Glass Jars, Alec Soth‘s foray into multimedia.
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William Eggleston in the Real World
September 21, 2009 – 10:32 pm
If you haven’t already seen it, you can watch William Eggleston in the Real World in its entirety right here. This documentary received mixed reviews when it was released in 2005. See what you think.
Luis Arnias: The Fall
August 10, 2009 – 2:46 pm
still from The Fall, 2009
© Luis Arnias
I recently finished making a website for my friend Luis Arnias, a fantastic filmmaker, photographer, sculptor and painter. There’s a lot worth seeing, but I’d like to direct your attention to his short film titled The Fall (2009). Anyone recognize the voice of the man talking? Well, it’s none other than Mr. Bill Burke.
William Eggleston: Stranded in Canton
November 1, 2008 – 8:00 pm
stills from Stranded in Canton, 1973
© William Eggleston
In 1973, William Eggleston picked up a Sony PortaPak and shot the intimate, black and white footage that would become Stranded in Canton, a 76 minute film documenting the soul of Memphis and New Orleans. The film was recently remastered in collaboration with filmmaker Robert Gordon and released by Twin Palms as a book/DVD package. For those of you who haven’t seen the film already, I highly recommend it.
While browsing the Eggleston Trust website the other day, I noticed an update to the “Films” section, which includes 14 short clips from Stranded in Canton. See those right here.
And, if you’re interested, you can backorder the book/DVD here.
This American Life Live
May 2, 2008 – 4:53 pm
Ira Glass, host and producer of This American Life
Last night Ira Glass brought This American Life to the big screen for a one-night only live event. I was able to catch the broadcast at theater in Boston. From his DJ desk, Glass showed some episode previews, outtakes, and took questions from the audience in New York.
I realize the two are entirely different mediums, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, but I’m curious if the television show will eventually begin to overshadow the original radio program. Maybe it’s because I’m a photographer and spend too much of my time in a “visual” world, but there is something especially nice about just listening to the stories.
Anyway, fans, the new season looks great. Both programs are brilliant.
Ray Tintori: Jettison Your Loved Ones and Death to the Tinman
April 14, 2008 – 12:10 am
The other day, I was waiting for a friend in Harvard Square and found myself watching the public video art monitor located on the information booth near the T station. What’s shown is really a mixed bag, but I was happy to have timed my visit just right for the screening of a wonderful short film by Ray Tintori called Death to the Tinman. I later discovered that the film won honorable mention at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. While I couldn’t find an embeddable video of it online, I did come across another great short of Tintori’s titled Jettison Your Loved Ones (above).
If you’re interested in seeing the film that I saw in the Square, you can purchase it on iTunes for just two dollars. I highly recommend it.
Prelinger Archives
April 9, 2008 – 4:49 pm
If you haven’t heard of the Prelinger Archives, now is the time to familiarize yourself.
Prelinger Archives was founded in 1983 by Rick Prelinger in New York City. Over the next twenty years, it grew into a collection of over 60,000 “ephemeral” (advertising, educational, industrial, and amateur) films. In 2002, the film collection was acquired by the Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Prelinger Archives remains in existence, holding approximately 4,000 titles on videotape and a smaller collection of film materials acquired subsequent to the Library of Congress transaction. Its goal remains to collect, preserve, and facilitate access to films of historic significance that haven’t been collected elsewhere. Included are films produced by and for many hundreds of important US corporations, nonprofit organizations, trade associations, community and interest groups, and educational institutions.
Online, you can view nearly 2,000 of the films from the archive. There really are some interesting things to find on the site; everything from historic material such as Duck and Cover (1951) to “vintage erotica” of a woman named Sheree dancing (first in a tiger-print outfit, then in a bikini) to the top viewed film, Pick of the Pod (1939), “a peek inside the pea processing operations that culminate in Del Monte brand canned peas… With glimpses of 1930s kitchens and images of Depression-era California agriculture.”
Not sure where to get started? Try the Tag Cloud.
Powers of Ten
April 6, 2008 – 12:41 pm
Inspired by a totally cosmic conversation about inner and outer space, I give you Powers of Ten!
Hope everyone is having a nice weekend.
“Sweded” Be Kind Rewind Trailer by Michel Gondry
February 21, 2008 – 6:58 pm
Indeed, this is a “Sweded” version of the actual trailer – meaning Gondry messed up the film reel and had to re-create his own trailer using whatever props he had on hand. Meta film; brilliant!
See the original “official” trailer here if you don’t get it.
Be Kind Rewind opens in theaters tomorrow.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
February 20, 2008 – 11:13 pm
My relationship with the internet is love/hate. Today it’s love… Dr. Strangelove.
Watch the whole film online here (1 hour, 35 minutes).
