DVDs
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An extensive collection of works from acclaimed American animator and experimental filmmaker Larry Jordan. Spanning five decades, the range of films included here shows Jordan to be an influential director of live-action shorts, as well as a master of cut-out animation. He meticulously combines 19th-century engravings, modern imagery, and common symbols to construct unmistakable, dream-like narratives. Disc One features "The Short Animations" (Duo Concertantes, Gymnopedies, Our Lady of the Sphere, Orb, Once Upon a Time, Moonlight Sonata, Carabosse, and Masquerade), followed by the animated retelling of Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1977, 42 mins.)--narrated by Orson Welles--and Enid's Idyll (17 mins.). Disc Two houses "The H.D. Trilogy" (1994, 115 mins.), a loving portrait of poet and novelist Hilda Doolittle told in three parts: The Black Oud, The Grove, and Star of Day. Disc Three consists of Sophie's Place (1986, 86 mins.), The Visible Compendium (1990, 17 mins.), and Blue Skies Beyond the Looking Glass (17 mins.). Disc Four comprises The Sacred Art of Tibet (1972, 28 mins.), "The Short Live Films" (Visions of a City, Adagio, In a Summer Garden, Winter Light, and Cornell, 1965), and "Odyssey" (Water Light, Tapestry, and
1957-2007-- 465 Minutes - 4 Disk Set
Available for purchase from Facets Multimedia Inc.
In the years following World War II, a new generation of Americans experimented with cinema. Some came to filmmaking from painting or sculpture; others from music, anthropology, photography, or political activism. A few took up the camera to create art with friends. Armed with inexpensive 16mm and 8mm equipment, these filmmakers started from scratch and pushed film in directions it had never gone before. Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986 presents 26 films by artists who helped to redefine cinema. It is the first anthology of the period available on DVD.
The 5-1/4 hour, 2-disc anthology, distributed by Image Entertainment, samples an array of film types and styles, from abstract animation to documentary, and balances acknowledged classics with rediscoveries. The films are drawn from the preservation work of five of America's foremost avant-garde archives—the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Anthology Film Archives, the Museum of Modern Art, the New York Public Library, and the Pacific Film Archive. None of the titles has been available before on good-quality video in the United States.
The anthology was produced with the full support of the filmmakers and estates and the help of many generous contributors. Production support came from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts; telecine services were donated by Film Technology, Inc. John Zorn contributed new music; Martin Scorsese wrote the foreword to the program notes. AMPAS generously provided technical assistance.
Made on a shoestring, avant-garde films have always existed at the margins of commercial distribution. Over the last two decades film archives stepped forward to save what they can. They have collaborated with artists, compared alternative versions, tracked down the best surviving source material, and preserved scores of works. Many more films are still awaiting preservation and the process continues only thanks to public support. Net proceeds from Treasures IV will support further film preservation.
1947- 1986 -- 312 Minutes - 2 Disk Set
Available for purchase from National Film Preservation Foundation
45 Minute Film with many excerpts from Lawrence Jordan's, including sceens of Lawrence working in studio on Cosmic Alchemey.
"One of the founders of the American Avante Garde cinema, filmmaker Lawrence Jordan has created masterworks for over 50 years. In "Moments of Illumination" Jordan describes his process and motivation for the films described as many of the greatest films ever made by cutout collage animation." - Producer, Director, Editor
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