer and Sarah’s mother Ruth will introduce a screening of Sarah’s punk classic Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore.
Sarah Jacobson was a tireless advocate of Diy filmmaking, having produced, directed and self-distributed two feature films, I...
8:00 p.m.
Glasslands Gallery
289 Kent Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Hosted by: Sarah Jacobson Film Grant
This special event honoring the late, great Sarah Jacobson is both a celebration of her pioneering work as a Diy filmmaker and a fundraiser for the Sarah Jacobson Film Grant, which awards money to independent women filmmakers.
There will be screenings of some of Sarah’s early short films, plus samples from winning filmmakers who were awarded the grant in previous years. There will also be short video tributes from Sarah’s fans and friends, such as Kathleen Hanna, Allison Anders, Tamra Davis, Michelle Handelman, George Kuchar, Sam Green, and Craig Baldwin. Lastly, Barbara Hammer and Sarah’s mother Ruth will introduce a screening of Sarah’s punk classic Mary Jane’s Not a Virgin Anymore.
Sarah Jacobson was a tireless advocate of Diy filmmaking, having produced, directed and self-distributed two feature films, I...
- 2/14/2010
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
Feb. 7
6:00 p.m.
Anthology Film Archives
2nd Ave at 2nd St.
NYC, NY
Hosted by: Anthology Film Archives
Two classic underground films from the 1950s are going to be screened back-to-back. First is Jean Genet’s Un Chant D’Amour (1950) and second is Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie’s Pull My Daisy (1959).
Pull My Daisy is a classic of Beat cinema and is based on an unfinished play written by Jack Kerouac, who provides the poetic narration. A working class husband embarrasses his wife when his unruly poet friends — played by real-life poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso — crash a dinner party being held for a bishop and his family. The film is based on a true story from Kerouac’s life.
The making of Pull My Daisy is covered extensively in Jack Sargeant’s essential underground film history book Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, which also includes lengthy interviews...
6:00 p.m.
Anthology Film Archives
2nd Ave at 2nd St.
NYC, NY
Hosted by: Anthology Film Archives
Two classic underground films from the 1950s are going to be screened back-to-back. First is Jean Genet’s Un Chant D’Amour (1950) and second is Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie’s Pull My Daisy (1959).
Pull My Daisy is a classic of Beat cinema and is based on an unfinished play written by Jack Kerouac, who provides the poetic narration. A working class husband embarrasses his wife when his unruly poet friends — played by real-life poets Allen Ginsberg and Gregory Corso — crash a dinner party being held for a bishop and his family. The film is based on a true story from Kerouac’s life.
The making of Pull My Daisy is covered extensively in Jack Sargeant’s essential underground film history book Naked Lens: Beat Cinema, which also includes lengthy interviews...
- 2/5/2010
- by screenings
- Underground Film Journal
In 1955, Allen Ginsberg performed a poem about sex, drugs and race that became a battlecry for the Us counterculture. It also led to an obscenity trial. B Ruby Rich on a new film about the epic Howl
On 7 October 1955, at the Six Gallery in San Francisco, Allen Ginsberg brought the house down with a performance of his hallucinatory new poem, Howl. Among other things, this epic work in four parts dealt with drugs, mental illness, religion, homosexuality – the fears and preoccupations of a generation. Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti were both in the audience. Ginsberg was 29 years old. Also present was the future choreographer and film-maker Yvonne Rainer. A teenager at the time, Rainer still clearly remembers that night: "Ginsberg, quite drunk, clean-shaven, in black suit and tie-less white shirt, holding a jug of rot-gut red wine, intoning and chanting the poem." Back then, the beats were in thrall to...
On 7 October 1955, at the Six Gallery in San Francisco, Allen Ginsberg brought the house down with a performance of his hallucinatory new poem, Howl. Among other things, this epic work in four parts dealt with drugs, mental illness, religion, homosexuality – the fears and preoccupations of a generation. Jack Kerouac and Lawrence Ferlinghetti were both in the audience. Ginsberg was 29 years old. Also present was the future choreographer and film-maker Yvonne Rainer. A teenager at the time, Rainer still clearly remembers that night: "Ginsberg, quite drunk, clean-shaven, in black suit and tie-less white shirt, holding a jug of rot-gut red wine, intoning and chanting the poem." Back then, the beats were in thrall to...
- 1/21/2010
- by B Ruby Rich
- The Guardian - Film News
James Franco as Allen Ginsberg in Howl. “You feel a responsibility to get it right,” said actor James Franco regarding what it was like portraying one of his heroes, poet Allen Ginsberg, in the anticipated new film Howl. The movie, which pays homage to Ginsberg’s epic poem, is set to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Thursday, but leave it to Cinema Society founder Andrew Saffir to have arranged a pre-premiere screening on Monday night at Manhattan's Crosby Hotel for a small group of society types, including singer-songwriter Björk and her husband, artist Matthew Barney, actress Brooke Shields, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, and designer Rachel Roy. Howl writers and directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman were also on hand for the evening, which was sponsored by Thomson Reuters. It was fitting, after all, to have the first public screening of the film in New York City,...
- 1/19/2010
- Vanity Fair
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