A Russian documentary art film by Dziga Vertov.
Scenes from a busy city or town are shown with no explanation.
This is one of those wonderful films that I can't write enough good stuff about. Unintentionally being the first piece of psychedelic cinema, the filmmaker used every effect available. These effects ranged from playing with the speed of the film to multiple exposures and screen splitting. I can appreciate much of what is being done because of some experience with videos and a recent course in photography. The original film was released without sound and supposed to be accompanied by a live musical performance. The version that I saw had a soundtrack by Michael Nyman recorded in 2002. I liked this soundtrack, but I may watch the film again with one of the other 19 soundtracks. Some memorable scenes include the shadow of a doorway with people walking through, athletes doing high jumps, a magic show, stop motion of the camera getting onto the tripod and a scene of women putting a dark substance on themselves (picture, female anatomy points). I rate this best and would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in photography and video.
An American art film by Marilyn Manson.
Dark scenes are shown with the filmmaker and some other people in uncomfortable settings. Repetitive music is played and phrases are repeatedly spoken.
Repetition is what this film was about. It accomplished this goal within the first few seconds, so it's a good thing that it was only 25 minutes long. It does get female anatomy points though. At one point, the filmmaker states that the film was made to upset the viewer and this was accomplished as well. Repitition of music, spoken phrases and dark scenes gets old really fast. Given that this was the purpose of the film, as stated in the film, I rate it adequate. It did what it was meant to do. Whether you should watch it or not is for you to decide.
An artist biography directed by Robert Altman.Vincent van Gogh's art dealer brother is upset with him. Vincent falls in love with a pregnant prostitute and eventually goes crazy.The style was very dark and there was a lot of anger involved in this film. There was also a heavy emphasis on women relieving themselves in primitive conditions. The characters were good, but always upset and the plot was alright. I'm rating this adequate. The pissing scenes saved it from a worse review.
An art biography directed by Julie Taymor, starring Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas.The life of Frida Kahlo is shown with her art and relationship with Diego Rivera.The characters were good and so was the plot. There were some creative cut-scenes that were really cool, but overall it wasn't anything to get worked up over. The main detractor was Frida's art. Her style is so flat, like all artists from that movement. There was an interesting comment about David Siquieros that I found amusing. The other thing that bugged me was the fake uni-brow. I'm rating it adequate because it's definitely better than o.k., but nothing fantastic.
An art film by Maya Deren.A woman washes up on a beach and passes through ordinary situations without logical transitions.This was REALLY short. 15 minutes! There was no sound and the video was black and white. There isn't much here to rate, so I'm defaulting to o.k. on the basis that there was no film to rate. No soundtrack, no plot...I even watched it twice and was still wondering "where's the movie?".
An art documentary on Google Video.A poser narrates his trip to an art show.The video was good, but the audio was cheap and trite.check out: the actual art pieces shown.I guess you can be a poser at anything. The violin kicking scene really pissed me off. besides that, the whole thing was shit anyway.
An art piece on Google Video.The reproduction of a fictitious species is demonstrated in claymation.The audio was as strange and funny as the video.check out: the creature pleasuring itself.This is absolutely awesome. Some of the craziest animation I have ever seen.
