Search DVDBeaver |
S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Treasures IV: American Avant-Garde Film, 1947-1986
|
In the years following World War II, a new generation of Americans began experimenting 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. 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. There are still many more films awaiting preservation and the process continues only thanks to public support. |
DVD Review: Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC
Cover |
|
CLICK logo to order |
|
Distribution | Image Entertainment - Region 0 - NTSC |
Audio | Mostly Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono |
Time | Over 5 hours of material on 2 DVDs |
Intertitles | None |
Features | Release Information: DVD Production: Image Entertainment Aspect Ratio: Edition Details: Bruce Baillie, Here I Am (1962) Newly recorded music by John Zorn DVD Release Date: March 3rd, 2009 |
Comments: | We are so fortunate to have another wonderful eclectic mixture of rare and newly preserved films from the National Film Preservation Foundation. Two dual-layered, progressive DVDs, coded for region 0 in the NTSC standard, and one 72-page book in an exciting package for films fans everywhere - not only those keen on some of the evolution of the Avant-Garde in the US. The' Film images' below are were supplied in my package from the NFPF and give a decent overall indication of what to expect visually. I should note that the quality can appear 'rough' at times (noise, damage and sometimes heavy grain) - as indicated by the 'programme' I received; "Avant-Garde works are created by artists seeking individual expression through the medium of film. Produced on a shoestring, these personal projects are rarely safeguarded by the creation of preservation masters. Few filmmakers have access to environmentally controlled vaults for safe storage of unique production materials. Thus within a few short years of their premiere, significant films can drop from public viewing. Stories abound about the works lost through lab closures or storage in wet basements." Suffice to say that these 27 works look, in this DVD set, as good as they ever will after the painstaking efforts utilized bringing them to digital. I don't expect fans indulging in this will have expectations any more advanced than what the package offers, but it should be noted that the images are limited by their source and age. This represents some of the seminal alternative history of an unbound movement that continues to evolve to this very day. None of these films have been available prior to the release of this marvelous set. Personally, I stayed up alone, rather late last night (Friday) to indulge in this and strongly recommend this manner of undistracted viewing for maximum impact. Wow.
With the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities and
Film Technology, Inc., the NFPF is offering this DVD project that helps reclaim
some of this movement's little-known history. The 5 hour set with book,
seems a must-own for so many of the devout cinema fans that I converse. Menu navigation
remains a bit of an ordeal with options for each film (play new music,
sometimes 'silent etc.) and to read the text menus screens that mimic
what is available in the included book (my preferred way of accessing
the information). The works can often be short so the best option is the "Play All" where you can simply sit back and
soak it in as it unfolds in front of you. Unlike
Treasures 3 - there appears to be no available commentaries and
there are no subtitles (nor a necessity for any). This DVD Boxset is
presents works that quickly grow on you and each has its own individuals
history and conceptual story. Content: Just to reiterate, the image is... as the image is. Production age, preservation, and other limiting factors can obscure visuals - often intentionally though - with an array of film types and styles, from abstract animation to documentary. It can make your head spin. This is one set that needs to be experienced rather than reviewed. We encourage those cinephiles and DVD fans, even remotely, interested - to indulge and partake of the pleasures of history and expressive individualism. This is something else.
NOTE: More on
the Avant-Garde should check out Daryl Chin's article for DVDBeaver;
At Home and Abroad - Some Views From the Avant-Garde on
DVD.
|
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. | |
Bitrate samples | |
Video | Average Bitrate: 5.56 mb/s |
DVD MenusSamples (Disc 1 only)
Film Images From the NFPF's DVD Set
Joseph Cornell, By Night with Torch and Spear (1940s?)
Christopher Maclaine, The End (1953)
|
Jonas Mekas, Notes on the Circus (1966)
|
Pat ONeill, 7362 (1967)
Shirley Clarke, Bridges-Go-Round (1958)
Ron Rice, Chumlum (1964)
Robert Breer, Eyewash (1959)
Chick Strand, Fake Fruit Factory (1986)
Harry Smith, Film No. 3: Interwoven (194749)
Larry Gottheim, Fog Line (1970)
Lawrence Jordan, Hamfat Asar (1965)
Ken Jacobs, Little Stabs at Happiness (195963)
Owen Land, New Improved Institutional Quality: In the Environment of Liquids and Nasals a Parasitic Vowel Sometimes Develops (1976) |
Hollis Frampton, (nostalgia) (1971)
Avant-Garde DVDs as discussed in Daryl Chin's article At Home and Abroad - Some Views From the Avant-Garde on DVD HERE
(CLICK COVERS FOR MORE)