Avant-Garde, Experimental & Non-narrative Films

Message

vogler · #51 Post by **vogler** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 8:41 am

I have a few dvds that I would like to recommend to anyone who is interested in this area of film making and these types of releases need supporting.

PAOLO GIOLI released by Raro Video

This one really blew my mind - Paolo Gioli is a genius and it amazes me that his work is so little known. The nearest comparison I could make would be Peter Tscherkassky but Gioli was making films much earlier. I couldn't even begin to describe the stunning visuals contained on this 2 dvd set. It is a constant stream of pure creativity.

CHRIS WELSBY

Chris Welsby's films are concerned with nature and landscapes. His earlier films from the 1970s were heavily influenced by structural film but later he moved away from this towards his more contemplative style of landscape film making. 'Seven Days' and 'Sky Light' in particular I found to be absolutely stunning.

Fred Camper Chicago Reader review

Also, UBU.com have updated and massively expanded their experimental film downloads section and there is loads of amazing stuff up for grabs.

Gregory · #52 Post by **Gregory** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 4:02 am

Do you happen to know what's included on TV Eye's third release, "Video Salon Volume One"?

vogler · #53 Post by **vogler** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:38 am

Gregory wrote:Do you happen to know what's included on TV Eye's third release, "Video Salon Volume One"?

EDIT: I have deleted all of the references and links to tveye video in my posts because I just went to their site and instantly picked up a rather nasty piece of malware. It even took over administration of the computer and wouldn't let me access windows task manager to terminate the process. I had to do a system restore. Bad shit! I checked to make sure that the malware did come from that site and it seems that it did. So my advice is stay away. This malware only appeared on the site fairly recently (as of 29/09/06) so if you visited the site some time ago there should be no problem.

acquarello · #54 Post by **acquarello** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 12:35 pm

Lowave (Paris) has just released Maurice LemaÃ®tre's Nos Stars and Le Petit Dieu as a two film DVD, and also the second volume of their CinÃ©ma DiffÃ©rent series. This one is probably NTSC on one side, PAL on the other side like the first DVD.

Also, this is oldish news, but still worth mentioning is the Les Films du Renard's release of the first boxset of Stephen Dwoskin's proposed three boxset anthology (Swiss release). The set is a small box (roughly 6 in. x 6 in. x 1 in.) of five DVDs and a bilingual booklet, each disc is in a cardboard sleeve that has a nice picture of the corresponding artwork from the films on the disc (although the glue holding the sleeve together seems to be falling apart on me). Alas, this doesn't have Dyn Amo, which Re-voir is planning to release on DVD, but there are a couple of Dyn Amo-ish transgressive offerings, like Girl and Dirty. They also include his recent, more personal (and I think more interesting) films, like Pain Is... and Trying to Kiss the Moon.

Anyway, the Dwoskin set is definitely geared towards those who already have some familiarity with his work and know (fairly) what to expect. He doesn't film "pretty pictures", they're usually awkward and uncomfortable, but also confrontational in that sense.

vogler · #55 Post by **vogler** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 8:38 am

On the subject of Bill Viola

Gordon McMurphy wrote: I'd love to see his complete works on DVD, preferably from Criterion.

Well it's not Criterion but here is a good start. 3 Bill Viola dvds available from the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Arts) in London. A bit expensive though. I think the DVD label is called Editions ÃƒÂ Voir.

Bill Viola - Hatsu Yume (First Dream)

Bill Viola - I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like

Bill Viola - The Passing

Gordon McMurphy wrote: He is an amazing artist; his films are incredibly powerful and beautful.

I agree - Bill Viola's work is magnificent.

I was at the ICA a few days ago and they actually had quite a few more Bill Viola dvds than these 3. I can't remember what the others were though. They have a huge amount of stuff in their shop.

EDIT: They actually only have the 3 Viola dvds I mentioned and a dvd of the Viola documentary. The others only existed in my imagination.

I bought the new Kurt Kren dvd (released by the Index label) for Ã‚Â£21.99 which is much cheaper than it would have been to buy it online. (I think it worked out to be over Ã‚Â£30 including postage from the Index site).
EDIT: I should just say that the ICA shop is generally bloody expensive (RRP) but that's probably because I'm used to online discounts.

Macintosh · #56 Post by **Macintosh** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 12:07 pm

sevenarts wrote:I've been most impressed, unsurprisingly, by the four Man Ray films, especially L'etoile de Mer and Emak-Bakia ... Gorgeous stuff.

Man Ray at Ubu web

putney · #57 Post by **putney** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 1:52 pm

re: the wegman set: most was done on open reel video, so they obviously have not aged well, etc... the later works are done on video... the set is fantastic..BUT, they show a different side to wegman's work that may be unfamiliar to those who know him primarily through his photography. they are deadpan and hilarious, straight faced as stuart sherman and very much like the work of Michael (Mike) Smith (with whom Wegman made th brilliant "World of Photography" (poss. i got the name wrong there...) Some of the later, video, works are so funny you may be rewatching the same 1 minute film for the next half hour.

Faeton · #58 Post by **Faeton** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 9:30 am

acquarello wrote:Lowave (Paris) has just released Maurice LemaÃ®tre's Nos Stars and Le Petit Dieu as a two film DVD, and also the second volume of their CinÃ©ma DiffÃ©rent series. This one is probably NTSC on one side, PAL on the other side like the first DVD.

Also, this is oldish news, but still worth mentioning is the Les Films du Renard's release of the first boxset of Stephen Dwoskin's proposed three boxset anthology (Swiss release). The set is a small box (roughly 6 in. x 6 in. x 1 in.) of five DVDs and a bilingual booklet, each disc is in a cardboard sleeve that has a nice picture of the corresponding artwork from the films on the disc (although the glue holding the sleeve together seems to be falling apart on me). Alas, this doesn't have Dyn Amo, which Re-voir is planning to release on DVD, but there are a couple of Dyn Amo-ish transgressive offerings, like Girl and Dirty. They also include his recent, more personal (and I think more interesting) films, like Pain Is... and Trying to Kiss the Moon.

Anyway, the Dwoskin set is definitely geared towards those who already have some familiarity with his work and know (fairly) what to expect. He doesn't film "pretty pictures", they're usually awkward and uncomfortable, but also confrontational in that sense.

What a coincidence!

I just ordered this week the 2 DVDs from lowave and the Dwoskin box. On Dwoskin: the box is labelled as 1/3, so there are plans to release 2 more sets ?

More releases to come:

The films of Kenneth Anger vol.1 by Fantoma

The films of James Broughton

Tribulation 99 by Craig Baldwin

Johan van der Keuken: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Gropius · #59 Post by **Gropius** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 10:15 am

David Ehrenstein wrote:Star-Spangled to Death, Ken Jacobs 50-years-in-the-making MORE than magnum opus is coming out on [4] DVD. Ken is taking advance orders for it on his website.

Does anyone have this set? Does anyone know Jacobs's intentions re. the viewing of Star-Spangled to Death; i.e. is one expected to watch all six hours in one sitting (a la Satantango), or can it be broken up into bits without losing something?

Faeton · #60 Post by **Faeton** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 12:04 pm

I have it. It's a great edition and pretty cheap, too, considering it's an edition by the author himself. The work comes with viewing instructions, which I reproduce here:

When screening Star Spangled to Death for groups, a 10-15 minute audience break follows Disc One and, again, after disc Three. When screening is not scheduled to resume on a following day, a 2 hour break is recommended following disc two.

The young lady's recitation beginning Disc Two is played while room lights are still on and audience is taking their seats. The color cartoon that follows is the actual start od Disc Two.

Coming attraction trailers, start of Disc One and end of Disc Two, can be played as part of a regular screening.

The many flash-texts that appear momentarily on-screen are far too complex to function as subliminals. They are comments and asides directed to viewers watching the film in private, remote in hand, and up for pausing to read. A drag for first-time viewers.

Gropius · #61 Post by **Gropius** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:17 pm

Faeton wrote:The many flash-texts that appear momentarily on-screen are far too complex to function as subliminals. They are comments and asides directed to viewers watching the film in private, remote in hand, and up for pausing to read. A drag for first-time viewers.

Interesting that he should endorse the pause function of DVDs, since that is something other film artists have complained about (giving the viewer too much control).

#62 Post by **zedz** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 1:15 am

I've just discovered this exciting release.

Su Friedrich is one of the great experimental filmmakers of the past couple of decades, and a handful of these films are genuine masterpieces (my favourites being Sink or Swim and Rules of the Road). She combines formal (and formalist) beauty with innovative narratives and sly humour.

Has anybody got / seen this set, or experienced other Outcast releases?

Nihonophile · #63 Post by **Nihonophile** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:17 am

zedz wrote:I've just discovered this exciting release. Has anybody got / seen this set, or experienced other Outcast releases?

My library bought the whole set, I also recommend Gently Down the Stream and Odds of Recovery. I still havent found anything that rivals Sink or Swim but she is consistently a fascinating filmmaker. The one film of hers that I found quite bland and conventional was "Hide and Seek Seek" a coming of age story centered on a 12 year lesbian.

Matt · #64 Post by **Matt** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 10:14 am

Nihonophile wrote:
zedz wrote:I've just discovered this exciting release. Has anybody got / seen this set, or experienced other Outcast releases?
My library bought the whole set

And I have just bought the set for my library. I went on an experimental/avant-garde spree, getting this, the Norman Mclaren, and James Broughton sets.

Anonymous · #65 Post by **Anonymous** » Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:36 pm

Jonas Mekas just uploaded one of his masterpieces ZEFIRO TORNA on jonasmekas.com

Does anyone know how to download this file and save it on the computer?

Faeton · #66 Post by **Faeton** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 3:15 pm

Mr. Bernstein wrote:Jonas Mekas just uploaded one of his masterpieces ZEFIRO TORNA on jonasmekas.com

Does anyone know how to download this file and save it on the computer?

Right-click on this link and press "save as...". It's only an excerpt, btw...

vogler · #67 Post by **vogler** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:36 pm

Earlier in this thread I posted a link to the Raro dvd of Paolo Gioli's films. I can't stress enough what a huge impact his films have had on me. For me his work is at the pinnacle of avant-garde filmmaking along with my most revered filmmakers such as Stan Brakhage, Harry Smith, and Maya Deren. There is an excellent new article on Gioli here which is well worth a read. Paolo Gioli and the Italian Underground film-makers of the 60s & 70s deserve so much more recognition than they have been given. I am only recently beginning to discover these films and it is an absolute treasure trove of creativity and ingenuity that belongs at the forefront of experimental film-making. Paolo Gioli's website can be found here.

Also well worth checking out are the films of Piero Bargellini whose work I regard as highly as Paoli Gioli.

There is also a new article on Saul Levine at the same site here. I also posted a link to a dvd release by Saul Levine earlier in the thread but I had to remove it for reasons stated in my edit to the earlier post.

I have deleted all of the references and links to tveye video in my posts because I just went to their site and instantly picked up a rather nasty piece of malware. It even took over administration of the computer and wouldn't let me access windows task manager to terminate the process. I had to do a system restore. Bad shit!
I checked to make sure that the malware did come from that site and it seems that it did. So my advice is stay away.

This malware only appeared on the site fairly recently (as of 29/09/06) so if you visited the site some time ago there should be no problem.

It's a really great dvd but obviously I can't recommend anyone go and buy a copy from that site at the moment. I noticed they had a popup window with an advertisement picture for an upcoming release which is now not functioning - I am thinking the malware could be originating from the host of this image (possibly). It's a shame though because companies like this cannot afford to have customers turning away due to such issues.

If anyone is interested in this dvd it can be bought at another (computer friendly) site here.

Faeton · #68 Post by **Faeton** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 3:43 pm

I agree with you. Gioli and Bargellini's works are among the best. Though Gioli can get somewhat repetitive sometimes...

You should check out the Raro edition of Bene's "Nostra signora dei Turchi". A true masterpiece.

vogler · #69 Post by **vogler** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 4:18 pm

Faeton wrote:I agree with you. Gioli and Bargellini's works are among the best. Though Gioli can get somewhat repetitive sometimes...

I wonder if Raro will at some point release a dvd of Bargellini's work - the Gioli dvd is amazing and a Bargelini disc of the same standard would be very welcome. I have to say I've never found Gioli's work to be repetitive. I would say quite the opposite and his films constantly surprise me with unexpected turns and jarring visuals - I could (and do) watch them for hours. Gioli would be the last person I would call repetitive.

It also looks like Raro will be releasing a dvd of Romano Scavolini as he is featured on their website in their catalogue and here. Hopefully it will be some of his earlier experimental films. Are you familiar with his experimental work and if so what do you think of it? I have only seen Nightmares in a Damaged Brain (a film on the U.K. 'video nasties' list) which did not particularly impress me but his earlier works sound very interesting.

Faeton wrote:You should check out the Raro edition of Bene's "Nostra signora dei Turchi". A true masterpiece.

I actually just got this very recently but have not yet watched it. You have inspired me to go and watch it right now. I have seen the Carmelo Bene films Salome and Don Giovanni - neither had English subs and I don't speak Italian but I still enjoyed them for their astonishing visuals.

Oh, and by the way Faeton I checked out your website and was most impressed. There are so few coherent resources for experimental film on the internet and this site is very welcome. I've already found out some very valuable information such as the London Film Festival - Experimenta Avant-Garde Weekend (Kenneth Anger in London - Holy shit!

) and the new Lux dvds.

Faeton · #70 Post by **Faeton** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:34 am

vogler wrote:I wonder if Raro will at some point release a dvd of Bargellini's work - the Gioli dvd is amazing and a Bargelini disc of the same standard would be very welcome.

That would be amazing

I'll write them later asking about it, though they don't seem to be very talkative. A friend of mine asked them once if they were going to release more Bene and all he got was a "We're thinking about it".

vogler wrote:It also looks like Raro will be releasing a dvd of Romano Scavolini

I haven't seen anything by him yet, though there's a documentary out there (ed2k) about his work. I'll check it out.

vogler wrote:Oh, and by the way Faeton I checked out your website and was most impressed. There are so few coherent resources for experimental film on the internet and this site is very welcome.

Thanks! Glad you liked it. One of the things that moved me to do it was that precisely: the lack of sites devoted to experimental cinema with a "magazine" approach. Any suggestion is welcome

vogler · #71 Post by **vogler** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 6:36 pm

please delete post

planetjake · #72 Post by **planetjake** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:19 am

Uh... Wow... =P~ Do we all know about this?

vogler · #73 Post by **vogler** » Sat Oct 14, 2006 9:43 am

Check out this thread here. I have it and basically it's a great set but suffers from MAJOR windowboxing.

News of a dvd release of Venom and Eternity by Lettrist movement founder Isidore Isou in this thread here.

neuro · #74 Post by **neuro** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 5:49 am

It seems that the aforementioned Bill Viola discs (already available in the U.K.) are being ported to the U.S. on Nov. 28, courtesy of Microcinema; they're only slightly less expensive:

Hatsu-yume

I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like

The Passing

acquarello · #75 Post by **acquarello** » Mon Oct 30, 2006 8:43 pm

Index has released the third Kurt Kren DVD compilation, including Which Way to CA, although their expected release of Martin Arnold's Cineseizure is still up in the air.

Also delayed is Re:Voir's release of Philippe Garrel's Le Lit de la Vierge, which I was told would be about two months.