Offon by Scott Bartlett (1968)
This film’s title is spelled various ways in different sources. Variations include Off-On, Off/On, and Offon. The Canyon Cinema Catalog 3, published in Spring 1972, spells it Offon. However, all film titles in the catalog are spelled in all caps, so the Underground Film Journal has opted to spell it as Offon, also based on the title screen, which is in all caps. Some sources also give a completion year of 1967, but 1968 is correct.
Offon is considered one of the first works to combine film and video together. It was celebrated upon its release for both its technical ingenuity as much as for its artistic integrity.
Over the weekend of May 10th, 1968, Offon screened at the first Yale Film Festival at Yale University, where it was awarded First Prize by judges Annette Michelson, Willard Van Dyke, Bernard Hanson, and Jonas Mekas, who wrote about the festival...
This film’s title is spelled various ways in different sources. Variations include Off-On, Off/On, and Offon. The Canyon Cinema Catalog 3, published in Spring 1972, spells it Offon. However, all film titles in the catalog are spelled in all caps, so the Underground Film Journal has opted to spell it as Offon, also based on the title screen, which is in all caps. Some sources also give a completion year of 1967, but 1968 is correct.
Offon is considered one of the first works to combine film and video together. It was celebrated upon its release for both its technical ingenuity as much as for its artistic integrity.
Over the weekend of May 10th, 1968, Offon screened at the first Yale Film Festival at Yale University, where it was awarded First Prize by judges Annette Michelson, Willard Van Dyke, Bernard Hanson, and Jonas Mekas, who wrote about the festival...
- 7/29/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The Magic Lantern is a device that dates back to the 1600s — and possibly the 1400s — and was used to project static images. According to the modern day Magic Lantern Society, Danish mathematician Thomas Rasmussen Walgensten was the first person to use the term “Laterna Magica” in the mid-1600s to describe his image projection device. Magic lanterns were routinely used to put on “super-natural” shows, such as projecting images of ghosts onto smoke; and an illustration from 1420 shows a lantern-like device projecting an image of the devil.
In the early 1900s, occultist Aleister Crowley founded the religion Thelema and used the word “magick” to differentiate his occult rituals from the more common concept of performance “magic.”
Marrying these two concepts together, avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger has used the phrase “Magick Lantern Cycle” to collect his separate short films under a unifying connective umbrella.
The Underground Film Journal has been...
In the early 1900s, occultist Aleister Crowley founded the religion Thelema and used the word “magick” to differentiate his occult rituals from the more common concept of performance “magic.”
Marrying these two concepts together, avant-garde filmmaker Kenneth Anger has used the phrase “Magick Lantern Cycle” to collect his separate short films under a unifying connective umbrella.
The Underground Film Journal has been...
- 3/4/2018
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Breathdeath by Stan Vanderbeek (1963).
At the Exprmntl 3 film competition at Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium in 1963, Breathdeath tied for 2nd place with Gregory Markopoulos‘s Twice a Man. Both men took home $2,000 in prize money.
In An Introduction to the American Underground Film, Sheldon Renan classifies Breathdeath as a “protest film,” which was a minority of underground film genre at the time. Renan also describes Breathdeath as a “collage of film technique” and considers it Vanderbeek’s best film. Throughout the book, Renan gives different completion years, both 1963-64 and just 1964. Although, in the film’s on-screen text, Vanderbeek gave the film a 1963 copyright. (See below.) (Stephen Dwoskin’s Film Is also gives Breathdeath a completion year of 1964; as does the film’s listing on the Film-makers’ Coop website.)
According to a document published in Scott MacDonald’s Canyon Cinema, in 1970, Breathdeath was one of five films acquired by the Australian National Library’s study collection.
At the Exprmntl 3 film competition at Knokke-le-Zoute, Belgium in 1963, Breathdeath tied for 2nd place with Gregory Markopoulos‘s Twice a Man. Both men took home $2,000 in prize money.
In An Introduction to the American Underground Film, Sheldon Renan classifies Breathdeath as a “protest film,” which was a minority of underground film genre at the time. Renan also describes Breathdeath as a “collage of film technique” and considers it Vanderbeek’s best film. Throughout the book, Renan gives different completion years, both 1963-64 and just 1964. Although, in the film’s on-screen text, Vanderbeek gave the film a 1963 copyright. (See below.) (Stephen Dwoskin’s Film Is also gives Breathdeath a completion year of 1964; as does the film’s listing on the Film-makers’ Coop website.)
According to a document published in Scott MacDonald’s Canyon Cinema, in 1970, Breathdeath was one of five films acquired by the Australian National Library’s study collection.
- 10/8/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Thanatopsis by Ed Emshwiller. Made 1960-62, according to Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film.
The film’s opening title card is followed by a text card that reads: “Becky Arnold & Mac Emshwiller in a film by Ed Emshwiller”.
The original source of this bootleg is unknown, but there are several uploads to be found online that appear to be from the same source.
The film’s opening title card is followed by a text card that reads: “Becky Arnold & Mac Emshwiller in a film by Ed Emshwiller”.
The original source of this bootleg is unknown, but there are several uploads to be found online that appear to be from the same source.
- 6/11/2017
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Director and documentarian Mark Hartley scores both a film history and comedy success with this ‘wild, untold’ account of the 1980s film studio that was both revered and despised by everyone who had contact with it. The ‘cast list’ of interviewees is encyclopedic, everybody has a strong opinion, and some of them don’t need four-letter words to describe their experience!
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films
On a double bill with
Machete Maidens Unleashed!
Blu-ray
Umbrella Entertainment (Au, all-region
2014 / Color / 1:77 widescreen / 106 min. / Street Date April 4, 2017 / Available from Umbrella Entertainment / 34.99
Starring: Menahem Golan, Yoram Globus, Al Ruban, Alain Jakubowicz, Albert Pyun, Alex Winter, Allen DeBevoise, Avi Lerner, Barbet Schroeder, Bo Derek, Boaz Davidson, Cassandra Peterson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Charles Matthau, Christopher C. Dewey, Christopher Pearce, Cynthia Hargrave, Dan Wolman, Daniel Loewenthal, David Del Valle, David Paulsen, David Sheehan, David Womark, Diane Franklin, Dolph Lundgren, Edward R. Pressman,...
- 4/8/2017
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
I have a pretty strong stomach, but The Killing of America is one of the most gut-wrenching films I've ever seen. This documentary, a collaboration between director Sheldon Renan and producers Leonard Schrader and Yamamoto Mata is a disturbing look at America's past, present, and future and how history has shaped one of the most violent countries in the world. The Killing of America was completed in 1981, long after the Mondo movie boom of the late '60s - early '70s had died out. It was released quietly to one New York cinema the next year and quickly recalled. It did, however, enjoy a full release in Japan, largely due to the insistence of producer Yamamoto Mata in a wildly different version to the one...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/30/2017
- Screen Anarchy
In Japan Leonard Schrader's docu about real-life American horrors was called Violent America. The decidedly unflattering picture couldn't find a U.S. distributor when new but accrued a reputation as the ultimate compilation of violent historical images. It's now filed with cannibal and zombie pictures in exploitation movie catalogs, yet it has more in common with Schrader's Taxi Driver. The Killing of America Blu-ray Severin Films 1981 / Color / 2:35 1:85 widescreen 1:37 flat full frame / 95, 115 min. / Street Date October 25, 2016 / 29.98 Starring Chuck Riley (narrator, English version), Ed Dorris, Thomas Noguchi, Sirhan Sirhan, Wayne Henley, Ed Kemper. Cinematography Robert Charlton, Tom Hurwitz, Willy Kurant, Peter Smokler Film Editor Lee Percy Original Music W. Michael Lewis, Mark Lindsay Written by Leonard Schrader, Chieko Schrader Produced by Mataichiro Yamamoto, Leonard Schrader Directed by Sheldon Renan
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
1980s censorship in Japan strongly limited violent images on TV. They didn't see the steady...
Reviewed by Glenn Erickson
1980s censorship in Japan strongly limited violent images on TV. They didn't see the steady...
- 11/12/2016
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Just in time for election day, the powerful documentary “The Killing of America” hits streets on Blu-Ray and DVD November 8th from Severin Films. Los Angeles – In 1981, director Sheldon Renan and Academy Award® nominated co-producer/co-writer Leonard Schrader (brother of filmmaker Paul) created a graphic and provocative examination of America’s history with – and penchant for – senseless violence, mass shootings and cold-blooded murder. Piercing, brutal and at times, unflinchingly graphic, The Killing of America was exhibited briefly in New York in 1982…and subsequently shelved. While the ensuing thirty five years have – thankfully – seen the lowering of overall violent crimes in the nation, the documentary’s themes about [ Read More ]
The post The Killing of America on Blu-Ray November 8th appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post The Killing of America on Blu-Ray November 8th appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 10/26/2016
- by contributor
- ShockYa
London-based genre festival to feature 19 world premieres and 35 UK & European premieres.
Horror Channel FrightFest has unveiled the line-up for its upcoming 17th edition, taking place at its new home of the Vue Shepherd’s Bush from Aug 25-29.
Sean Brosnan’s revenge thriller My Father Die [pictured] receives its European premiere as the opening film, while the UK premiere of Sang-ho Yeon’s Cannes title Train To Busan closes this year’s festival.
In total, the 62-strong feature line-up includes 19 world premieres and 35 UK & European premieres. Ivan Silvestrini’s Monolith, Tricia Lee’s creepy chiller Blood Hunters and Nick Jongerius’ gory The Windmill Massacre are among the world premieres.
Meanwhile, Adam Wingard’s eagerly anticipated The Woods will receive its European premiere in the Main Screen strand, playing alongside the likes of Stephen King adaptation Cell, Italian box office hit They Call Me Jeeg Robot and Cody Calahan’s Let Her Out.
Other Main Screen...
Horror Channel FrightFest has unveiled the line-up for its upcoming 17th edition, taking place at its new home of the Vue Shepherd’s Bush from Aug 25-29.
Sean Brosnan’s revenge thriller My Father Die [pictured] receives its European premiere as the opening film, while the UK premiere of Sang-ho Yeon’s Cannes title Train To Busan closes this year’s festival.
In total, the 62-strong feature line-up includes 19 world premieres and 35 UK & European premieres. Ivan Silvestrini’s Monolith, Tricia Lee’s creepy chiller Blood Hunters and Nick Jongerius’ gory The Windmill Massacre are among the world premieres.
Meanwhile, Adam Wingard’s eagerly anticipated The Woods will receive its European premiere in the Main Screen strand, playing alongside the likes of Stephen King adaptation Cell, Italian box office hit They Call Me Jeeg Robot and Cody Calahan’s Let Her Out.
Other Main Screen...
- 7/1/2016
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
It might be missing the industry saturated Park City fervor, but the smaller, shorter, and more intimate Columbia, Missouri based True/False Film Festival is the Rolls-Royce (by way of John Deere) of doc focused cinema. Filmmaker Laura Poitras is not alone in stating that her “love for True/False runs deep – from the smart programming, passionate audiences, inspired buskers, and fabulous venues.” Time and time again, selected filmmakers throughout this year’s edition expressed their love of the fest, while plenty of filmmaker personalities from prior editions could be spotted milling around town as casual filmgoers happy to pay to relive the experience.
With a highly curated program just shy of 50 films shown on 9 different screens (each of which are walkable in just 5-10 minutes of one another) over just 4 days, True/False centers its attention on quality and community, both locally and cinematically. For a city with a...
With a highly curated program just shy of 50 films shown on 9 different screens (each of which are walkable in just 5-10 minutes of one another) over just 4 days, True/False centers its attention on quality and community, both locally and cinematically. For a city with a...
- 3/15/2016
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
In an unprecedented assemblage, Susan Oxtoby, current Senior Film Curator of the Pacific Film Archive, was joined by Sheldon Renan, the founder of the Archive (which opened in the Berkeley Art Museum in 1971, after several years of peripatetic screenings), along with his successor Tom Luddy, and Oxtoby's immediate predecessor, Director Emeritus Edith Kramer, to reminisce about Henri Langlois, the founder of the famous Cinematheque Francaise. He lent crucial support to the Pfa at its beginnings, on the occasion of the opening of Thanks to Henri Langlois: A Centennial Tribute. Another surprise guest was the venerable 96-year-old Peter Selz, Berkeley Art Museum's visionary first director, who said "yes" to Sheldon Renan's proposal of a film archive, after Renan had been turned down at both the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Oakland Art Museum. Renan told us he had already assembled an advisory board that included Susan Sontag,...
- 6/19/2015
- by Meredith Brody
- Thompson on Hollywood
The Killing of America
Directed by Sheldon Renan
Written by Leonard Schrader and Chieko Schrader
USA, 1982
The Killing of America is an impassioned and emotional showcase of violence in America from the period of the early 1960s into the early 1980s. Resting on the thesis that the society quickly devolved into increasingly acts of senseless violence, the film utilizes rare and disturbing footage of both familiar and unfamiliar events. Rift with a somewhat confused ideology, the film nonetheless packs a punch and suggests where many others haven’t that access to guns are part of the problem, an issue that continues to be debated within American society to this day. Is this little more than a parade of greatest hits for snuff fans or does it reaches deeper, revealing darker truths and realities that we are unwilling or unable to face.
Originally produced for the Japanese market, this “mondo” documentary which has never been released,...
Directed by Sheldon Renan
Written by Leonard Schrader and Chieko Schrader
USA, 1982
The Killing of America is an impassioned and emotional showcase of violence in America from the period of the early 1960s into the early 1980s. Resting on the thesis that the society quickly devolved into increasingly acts of senseless violence, the film utilizes rare and disturbing footage of both familiar and unfamiliar events. Rift with a somewhat confused ideology, the film nonetheless packs a punch and suggests where many others haven’t that access to guns are part of the problem, an issue that continues to be debated within American society to this day. Is this little more than a parade of greatest hits for snuff fans or does it reaches deeper, revealing darker truths and realities that we are unwilling or unable to face.
Originally produced for the Japanese market, this “mondo” documentary which has never been released,...
- 8/5/2013
- by Justine
- SoundOnSight
The full Fantasia 2013 lineup has now been revealed, and we have here the third and final wave of titles to share. Prepare to drool!
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
From the Press Release:
The Fantasia International Film Festival is proud to announce the rest of our 120-feature lineup that comprises our 2013 event, along with a string of additional details that mark our 17th edition as a standout. Fantasia will engulf the city of Montreal from July 18-August 6, 2013. Be sure to visit the Fantasia Film Festival website for detailed essays on every title announced here, as well as all films previously disclosed over the last weeks.
Before we get started on titles... Meet Our 2013 Juries
Main Competition For The Cheval Noir Award For Best Film
Jury President: Laura Kern (Critic, Curator, managing editor, Film Comment)
Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Actor, Director, Screenwriter)
Samuel Jamier (Co-Director of the New York Asian Film Festival, Programmer at Japan Society)
Jarod Neece (Senior Programmer and Operations Manager,...
- 7/9/2013
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
The Fantasia Film Festival is taking place from July 18th to August 6th in Montreal and will feature over 100 films from around the world. We gave you a look at the initial lineup last month and now have an additional list of Fantasia 2013 films that will be screening, including Curse of Chucky, You’re Next, and Frankenstein’s Army:
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
Horror Is Child’S Play – Don Mancini’S Curse Of Chucky (World Premiere)
A rarity among genre franchises, the Child’S Play series (begun in 1988) has retained the sure-handed guidance of original screenwriter/creator Don Mancini throughout killer doll Chucky’s decades’-long reign of horror. Mancini, who will be hosting our “scar-studded” world premiere, graduated to the director’s chair with 2004’s Seed Of Chucky, after having co-written or written every entry in the series. His longevity with the project is, of course, matched by the fiendish voiceover work by...
- 7/9/2013
- by Jonathan James
- DailyDead
This week’s Must Read: A rare interview with one of the unsung legends of underground film research, history and promotion, Sheldon Renan, the author of the essential An Introduction to the American Underground Film and the “father” of several arts films centers in the U.S. that are still going strong.Jonas Mekas is set to turn 90 in just a few weeks and he’s having one of his biggest years ever with the DVD release of most of his films (unfortunately in all-region Pal format) and major retrospectives/showings in England and France. So, first, the Guardian has an incredible and incredibly lengthy article on the man who all owe such a debt to.Next, BBC Radio has an audio interview with Mekas.Fandor has posted a fantastic list of films most in need of restoration. Of course, I agree with Shirley Clarke’s Portrait of Jason, but...
- 12/9/2012
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
After a several month hiatus — way over half a year — I finally returned to updating Bad Lit’s Underground Film Timeline project, a comprehensive, chronological survey of significant events and films in underground film history. You can start navigating the Timeline here.
Phase 7 of the Timeline involved adding events and films found in P. Adams Sitney‘s landmark book Visionary Film: the American Avant-Garde 1943-2000. As you can tell from the title, I used the 3rd and most recent version of the book.
Originally published in 1974, Visionary Film was the first serious critical survey of the modern underground film movement. Yes, Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film had preceded it in 1967, but that offered more of a straight history than analysis. And despite the title of Parker Tyler’s Underground Film: A Critical History being published in 1970, that book is more of an angry polemical rant than a serious survey.
Phase 7 of the Timeline involved adding events and films found in P. Adams Sitney‘s landmark book Visionary Film: the American Avant-Garde 1943-2000. As you can tell from the title, I used the 3rd and most recent version of the book.
Originally published in 1974, Visionary Film was the first serious critical survey of the modern underground film movement. Yes, Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film had preceded it in 1967, but that offered more of a straight history than analysis. And despite the title of Parker Tyler’s Underground Film: A Critical History being published in 1970, that book is more of an angry polemical rant than a serious survey.
- 9/28/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It has been announced via the Frameworks listserv that pioneering experimental animator Robert Breer passed away on Aug. 11. The news came with no information regarding the circumstances of his death. Bad Lit: The Journal of Underground Film believes Breer was born in 1926, so although we don’t know the specific date of his birth, he was either 84 or 85 years old.
(Bad Lit is also not a member of Frameworks, but had this information forwarded to us.)
According to Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction of the American Underground Film, Breer began his artistic career originally as a painter, graduating from Stanford in 1949 with a degree in that field. Upon graduation, he moved to Paris where he first began making animated collage films such as Form Phases I (1953).
Then, he moved into line animation films, including one of his most famous short works, A Man and His Dog Out for Air (1957), which...
(Bad Lit is also not a member of Frameworks, but had this information forwarded to us.)
According to Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction of the American Underground Film, Breer began his artistic career originally as a painter, graduating from Stanford in 1949 with a degree in that field. Upon graduation, he moved to Paris where he first began making animated collage films such as Form Phases I (1953).
Then, he moved into line animation films, including one of his most famous short works, A Man and His Dog Out for Air (1957), which...
- 8/13/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
An Introduction to the American Underground Film, the seminal book on avant-garde and experimental film history written by Sheldon Renan in 1967, is now available for free download at Archive.org. Anybody who is even slightly interested in underground film history needs to download this important book.
Renan’s book has been long out of print and this online version that’s been made available for free comes courtesy of the author himself. Those who download this scanned version will be greeted by a personal note on the title page by Renan that reads:
For the Internet Archive and all it’s users, world wide. Sheldon Renan May 6, 2011 (Thank you, Brewster, for what you’ve created.)
Bad Lit originally reviewed An Introduction to the American Underground Film back in 2007, and has continually referred to it over the years as an essential source for underground film history, especially for the still-in-progress Underground Film Timeline project.
Renan’s book has been long out of print and this online version that’s been made available for free comes courtesy of the author himself. Those who download this scanned version will be greeted by a personal note on the title page by Renan that reads:
For the Internet Archive and all it’s users, world wide. Sheldon Renan May 6, 2011 (Thank you, Brewster, for what you’ve created.)
Bad Lit originally reviewed An Introduction to the American Underground Film back in 2007, and has continually referred to it over the years as an essential source for underground film history, especially for the still-in-progress Underground Film Timeline project.
- 6/3/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
At indieWIRE, Eric Kohn has reported that underground filmmaker Adolfas Mekas has passed away at the age of 85. The news was confirmed by his niece Oona. The cause of death is heart failure.
Mekas was born on Sept. 30, 1925 in Lithuania. He was the younger brother of Jonas Mekas. Both siblings had to flee their native country in 1944, but they were caught and forced into a labor camp from which they eventually escaped.
After spending some time in two displaced persons camps in Europe, the Mekas brothers made their way to New York City and settled in Brooklyn. In their newly adopted home city, they studied film with Hans Richter, founded the journal Film Culture and began making movies.
Adolfas’ most famous film is Hallelujah the Hills, an avant-garde screwball comedy. You can watch the opening segment of this film online, the full version of which is available from the distributor re:voir.
Mekas was born on Sept. 30, 1925 in Lithuania. He was the younger brother of Jonas Mekas. Both siblings had to flee their native country in 1944, but they were caught and forced into a labor camp from which they eventually escaped.
After spending some time in two displaced persons camps in Europe, the Mekas brothers made their way to New York City and settled in Brooklyn. In their newly adopted home city, they studied film with Hans Richter, founded the journal Film Culture and began making movies.
Adolfas’ most famous film is Hallelujah the Hills, an avant-garde screwball comedy. You can watch the opening segment of this film online, the full version of which is available from the distributor re:voir.
- 5/31/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
It’s been awhile since I promoted Bad Lit’s Underground Film Timeline, but I finally finished inputting all the data culled from my secondary reference source, David Curtis’ book Experimental Cinema. Since it’s been so long between updates, I’ll provide some background info on what this project is again.
The Underground Film Timeline is a year-by-year list of every significant film and event in underground film history from 1909 to, currently, 1970. I’m pulling data to include in the timeline strictly from books, not from other websites. The first book I referenced was Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film and the second book, as I wrote above, is Curtis’ Experimental Cinema.
In certain instances, data from both books do not agree with each other. The books mostly contradict each other regarding the completion years for specific films, usually giving dates that are a year or two off.
The Underground Film Timeline is a year-by-year list of every significant film and event in underground film history from 1909 to, currently, 1970. I’m pulling data to include in the timeline strictly from books, not from other websites. The first book I referenced was Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film and the second book, as I wrote above, is Curtis’ Experimental Cinema.
In certain instances, data from both books do not agree with each other. The books mostly contradict each other regarding the completion years for specific films, usually giving dates that are a year or two off.
- 11/8/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
This Underground Film Timeline project update should come with the disclaimer “As far as I know for now.”
So, as far as I know for now, I’ve completed a DVD Underground index page that includes all the DVDs and DVD box sets — plus one Blu-ray — that includes avant-garde and experimental films that appear on the Timeline. A further disclaimer by me goes that the list only includes products released by U.S. distributors and are available on either Amazon and/or Netflix.
With that in mind, I’ve only added sixteen entries, which really surprised me at how few old avant-garde films are available to today’s audiences. If I’m missing any, please feel free to drop me a line — again keeping in mind I’m only interested in U.S. products right now. For example, I know re:voir puts out some great DVDs, but — also, again, as...
So, as far as I know for now, I’ve completed a DVD Underground index page that includes all the DVDs and DVD box sets — plus one Blu-ray — that includes avant-garde and experimental films that appear on the Timeline. A further disclaimer by me goes that the list only includes products released by U.S. distributors and are available on either Amazon and/or Netflix.
With that in mind, I’ve only added sixteen entries, which really surprised me at how few old avant-garde films are available to today’s audiences. If I’m missing any, please feel free to drop me a line — again keeping in mind I’m only interested in U.S. products right now. For example, I know re:voir puts out some great DVDs, but — also, again, as...
- 8/7/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Announced somewhat prematurely a couple weeks ago, Bad Lit’s Underground Film Timeline has reached the end of its first phase, which involved inputting all of the significant events, films and filmmakers in underground film history culled from Sheldon Renan’s An Introduction to the American Underground Film.
Despite Renan’s title, he does cover the early European avant-garde, so many filmmakers from England, France, Germany, Holland and Russia — such as Oskar Fischinger, Luis Buñuel, Marcel Duchamp, Len Lye, Joris Ivens, Dziga Vertov — appear alongside the usual U.S. suspects, such as Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, Shirley Clarke, etc.
Actual events are few and far between, but they’re there if you dig around, like the meeting of the International Congress of Independent Film and its swift disbanding; and the formation of the New American Cinema Group. One thing that Renan included a lot of that I like...
Despite Renan’s title, he does cover the early European avant-garde, so many filmmakers from England, France, Germany, Holland and Russia — such as Oskar Fischinger, Luis Buñuel, Marcel Duchamp, Len Lye, Joris Ivens, Dziga Vertov — appear alongside the usual U.S. suspects, such as Kenneth Anger, Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, Shirley Clarke, etc.
Actual events are few and far between, but they’re there if you dig around, like the meeting of the International Congress of Independent Film and its swift disbanding; and the formation of the New American Cinema Group. One thing that Renan included a lot of that I like...
- 7/20/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
I am pleased to announce a new addition to Bad Lit’s Underground Film Resources section. It’s the Underground Film Timeline, a chronological listing of significant events, films and filmmakers in underground film history.
Of course, in typical Bad Lit fashion, I’m probably announcing this project way ahead of when I actually should be. That means, yeah, it’s currently a bit skimpy, but it has enough content to give a sense of where it’s going, so I wanted to show it off already.
Current plans for the project call for me to cull the data to include in the timeline from books, not off of the Internet. Yes, that means the same books found in Bad Lit’s Underground Film Bibliography. As of right now, I’ve only included data from Sheldon Renan’s indispensable An Introduction to the American Underground Film. But, I already have...
Of course, in typical Bad Lit fashion, I’m probably announcing this project way ahead of when I actually should be. That means, yeah, it’s currently a bit skimpy, but it has enough content to give a sense of where it’s going, so I wanted to show it off already.
Current plans for the project call for me to cull the data to include in the timeline from books, not off of the Internet. Yes, that means the same books found in Bad Lit’s Underground Film Bibliography. As of right now, I’ve only included data from Sheldon Renan’s indispensable An Introduction to the American Underground Film. But, I already have...
- 7/7/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
So, I’m currently working on a big research project, the results of which won’t be seen unless you happen to be poring through Bad Lit’s sister site the Underground Film Guide — and the way that site is woefully under-updated, why would you?
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
The Ufg, as I like to call it, is a database project of underground filmmakers and films. Recently I decided to halt adding new entries and to make the old filmmaker entries I previously uploaded more comprehensive. One way I’m doing that is going through books on underground film and, if a filmmaker is written up in each book, I’ll add that book’s info to the filmmaker’s profile. If you’re interested and want an idea of what I’m talking about, go look at John Waters’ entry and scroll down to the book section.
One book that is a tremendous...
- 4/17/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Ron Rice (from An Introduction to the American Underground Film)
Yeah, as far as I know, this is the only photograph of ’60s underground filmmaker Ron Rice on the web, which I scanned from Sheldon Renan’s book An Introduction to the American Underground Film. I don’t know why there aren’t any photos of Rice, but I thought I’d post this up in case anybody’s interested. Feel free to disseminate so that the title of this article becomes obsolete. Click the above image for a larger version.
Rice, though, did die at a very young age. He was only 32 in 1964 when he passed away from complications from pneumonia in Mexico. Sadly, he only made four films, but they made an incredible impact on the underground scene. Only his last film, Chumlum (1964), has officially been released on DVD, which you can find on the Treasures IV: American...
Yeah, as far as I know, this is the only photograph of ’60s underground filmmaker Ron Rice on the web, which I scanned from Sheldon Renan’s book An Introduction to the American Underground Film. I don’t know why there aren’t any photos of Rice, but I thought I’d post this up in case anybody’s interested. Feel free to disseminate so that the title of this article becomes obsolete. Click the above image for a larger version.
Rice, though, did die at a very young age. He was only 32 in 1964 when he passed away from complications from pneumonia in Mexico. Sadly, he only made four films, but they made an incredible impact on the underground scene. Only his last film, Chumlum (1964), has officially been released on DVD, which you can find on the Treasures IV: American...
- 4/16/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
The term “underground film” has never enjoyed a popular definition. Oh, some writers have attempted formal definitions, but I doubt there will ever be one that is popularly agreed upon. It’s not even a term that can be agreed upon to be used. But, it is used and I personally have billed this site “The Journal of Underground Film,” so I thought I’d give my general perception of what “underground film” might mean to contribute to an ongoing dialogue about it.
And I prefer to consider writing a post like this as contributing to a dialogue because I do not have any interest in trying to build a definition myself. However, what I can say is that “Underground film” is not a genre. Actually, what leads me to use the term “underground” is that it feels to me to be a catch-all for other genres.
Avant-garde, experimental, poem,...
And I prefer to consider writing a post like this as contributing to a dialogue because I do not have any interest in trying to build a definition myself. However, what I can say is that “Underground film” is not a genre. Actually, what leads me to use the term “underground” is that it feels to me to be a catch-all for other genres.
Avant-garde, experimental, poem,...
- 1/12/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
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