Experimental films I love
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- DirectorPaul GoldingGeorge LucasIt is an abstract film with no story and no actors, that graphically depicts the reflections of moving light streaks and light flashes from traffic at night.
- DirectorArthur LipsettSnippets from discarded footage, and with footage shot on the streets of Montreal and New York City, combined to a collage with the underlying argument as to whether man is a complex machine or a creature with a soul.
- DirectorDon OwenStarsDon FrancksA very engaging short documentary of how a native Indian from Quebec works building skyscrapers in New York City, with breathtaking shots of walking on narrow beams 25 stories in the air, as well as a chilling recounting of the death of numerous Indian iron workers building a bridge in Quebec in the early part of the century.
- DirectorJohn HoffmanSlavko VorkapichA recently unearthed experimental documentary of the crashing sea set to Mendelssohn's "Fingal's Cave." An example of the filmmakers' "new cinema" theory which held that film should be more like music than literature. This film is based solely on its arrangement of images.
- DirectorJohn HoffmanSlavko Vorkapich
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsJ. Lee ThompsonJoseph MacDonaldGregory PeckA behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of the film MacKenna's Gold (1969).
- DirectorRobert FloreySlavko VorkapichStarsJules RaucourtVoya GeorgeRobert FloreyA wannabe movie star experiences the surreal horrors of dehumanization at the bottom of Hollywood's social ladder as his hopes for success vanish and his identity is reduced to a number.
- DirectorGeorge LucasA photo-montage of pictures from the media of the year.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsJohn StrawbridgeNancy YatesLance LarsonThe film focuses on the life cycle of a townspeople, and a photographer who takes pictures of one ignored young couple.
- DirectorJean-Claude LabrecqueA cinematic portrait of the 11th St-Laurent long-distance bicycle race, which covers 2,400 kilometres of the Gaspé region in the Canadian province of Quebec.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerSet to a classic Duke Ellington recording of "Daybreak Expresa" this is a five-minute short on the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated train line in Manhattan, New York City.
- DirectorNorman McLarenStarsMargaret MercierVincent WarrenTwo ballet dancers perform a dance enhanced with surreal multi and after-image effect visuals.
- DirectorIstván GaálA group of plate-layers are packing the stone-bed under the rail with their pickaxes. They swing their picks in a coordinated, rhythmic way, thereby creating a sequence of rings, when they hit the stones or the rail, which sounds almost as music. When a train passes by, they stand silent beside the rail for a while, and then start the rhythmic beats again.
- DirectorHans RichterStarsStella F. SimonEntertaining Dadaist experimental short, similar to Man Ray's work, full of shifting geometric shapes, stock footage of seagulls, flying eyeballs, and glaring floating heads.
- DirectorMan RayStarsKiki of MontparnasseExperimental film, white specks and shapes gyrating over a black background, a light-striped torso, a gyrating eggcrate. One of the first Dadaist films.
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsPeter BrockAn early film by George Lucas during his USC days. It depicts a race car driver trying to qualify for a race. He finishes the lap in 1 minute 42.08 seconds.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsPierre BatcheffSimone MareuilLuis BuñuelLuis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí present 16 minutes of bizarre, surreal imagery.
- DirectorMaya DerenAlexander HammidStarsMaya DerenAlexander HammidA woman returning home falls asleep and has vivid dreams that may or may not be happening in reality. Through repetitive images and complete mismatching of the objective view of time and space, her dark inner desires play out on-screen.
- DirectorFernand LégerDudley MurphyStarsKiki of MontparnasseFernand LégerDudley MurphyA pulsing, kaleidoscope of images set to an energetic soundtrack. A young women swings in a garden; a woman's face smiles. The rest is spinning cylinders, pistons, gears and turbines, kitchen objects in concentric circles or rows - pots, pan lids, and funnels, cars passing overhead, a spinning carnival ride. Over and over, a heavy-set woman climbs stairs carrying a large bag on her shoulder. An Art Deco cartoon figure appears, dancing. This is a world in motion, dominated by mechanical and repetitive images, with a few moments of solitude in a garden.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
- DirectorOskar FischingerMental imagery of music is visualized with two-dimensional shapes dancing to the rhythm of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2.
- DirectorRalph SteinerA study on water, the reflections and motions of the liquid that accentuates its ethereality and metallic beauty.
- DirectorEvelyn LambartNorman McLarenAbstract images drawn directly onto the film are accompanied by three pieces of jazz performed by the Oscar Peterson trio.
- DirectorCharles SheelerPaul StrandThis groundbreaking silent documentary captures the beauty and majesty of the New York City in its streets, skyscrapers, bridges, rail yards and harbors.
- DirectorMannus FrankenJoris IvensRegen is an experimental documentary film directed by Joris Ivens in 1929. It can be defined as a cinematic-poem. In 2021 Breve Storia Del Cinema restored the film with a new score composed by Nikolas Labrinakos.
- DirectorHerman G. WeinbergStarsErna BergmanWilly HildebrandA story told with few words. We see a solitary man and a solitary woman, each alone with their thoughts. She is in the country, staring out a window. Nature is quiet, waiting for spring, trees are bare. He is in the city, walking from the docks, watching, somewhat aimless. She walks a country lane. Both are alone. She writes him a letter, offering an opportunity. Will he take it?
- DirectorPaul BurnfordStarsJohn NesbittA look at how the weather bureau tries to warn farmers and businessmen about approaching large storms. Although some precautions can be taken to lessen their impact, storms have to run their course, and there is really not much we can do about them.
- DirectorSlavko VorkapichTime wasted is time given to the enemy...