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Rare Audio from Anthology Film Archives 1. P. Adams Sitney Interviews Kenneth Anger on WNYC's "Arts Forum" (1972) Scholar and Anthology Film Archives co-founder P. Adams Sitney interviews Kenneth Anger for Arts Forum, WNYC. They discuss the recent publication of Anger's book, HOLLYWOOD BABYLON, Anger's years in Paris during the 1950's, his film SCORPIO RISING, the in-progress work LUCIFER RISING and the importance of film preservation. (1972; 3" IPS; 1/4" REEL-7"; 00:53:00) 2. Charles Levine Interviews Robert Breer (July 1970) Filmmaker Charles Levine interviews animator/artist Robert Breer at his home in Palisades, New York. They cover Breer's transition from painting to film, his years spent in Paris, neo-plastic painting, W.K.L. Dickson's Mutoscope, image and sound composition, modes of exhibition, audience impact and the conventions of cinema. (7" IPS; 1/4" REEL-7"; 00:45:46) 3. Jonas Mekas Interviews Emile De Antonio (11/06/1969) Anthology Film Archives founder, filmmaker, critic and poet Jonas Mekas questions radical documentarian Emile De Antonio about the production methods used in his films POINT OF ORDER, AMERICA IS HARD TO SEE and THE YEAR OF THE PIG. They discuss the need for a 10-year retrospective of the New American Cinema group, problems with the NY Film Festival, Mekas' film diary WALDEN and other subjects. De Antonio comments that, "Objectivity is impossible." (3" IPS; 1/4"-REEL 5"; 00:27:48) 4. Poetry And The Film: Amos Vogel, Maya Deren, Parker Tyler, Willard Maas & Dylan Thomas Sessions 1 & 2 At Cinema 16 (10/28/ 1953) Part 1 Part 2 This historically significant symposium held at the venerable Cinema 16 film society unraveled the relationship between poetry and avant-garde cinema. Discussed are the types of poetic expressions in film, poetry as a visual medium, "cinepoems", and the influence of Vigo, Dali, Bunuel, Cocteau, and Eisenstein. A discussion surrounds the need to collaborate between writers and filmmakers, the divide between types of cinema, and collaboration as key for the future of film. * Please note condition of reel- phantom audio can be heard on pt 1 due to tape condition. (PT 1: 1:21:48; PT 2: 1:15:07; TRT: 2:36:55) 5. P. Adams Sitney Interviews Sidney Peterson On WNYC's "Arts Forum" (1976) Sidney Peterson was one of the pre-eminent avant-garde filmmakers of the 1940s. Speaking with critic P. Adams Sitney years after completing his canonical works, Peterson discusses the early days of filmmaking in San Francisco, his artistic origins, surrealism and the production of his films THE POTTED PSALM, THE LEAD SHOES and THE PETRIFIED DOG. Peterson states, "Before you begin new constellations of work, you have to first rid your mind of the clichés." (3" IPS, 1/4" REEL-7", 00:54:35) 6. Annette Michelson Interviews Yvonne Rainer On WNYC's "Arts Forum" (01/25/1974) Dancer/choreographer/filmmaker Yvonne Rainer converses with scholar Annette Michelson about the relationship between film, dance and the body. They also talk about the burgeoning Soho arts scene, the isolation of American artists, and film as a product of dance. (3" IPS, 1/4" REEL-7", 00:51:31) 7. Pauline Kael And Stan Brakhage (1964?) Legendary film critic Pauline Kael is captured here in conversation with filmmaker Stan Brakhage. While the tape is incomplete, we do hear Brakhage defend his practice, his epic film DOG STAR MAN, his influences, his search for " a happening in structure". Brakhage proudly declares: "I'm an amateur filmmaker, I make home movies." (7" IPS, 1/4" REEL 5", 00:19:32) 8. Robert Haller Interviews Carolee Schneemann (11/30/1973) Robert Haller, Director of Collections & Special Projects at Anthology Film Archives, interviews artist/performer/filmmaker Carolee Schneemann on her transition from painting to film; Joseph Cornell; meeting Maya Deren; Stan Brakhage; Marie Menken; museums and the mausoleum; and on being a woman artist. "I don't identify my work with women's work," Schneemann states, "I identify my situation with [a] woman's situation." (3" IPS, 1/4" - REEL 5", 00:32:22) 9. Hollis Frampton At Binghampton University, Part 1 & 2 (03/11/1972) Part 1 Part 2 Filmmaker, photographer and theoretician, Hollis Frampton answers questions and discusses his work-in-progress film cycle known as HAPAX LEGOMENA after a screening at Binghamton University. While HAPAX eventually came to include 7 works, those completed and screened at this show include: (nostalgia), CRITICAL MASS, ORDINARY MATTER, POETIC JUSTICE and SPECIAL EFFECTS. Frampton discusses the meaning of HAPAX LEGOMENA, and his reasoning for using the terminology to embody his films. He discusses the series at length and explains how the various films are related to each other, his background in photography, and "synthesizing illusion". Debates arise with members of the audience and Frampton concerning ideas of expectation, and film as a revelation. Frampton states, "Movies are the opiate of the people." (3" IPS, 1/4"-REEL 7", PART 1: 1:03:23, PART 2: 1:04:21, TRT: 2:07:44) 10. Ken Jacobs, Larry Gottheim, Stan Brakhage: Binghampton Council Of Churches (11/23/1970) Filmmakers Ken Jacobs, Stan Brakhage and Larry Gottheim meet with the Binghamton Council of Churches to defend Herman Nitsch's performance at Binghamton University, which involved the slaughtering of a lamb, and its reception by the greater Binghamton community. The event had taken place in the midst of a weeklong focus on filmmaker Peter Kubelka. Some students who were in attendance speak about their experiences at the performance. (3" IPS, 1/4"-REEL 7", 02:13:00) 11. Harry Smith Interviewed by P. Adams Sitney (1965) Part 1 Part 2 In this remarkable recording filmmaker/artist/ethnomusicologist/alchemist Harry Smith is interviewed in his room at the Chelsea Hotel by a young P. Adams Sitney. In part one, Smith discusses family, his growing up in Washington, Berkeley, dope, and influences. In part two, Smith discusses his hand-drawn film techniques, his work on a film adaptation of THE WIZARD OF OZ, his lost films, borrowed (and pawned) cameras, Native American dance, and the relationship in his painting to music and sound. (PT 1: 1:03:17, PT 2: 00:56:47, TRT: 1:59:64) NOTES Anthology Film Archives opened in New York City in 1970 with a mission to preserve, promote, and present all types of avant-garde, experimental and independent cinema. Today, Anthology operates out of the 2nd Avenue Courthouse Building in Manhattan's East Village where it houses 2 theaters, a massive paper research library and a collection of more than 20,000 films and 5,000 videos. Anthology presents 900 public programs annually and has preserved nearly 800 films to date. Alongside these activities, Anthology is currently in the midst of digitizing its expansive audio collection of more than 1,000 tapes. These recordings feature many years worth of interviews, lectures, question and answer sessions and other amazing discoveries. We are proud to partner with UbuWeb to present a selection of these recordings here. The following recordings have been digitally transferred and archived from the original magnetic tape format by Victoria Keddie with Sarah Margarent Halpern. For more information on Anthology Film Archives please visit: www.anthologyfilmarchives.org RELATED RESOURCES:  Selections from FILM CULTURE Magazine (1955-1996) in UbuWeb Papers
The Films of Robert Breer on UbuWeb
The Films of Emile De Antonio on UbuWeb
The Films of Willard Maas on UbuWeb
The Films of Sidney Peterson on UbuWeb
The Films of Yvonne Rainer on UbuWeb
The Films of Stan Brakhage on UbuWeb
Stan Brakhage in UbuWeb Sound
The Films of Carolee Schneemann on UbuWeb
The Films of Hollis Frampton on UbuWeb
The Films of Ken Jacobs on UbuWeb
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