directed
by Ken Jacobs
USA 2005
Long before the invention of film, there was an optic toy
called the Magic Lantern, which was able to create an optic illusion through
light and shadows. Ken Jacobs adopted this technique in his Nervous Magic
Lantern films. In these films, Jacobs (who has been at the forefront of the
New York underground scene since the late '50s and whose best-known works
include 'Star Spangled to Death' and 'Tom, Tom the Piper's Son') combines the
optic illusion of the Magic Lantern with a stroboscopic effect as to create an
ingenious play of shadows and light, which conjures up the most beautiful
images. No video or film is used in the making of these ‘films’, just
projected light and images.
Because stroboscopic effects are used during the whole film, there’s not one
single continuous shot that lasts more than one second. Because of this, the
already complex configurations of light and shadow start to take on many forms
and shapes and gradually you literally start ‘seeing things’. It’s basically
the same thing as when you’re watching clouds for a long period. After a while
you start seeing things in these clouds (various animals etc.) you didn’t see
before and these images can be completely different to the person next to you.
The whole experience is aided considerably by the electronic noise soundtrack,
improvised on the spot by legendary avant-garde musicians John Zorn and Ikue
Mori. It’s basically one long continuous soundscape, which grows more dense,
heavy and disorientating when the film progresses. The effect of this music
can be compared to the effect of a Merzbow record: when you listen to this for
a long period on a very high volume, your brain gets completely scrambled and
eventually you come to a point where the brain doesn’t register anything at
all anymore (this, of course, is a temporary effect). When you get beyond this
point however, you start seeing and hearing things that aren’t possible in a
‘normal’ mental state. It’s like taking drugs, so to speak.
Thanks to the extreme nature of this film, it’s only suitable for a very small
audience. People with epilepsy should avoid this film in any case, as should
anyone who isn’t interested in the outer regions of filmmaking. If you are
very open-minded however and dare to immerse yourself in this work, you’ll
find much beauty in it. It’s an invigorating experience that you’ll find
yourself returning to over and over again.
DVD Review: Tzadik/Koch Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
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Tzadik/Koch Entertainment Region 0 - NTSC |
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Runtime | 1:07:54 | |
Video |
1:33
Original Aspect Ratio |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | English (Dolby Digital 2.0) | |
Subtitles | None | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Tzadik/Koch Entertainment Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 9 |
Comments | This DVD offers a selection of four live Nervous Magic Lantern performances, which were videotaped and edited together, so it plays like one continuous film. Because of the unusual nature of the film, one can’t say anything conclusive about the image quality, but this DVD was made in close collaboration with Ken Jacobs, so you can assume this DVD is true to the nature of the material. The quality of the music is as good as you would expect, although it’s probably not for the squeamish, but that qualification is applicable to this whole DVD. Especially given the limited amount of avant-garde cinema available on DVD, I’m very happy with this release and many kudos to John Zorn and his Tzadik company for bringing us this DVD. |
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Thank You!
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