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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Indispensable!,
By
This review is from: Avant-Garde Experimental Cine (DVD)
Let it be said that if your interests somehow brought you to seek out more information about this release, it's probably for you. Things happen for a reason, and your instincts have led you to the right place.
These are all experimental or avant garde films, so this set will be best suited to those with an interest in filmmaking, or in the Dadaist, Surrealist, Cubist and Futurist art movements which inform the sensibilities of these films. There is still great variety between the films, and there is something in this collection to suit just about anyone's tastes. That being said, some films will inevitably be of less interest to some. To my taste, most of the American films (excluding one by Orson Welles and one entitled "Lot in Sodom") seem far less innovative and interesting, as they often lack the progressive (and somewhat abstract) artistic sensibilities more common throughout Europe at the time. Personal favourites are films by artists not entirely devoted to the filmic medium: Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp come to mind, as well as the excellent German expressionist and Dadaist films (Ghosts Before Breakfast and Uberfall). To me, it is refreshing to see films which don't rely on predictable plots and linear storylines, and which are often photographically stunning and emotively striking. It's also nice to have a collection that allows you to watch three films in fifteen minutes, or an hour and a half. This is a set I keep coming back to, and is one of my most prized sets of early film.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.2 out of 5 stars (19 customer reviews) 700 of 704 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good collection, if you're into short art films,
By Donald Rogers - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Avant-Garde Experimental Cine (DVD)
This features a number of directors better known as painters (Fernand Leger, Marcel Duchamp) or photographers (Man Ray). For the curious, there is a short Orson Welles film from 1934, fully seven years before Citizen Kane. "The Life and Death of 9413, A Hollywood Extra" is on the Library of Congress's National Film Registry of significant American films, as is "H²O". Ménilmontant, at 37 minutes the longest film in this collection, is considered a masterpiece by some.
Worth exploring, if you like this sort of stuff. You know who you are. --- It drives me nuts that Amazon doesn't include the bare-bones information about the films in this sort of collection, so I will: Le Retour à la raison (The Return to Reason) Directed by Man Ray France 1923 2 Min. Emak-Bakia (Leave Me Alone) Directed by Man Ray France 1926 16 Min. L'Étoile de mer (The Starfish) Directed by Man Ray France 1928 15 Min. Les Mystères du Château du Dé (The Mysteries of the Château of Dice) Directed by Man Ray France 1929 20 Min. Ménilmontant Directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff France 1926 37 Min. Brumes d'Automne (Autumn Mists) Directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff France 1928 12 Min. The Life and Death of 9413, A Hollywood Extra Directed by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapich US 1928 13 Min. Lot in Sodom Directed by James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber US 1933 27 Min. Rhythmus 21 (Film Is Rhythm) Directed by Hans Richter Germany 1921 3 Min. Vormittagsspuk (Ghosts Before Breakfast) Directed by Hans Richter Germany 1928 9 Min. Anémic Cinéma Directed by Marcel Duchamp France 1926 6 Min. Ballet Mécanique Directed by Fernand Léger France 1924 11 Min. Symphonie Diagonale (Diagonal Symphony) Directed by Viking Eggeling Germany 1924 7 Min. Le Vampire Directed by Jean Painlevé France 1939-45 9 Min. The Hearts of Age Directed by Orson Welles and William Vance US 1934 8 Min. Überfall (Assault) Directed by Ernö Metzner Germany 1928 22 Min. La Glace à trois faces (The Three-Sided Mirror) Directed by Jean Epstein France 1927 33 Min. Le Tempestaire (The Tempest) Directed by Jean Epstein France 1947 22 Min. Romance Sentimentale (Sentimental Romance) Directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori V. Alexandrov France 1930 16 Min. Autumn Fire Directed by Herman G. Weinberg US 1931 15 Min. Manhatta Directed by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler US 1921 10 Min. La Coquille et le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman) Directed by Germaine Dulac France 1926 31 Min. Regen (Rain) Directed by Joris Ivens Netherlands 1929 14 Min. H²O Directed by Ralph Steiner US 1929 12 Min. Even -- As You And I Directed by Roger Barlow, Harry Hay and LeRoy Robbins US 1937 12 Min. 103 of 108 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
And now for something completely different...,
By Barbara (Burkowsky) Underwood - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Avant-Garde Experimental Cine (DVD)
As the title suggests, this is a collection of 24 short films of the artistic and experimental genre, ranging from about 10 to 35 minutes in length, and each one quite different from the other. Some of them have a story that you can follow, while others are meant to be visual expressions of moods and feelings, but all of them are of a high standard and quality, and there is bound to be something to suit most tastes in this eclectic collection. My first impression was that these short films - most of them silent - have a powerful effect on the senses, not in the least due to the exceptionally good musical accompaniment by the best composers in the business. Overall, watching these films had a calming and almost hypnotic effect on me, which no doubt was often intended. Some of the highlights for me were the longer, more complex films such as "The Life and Death of 9413 - a Hollywood Extra", "Lot in Sodom" (which has been previously released by Image Entertainment with Oscar Wilde's "Salome") and "La Glace a Trois Faces" (The three-sided mirror) which contain a definite message as well as being poignantly expressive visually. Then there are themes and subjects focussing on nature, weather, architecture, and a few experiments with tricks and animation. In other words; never a dull moment - unless you are looking for the usual story film with customary action and editing, in which case this collection might not be your cup of tea. But for anyone interested in artistic expression in films, the history and development of film, or just for something entirely different, this is an excellent set. There are good notes on each film on the discs themselves so that you can easily read them first before viewing each film (which will help to understand and appreciate the film and its message) or whichever way you like. In any case, this is surely an important contribution to film history, and thanks to Kino Video for providing such a fascinating ride through the bizarre and compelling art movements of the 20s and 30s.
83 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kino's scores suck,
By A. Peterson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Avant-Garde Experimental Cine (DVD)
The musical accompaniment for most of these seminal avant-garde films is very bad. A previous reviewer mentioned that it was done by "the best in the business." Well, I am of the opinion that, unfortunately, there are not enough interesting minds in that business (silent film scoring), or at least not enough employed by Kino Video, to make for a competent collection.
There is electric guitar (Creed-style riffing!!!). There is arbitrary "Frenchy" sounding music. And yes, there is even some dreaded Casio keyboard "vox" effect. Who could possibly think that keyboard "vox" was a good idea? Not me. These films, like all those Kino releases, are rare and under-appreciated, and worth owning on DVD because this is the only way you'll get them. I only wish Kino appreciated them enough to pair the films with either a) historically accurate or b) competent scores. |
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