A Not-Redundant-At-All Short Film Viewing Log for 2007
Submitted by Cosgrove on Thu, 01/04/2007 - 12:41
Tags:
- 098. (13 Nov) /La Jetee/ (1962, Chris Marker) {Still amazing.}
- 097. (11 Nov) /The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes/ (1971, Stan Brakhage)
- 096. (11 Nov) Deus Ex (1971, Stan Brakhage)
- 095. (11 Nov) Eyes (1971, Stan Brakhage)
- 094. (24 Oct) Everything Will Be OK (2007, Don Hertzfeldt) {Wow. Just... WOW.}
- 093. (7 Oct) Study in Color and Black and White (1993, Stan Brakhage)
- 092. (7 Oct) Black Ice (1994, Stan Brakhage)
- 091. (1 Oct) /Report/ (1967, Bruce Conner)
- 090. (1 Oct) Marilyn Times Five (1973, Bruce Conner)
- 089. (1 Oct) Permian Strata (1969, Bruce Conner)
- 088. (1 Oct) Untitled (For Marilyn) (1992, Stan Brakhage)
- 087. (1 Oct) Night Music (1986, Stan Brakhage)
- 086. (1 Oct) /The Dante Quartet/ (1987, Stan Brakhage)
- 085. (1 Oct) I... Dreaming (1988, Stan Brakhage)
- 084. (18 Sep) Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966, George Kuchar)
- 083. (9 Sep) A Cure for Terminal Loneliness (2007, Samir Rehem)
- 082. (8 Sep) Capitalism: Slavery (2006, Ken Jacobs)
- 081. (8 Sep) Europa 2005, 27 Octobre (2006, Danielle Huillet & Jean-Marie Straub)
- 080. (7 Sep) What the Water Said, Nos. 4-6 (2007, David Gatton)
- 079. (7 Sep) POOL (2007, Chris Chong Chan Fui)
- 078. (24 Jul) L'Etoile de Mer (1928, Man Ray)
- 077. (24 Jul) /Return to Reason/ (1923, Man Ray)
- 076. (23 Jul) The World Is a Classroom (2002, Caveh Zahedi) {Caveh's diaristic style runs into thorny ground. Really not quite sure what to make of this one, honestly -- I know it's in essence a documentary portrait of forgiveness (with the spectre of 9/11 hanging in the background), but is that enough? Should it be more, and is it already more and I'm just missing it? An easy watch (Zahedi remains an engaging presence) but not an easy unpack.}
- 075. (23 Jul) 9/10 (200?, Thomas Logoreci) {By placing the sense of confusion and displacement generated by 9/11 within both a small personal and a larger historical context, Mr. Logoreci more or less nails the assignment. And he didn't even ahve to resort to showing any fucking kids, either.}
- 074. (23 Jul) Awake (200?, Greg Watkins) {Yet another film in this collection by a person who thinks filming their kids is automatically profound. At least this one's only about ten seconds long.}
- 073. (23 Jul) Wake (2001, Julia Inez Gandelsonas & Abigail Severance) {Impressionistic short benefits from nicely judged texture; unfortunately, all it has to offer is texture. Still, that puts it ahead of almost everything else on the Underground Zero disc.}
- 072. (23 Jul) Fear Itself (2001, Dan Weir) {I didn't let Ms. Jarmel off the hook, and Mr. Weir hangs by the same hook -- this is cheaply manipulative, intellectually lazy junk. Won't SOMEBODY think of the children????}
- 071. (23 Jul) Drink from the River (2002, Thad Povey & the Scratch Film Junkies) {These boys like themselves some Brakhage. Lacks the intellectual and formal rigor of The Master, but it's got enough visual panache to sustain interest.}
- 070. (23 Jul) Vale of Tears (2002, Nancy D. Kates) {Miss Kates, you're no James Benning.}
- 069. (23 Jul) Collateral Damage (2002, Marcia Jarmel) {Sorry, lady, but prefacing your home movies with two recent historical facts and a short sentence about Afghani children does not an effective political document make.}
- 068. (23 Jul) Meal (2002, Cathy Lee Crane & Sarah Augusta Lewison) {Simple concept -- a quick thought, basically, about last suppers -- that leads to simple impact.}
- 067. (23 Jul) End of an Era (2002, Lucas Sabean) {Simply awful -- the NASA flight footage isn't terribly interesting on its own, and it gains nothing from being recontextualized and paired with the horrid simpleton pop Sabean pours over it. Somebody beat this man with a sack of doorknobs.}
- 066. (23 Jul) Language Lessons (2002, Jeanne C. Finley & John Muse) {Odd, interesting collage about immigration and assimilation (bubbles are a major visual trope); occasionally obscure but worth a watch.}
- 065. (20 Jul) Parthenogenesis (2002, Marina Zurkow) {This animated short is the exact opposite of "No News...": visually dynamic, but, um what the hell?}
- 064. (20 Jul) No News... (2001, Bushra Azzouz) {Azzouz's use of sound collage to demonstrate the rapid sea change in the tone of news reports in the weeks following 9/11 is well-handled. But someone forgot to tell Ms. Azzouz that cinema is a visual medium as well as an auditory one -- this is so visually negligible that she'd probably been better off pulling a John Cage.}
- 063. (20 Jul) ...both towers have fallen (2001, Cathy Cook) {Is this woman seriously comparing a controlled demolition explosion to the destruction of the WTC towers? What sort of deranged message is this trying to send?}
- 062. (20 Jul) Brooklyn Promenade (2001, Mark Street) {Uses the same child's-eye concept as Frazer Bradshaw's "The End of Summer" to not much greater effect; has the advantage of at least being shorter, so that's something.}
- 061. (20 Jul) New York (2002, Chel White) {Footage taken around NYC, including skyline shots notably missing the towers. Walks the line between delicate and wispy, but overall decent.}
- 060. (5 Jul) Untitled (2002, Ira Sachs) {A simple series of photographs of several people killed on 9/11. Its simplicity is its strength -- it's an absolutely devastating comment on the human toll that can be forgotten when we reduce everything to a number.}
- 059. (5 Jul) Prayer (2002, Jay Rosenblatt) (So reductive that it skirts offensiveness.}
- 058. (5 Jul) The World as We Know It (2002, John Haptas & Kristine Samuelson) {Okay. And?}
- 057. (3 Jul) Lifted (2007, Gary Rydstrom) {Cute.}
- 056. (3 Jul) 21 (2001, Laura Plotkin) {Disturbing but artless, this comes off as another PSA: Hey kids! Don't attack Middle-Eastern-looking types just because the hijackers were Middle Eastern!}
- 055. (3 Jul) A Strange Mourning (2001, David Driver) {What looks like a documentary record of a super-patriotic street demonstration in L.A. three days after 9/11 is, in fact, a subtly ironic repudiation of such. It's there in the title, in the prominent use of Springsteen's cynical "Born in the U.S.A." and, mostly, in the unspoken fact that this is happening 3000 miles away from a city that, at the time, was still in too much shock to do anything of this sort.}
- 054. (21 Jun) Brief Encounters with Tibetan Monks (2001, Paul Harrill) {Less a short film than a PSA: Hey kids! Exercise your freedom of speech!}
- 053. (19 Jun) Antoine and Colette (1962, Francois Truffaut) {Sharp portrait of unrequited love.}
- 052. (14 Jun) Serene Velocity (1971, Ernie Gehr) {Mind-blowing study of perception and motion.}
- 051. (26 May) Isaiah's Rap (2002, Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman) {Poignant hip-hop vignette -- art about art used to transform pain!}
- 050. (22 May) Nudes and Nuts (196?, no director credited [possibly Barry Mahon]) {Made in good cheer and it shows, this silly nudie short gets by on an implicit acknowledgment of its own ridiculousness. In other words, I think I kinda liked this one.}
- 049. (22 May) Strange Sex Dreams (19??, no director credited) {Another morsel of ennui-ridden erotica from Extraordinary Films, this one ostensibly an anti-drug thing as well (the message: weed makes you want to hump everything you see). Dull as hell in a narcotized sort of way, though given the subject I guess that at least makes thematic sense; also, looking at the abrupt finale makes me think that a portion of the film got lost in a projector somewhere.}
- 048. (22 May) Naked Party (19??, no director credited) {According to the title card, this was produced by a company named Extraordinary Films. The only extraordinary aspect of this is how extraordinarily bored everyone looks and acts.}
- 047. (10 May) China Diary (911) (2002, Eva Ilona Brzeski) {Admirable work that deals not only with the occurance of 9/11 but the tyranny of distance in meaning -- a tragedy in one place is a rumor or something to be viewed from afar in another. Ms. Brzeski's personal stake in the WTC (she identifies it with her wayward grandfather, who helped design its electrical systems) threatens to shade over into solipsism but thankfully never does, resulting in a heartfelt work.}
- 046. (10 May) The Voice of the Prophet (2001, Robert Edwards) {A career military man airs his views on the future of conflict and the need for new ideas on homeland protection three years prior to 9/11. Any reasonably bright 12-year-old could have made these conclusions, which makes it all the scarier that 9/11 happened anyway; knowing that this guy died that day only makes it sadder.}
- 045. (10 May) The End of Summer (2001, Frazer Bradshaw) {Somber evocation of childlike confusion felt by many on 9/11? Or offensively jejune pile of dung? You make the call!}
- 044. (8 May) Jane on a Train (196?, no director credited) {Cute, funny, features some unexpected stop-motion animation; now this is what a nudie-cutie should be.}
- 043. (8 May) Dueling Divas (195?, no director credited) {Foils and fencing coupled with garters and girdles? Why the hell not? This 8mm filmstrip has a faded charm about it; at twelve minutes, though, it overstays its welcome.}
- 042. (8 May) Naked Devil Doll (19??, no director credited) {What the HELL is this? It's not a burlesque strip short, since the hideous excuse for a woman is already topless and spends most of the time lounging around. And it's not porn, since there's no rumpy-pumpy. I'll tell you what it is: It's aggressive anti-eroticism at its most unappealing.}
- 041. (8 May) Handyman (196?, no director credited[possibly Barry Mahon]) {Drowsy excuse for a nudity-cutie.}
- 040. (8 May) The Casting Director (1968, David F. Friedman) {You'd think that guy'd never seen a naked woman before.}
- 039. (2 May) /Mothlight (1963, Stan Brakhage)
- 038. (2 May) /Eye Myth/ (1967, Stan Brakhage)
- 037. (2 May) /Window Water Baby Moving/ (1962, Stan Brakhage)
- 036. (23 Apr) Glaze of Cathexis (1990, Stan Brakhage)
- 035. (23 Apr) /Night Music/ (1986, Stan Brakhage)
- 034. (23 Apr) Night Music (1986, Stan Brakhage)
- 033. (21 Apr) Battery Film (1985, Franklin Backus & Richard Protovin)
- 032. (20 Apr) Her Crowning Glory (1911, Laurence Trimble, possibly)
- 031. (3 Apr) Dog Factory (1904, Edwin S. Porter)
- 030. (3 Apr) Move On (1903, Alfred C. Abadie)
- 029. (3 Apr) Demolishing and Building Up the Star Theater (1901, F.S. Armitage)
- 028. (21 Mar) Composition 1 (Themis) (1940, Dwinell Grant)
- 027. (20 Mar) A Walk Through H: The Reincarnation of an Ornithologist (1978, Peter Greenaway)
- 026. (13 Mar) H Is for House (1973, Peter Greenaway) {Cute early work, and surprisingly manic consdiering the normal staid, tightly controlled tone of much of Greenaway's mature work.}
- 025. (13 Mar) Dear Phone (1977, Peter Greenaway) {Painterly shots of old-style red telephone boxes alternate with increasingly-bizarre stories centering around telephone addicts, all of whom have the initals HC and are married to women named Zelda -- in other words, quintessential Greenaway. His gamesmanship and penchant towards restatement/refinement, in his best works, create a strange sort of intellectual hilarity, and such is the case here. So yeah -- this is pretty awesome.}
- 024. (13 Mar) Water Wrackets (1975, Peter Greenaway) {Same idea as "Windows" except not as effective; gets bogged down in its own invented history.}
- 023. (5 Mar) La Joie de Vivre (1934, Anthony Gross & Hector Hoppin) {Exuberantly crude -- or is that crudely exuberant? Either way, it's a hell of a thing.}
- 022. (28 Feb) Véronique and Her Dunce (1958, Eric Rohmer) {Feels more Truffaut than Rohmer, but that doesn't make this tale of a sly little boy any less endearing.}
- 021. (20 Feb) Narcissus (1983, Norman McLaren) {Elegant and powerful interpretation of the famed myth. Ballet don't got to be soft.}
- 020. (14 Feb) Pas de Deux (1968, Norman McLaren) {Dreamy study of balletic motion.}
- 019. (14 Feb) Animated Motion #5 (1978, Norman McLaren & Grant Munro) {Instructional film with some cool flicker animation at the end.}
- 018. (11 Feb) Synchromy (1971, Norman McLaren) {I'm hit-and-miss on McLaren's music-based shorts, and I'll have to call this one a miss -- McLaren's heart is obviously in jazz, and the primitive electronica that forms the backbone of this renders it more than a bit sterile.}
- 017. (9 Feb) Blinkety Blank (1955, Norman McLaren) {Superb impressionistic animation timed to a peppy jazz beat, which seems to describe a good deal of McLaren's better animations. Anticipates the work of Robert Breer and Stan Brakhage, among others.}
- 016. (9 Feb) Mosaic (1965, Evelyn Lambart & Norman McLaren) {Lambart & McLaren: Inventors of the Screensaver!}
- 015. (9 Feb) New York Lightboard Record (excerpt) (1961, Norman McLaren) {Best. Tourism ad. EVER.}
- 014. (9 Feb) Lines: Horizontal (1962, Evelyn Lambart & Norman McLaren) {Yep, there's lines. And they're horizontal.}
- 013. (9 Feb) Neighbors (1952, Norman McLaren) {The McLaren shorts I've seen so far, gentle as they are, contain no hints that McLaren could create something this gleefully dark. Hilarious and malevolent, with the cartoony unreality only serving to make it feel that much more screwed-up (OMIGOD HE KICKED A BABY!). Totally ripped off by these assclowns.}
- 012. (9 Feb) A Phantasy (1952, Norman McLaren) {Winningly whimsical.}
- 011. (22 Jan) A Chairy Tale (1957, Claude Jutra & Norman McLaren) {Takes twelve minutes to do what a prime silent slapstick artist could have done in twelve seconds. Yeah, that's progress.}
- 010. (19 Jan) Le Merle (1958, Norman McLaren) {It's okay.}
- 009. (19 Jan) Boogie-Doodle (1948, Norman McLaren) {Dry run for "Begone Dull Care," and not as interesting or groovy.}
- 008. (16 Jan) /Begone Dull Care/ (1949, Evelyn Lambart & Norman McLaren) {It's dancin'! The animation's dancin'!}
- 007. (9 Jan) Somebody Goofed (1998, Rodney Ascher & Syd Garon) [Visually restless adaptation of a Jack Chick tract. The only problem is that, whether this is meant ironically or not, this is still a goddamn Jack Chick tract.]
- 006. (9 Jan) Sneak Attack (2000, Rodney Ascher & Syd Garon) [Manic, daffy hip-hop superhero nonsense.]
- 005. (9 Jan) Spokes for the Wheel of Torment (2004, Syd Garon & Eric Henry) [Buckethead does Bosch! Yowza.]
- 004. (9 Jan) Lost Motion (1999, Janie Geiser) [More oblique than "Immer Zu," but more visually striking as well. I like the cut of this Geiser woman's gib.]
- 003. (4 Jan) Immer Zu (1997, Janie Geiser) [Strange, seductive espionage narrative, made all the more intriguing by its narrative and visual obfuscation. I imagine this is what Denis's "L'Intrus" is like.]
- 002. (3 Jan) The Moschops (2000, Jim Trainor) [Better than "The Bats," but then it'd have to be. Still crummy, though, and am I alone in thinking that Trainor's reduction of life to its basest functions is ugly and cynical? If this was a nature documentary, I'd understand, but this is metaphorical animation. Screw off, Jim.]
- 001. (3 Jan) The Bats (1998, Jim Trainor) [Abysmal bit of sophomoric crap. So the message here is: "Hey, life! We're born, we eat, we drink, we screw, we shit, we die!" Wonderful, Jim.]
Author Comments:
Mo' shorts, mo' problems!
Dear Cosgrove,
I see that this entry pre-dates Twitter, which must be a godsend for hypergraphic keyhole peepers like you. Let me know where and when I can see your movie, big nuts. And if you're ever in SF, do drop by so that you can punch my f&cking kid in the face, it'll do you a world of good.
Till then, get cancer.
Dan W.
Sorry I didn't like your film, dude. I don't have any desire to hurt your kid, by the by. Don't know where you got that idea.