By popular demand, (and by popular, I mean one person and The Critic knows who you are), here is a follow up to the original Experimental Film Pioneer Playlist.
Some of these films are better known than the films on the original playlist, but only in a relative sense. Let’s just dive in:
Savlador Dali and Luis Bunuel – Un Chien Andalou
This was Bunuel’s first film. The eyeball scene is most famous and most disturbing. It is a great film and, remember, the eyeball scene is early special effect trickery and is only a small part of the surrealist story.
Entr’act – Renee Clair
This was created before Dali’s dog film above that actually has no dogs in it. Entr’act is another silent, beautifully and haunting work of art.
Kenneth Anger – Lucifer Rising
The making of the music for this film deserves its own film. The legends are bizarre. The film is bizarre. The Critic is not really on board with the whole Kenneth Anger thing, but this work is famous in the small world of experimental films. Decide for yourself.
Dziga Vertov – Man with a Movie Camera
1929…Soviet Russia…fast cuts…no plot…reversed footage…stop motion animation…extreme close ups…vertigo inducing angles…ridiculously long tracking shots. It is a wonder this was ever made and still survives.
Maybe play Rachmaninov and Shostakovich and Prokofiev and Sergey Kuryokhin as you watch? It is over one hour long so you will have plenty of time to figure out the best background music as you attempt to decipher everything going on in this “from dusk until dawn” epic.
Michael Snow – Wavelength
Choosing your own sound for a silent film is a tough sell for some viewers. This is not a silent film. Michael Snow is known more for painting and sculpture than film. Michael does not let you off easy with the soundscape and you may wish it was silent before you finish watching.