If
we look far enough into the past of Micro-Cinema, we see
that we trace our roots, through it all, to an oddball group
of experimentalists called Avant-Garde filmmakers. Avant-Garde
literally means, "Before Guard"...or, rather,
"ahead of the crowd." These were the trailblazers
that created the roads that Hollywood eventually, and rather
laconically, expanded out along.
The
avant-garde filmmakers of the past, like the microfilmmakers
of today, were pushing the envelope and trying new mediums.
They would explore things that fascinated them, regardless
of rather anyone felt there was a market for these visual
explorations. Many of their films were not so much about
telling a story as simply exploring a concept or an aspect
of movement. The amazingly fractilized Ballet Mécanique,
which came out in 1924, follows the interweave of moving
machines and tools in a strange sort of dance. Even though
this particular film was from the age of silent films, the
filmmaker wrote an amazingly complex score for the film
which he intended to have played by an orchestra as the
film was played. However, the piece turned out to be so
amazingly complex that it hasn't been able to be played
in it's entirety until now! Now, that's pushing the
envelope!
Here
we see a late 19th century
exploration of dance & color...
...while
the Ballet Mécanique
features a very complex score.
Initial
Impressions: I
got a chance to actually preview a sampler DVD of this collection
before it's released later this month and, I must say, I
was impressed. While the sampler only showcased eight of
the short films, and not all of these in their entirety,
they did such a good job of intriguing me that I had to
watch them all.
It
was amazing to me to look at how many of the films had set
precedents for things in Hollywood down the road. For example,
there were avant-garde filmmakers experimenting with colorizing
film for projection purposes in 1895-1896, 43 years before
The Wizard of Oz!
I
think that sometimes we forget the fact that Hollywood has
never had the stomach to try anything truly new. It's always
relied on independents and avant-garde filmmakers to swim
in shark-infested waters before it's been willing to swim
there as well.
Because
this collection was compiled by experimentalism, rather
than budget, there are some avant-garde filmmakers that
were making tremendously expensive works. Even though these
films won't have quite as much relevence, they are still
a fascinating tribute to creativity, form, and use of cameras.
In fact, one sequence actually uses a crane camera above
a pool to transform clusters of women in swimsuits into
moving MC Escher-like designs and forms.
This
collection will help inspire you to try new things and see
the world in experimental ways. It will also help remind
you of your roots, of what it means to be a microfilmmaker,
and of what it means to be a part of the New Avant-Garde
Movement!
1939's
Spook Sport predated
Fantasia by a year or so.
Manhatta
explored New York
through the 1920's eye of a camera.
Special
Features According
to the creators, these are list of some of the special features
included:
Picturing
A Metropolis: New York City Unveiled, specially
selected from Unseen Cinema DVD box set, will also be
released nationally as a single DVD. The 26 short films
depict scenes of New Yorkers among the skyscrapers,
streets, and nightlife of Manhattan during a half-century
of progress, while at the same time showing changes
in film style and the history of cinema experiments.
Ballet
mécanique (Léger and Murphy, 1924)
is drawn from the definitive Frederick Kiesler print
with the color inserts from the hand-colored copy at
the Nederlands Filmmuseum, and has been fitted for the
first time ever with the George Antheil score in its
original instrumentation of 16 player pianos, airplane
propellers, etc.
Twenty-four-Dollar
Island (Robert Flaherty, c. 1926) is available in
the longest known version of the film made from excellent
35mm film elements discovered at Gosfilmofond of Russia
and Nederlands Filmmuseum with introductory titles derived
directly from Flaherty’s own notes.
Anthology
Film Archives, under the direction of the legendary
filmmaker and archivst Jonas Mekas, reveals its vast
holdings of unique American experimental films with
some of the DVD’s rarest discoveries: films by
Rudy Burckhardt, Jerome Hill, Lewis Jacobs, Henwar Rodakiewicz,
Seymour Stern, Christopher Young, and many more..
Warner
Bros., Turner Entertainment, and Paramount Pictures
opened their studio vaults to offer excellent quality
35mm archive copies of works by James Cruze, Busby Berkeley,
Oskar Fischinger, Ernst Lubitsch, Paul Burnford, and
Slavko Vorkapich.
The
British Film Institute, Library of Congress, Museum
of Modern Art, and George Eastman House loaned pristine
preservation prints of a variety of late 19th century
and early 20th century pioneer film titles by Edison
Manufacturing and American Mutoscope and Biograph Companies
as well as many one of a kind 35mm and 16mm films by
avant-garde filmmakers Dudley Murphy, Robert Florey,
and Ralph Steiner.
The
complete works of abstract film artist Mary Ellen Bute
are presented in beautiful 35mm preservation prints
along with numerous other ground-breaking abstract animations
by Alexandre Alexeieff, Francis Bruguiere, Douglass
Crockwell, Dwinell Grant, Francis Lee, Man Ray, Rrose
Selavy (aka Marcel Duchamp), Norman Mclaren, and George
Morris.
Renowned
American collage artists and filmmaker Joseph Cornell
is represented by his brilliant film montages salvaged
by animator Lawrence Jordan and include The Children’s
Party, Cotillion, Midnight Party, Thimble Theater, Carousel,
and Jack’s Dream (all films c. 1938- ) and several
other titles inspirational to Cornell’s filmmaking.
Vintage
home movies of the 1920s and 30s by amateurs Elizabeth
Woodman Wright and Archie Stewart are transferred
from the original 16mm picture rolls held at Northeast
Historic Films, Bucksport, Maine. While other amateur
films by Norman Bel Geddes, Lynn Riggs, Emlen Etting,
John C. Hecker, and Frank Stauffacher are presented
off recently made preservations masters.
At
least two-thirds of the program is silent. Unless
the filmmakers wished their work to be shown without
music, all the silent films have been fitted out with
very nice music composed and performed by some of the
world’s best silent film composers: Donald Sosin,
Eric Beheim, Robert Israel, Rodney Sauer, Neil Kurz,
and Shane Ryan. Original music includes compositions
by George Atntheil, Marc Blitzstein, Alec Wilder, Jack
Ellitt, and Cameron MacPherson.
Introductory
historical notes and filmmakers' biographies written
by Kevin Brownlow, David Curtis, R. Bruce Elder, Robert
A. Haller, Jan-Christopher Horak, David James, Scott
MacDonald, Bruce Posner, David Shepard, Paul Spehr,
Cecile Starr, and 31 others and rare film and filmmakers
photos in a 253-page picture gallery.
Not
all of these shorts were
done by micro-budgeted filmmakers...
...like
these M.C. Escher-like scenes
using women as parts of lines.
Overall
Comment This
looks to be an amazing boxed set that you would do well
to own as a reminder of how rich and diversified the microfilmmaking
and avant-garde film community has been since the dawn of
film. Check in each month as we review another DVD in the
set and give you more glimpses into the lesser known world
of the Unseen Cinema of the past.
