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UNSEEN CINEMA -- EARLY AMERICAN AVANT GARDE FILM 1894-1941 (2005)
complete 7-disc boxset


Studio: Image Entertainment

DVD Release Date: October 18, 2005

unseen-cinema.com/




It is contained in the very nature of the avant-garde that it's targeted at a very limited audience. When something is embraced by the normal audience, it ceases to be avant-garde and becomes a part of the mainstream. That's exactly what has happened to most of the films of this amazing release.

This collection, curated by Anthology Film Archive's Bruce Posner and produced for home video by David Shepard, presents us with an abundance of experimental films from the period 1894-1941, with the vast majority of them never available before for home viewing. While these films differ wildly from each other, they have one thing in common: they?re all experiments in one way or another, meant or designed to broaden the conception of what cinema can be or do. 'Unseen Cinema' contains a staggering total over 155 films (and a total running time of almost 19 hours) which are spread over 7 discs. Each disc has its own theme or subject matter.

"This amazing seven-disc set will undoubtedly stand as one of the major monuments of the DVD medium." -- The New York Times


Format: NTSC

DVD Size: 7.68 + 7.23 + 7.46 + 7.23 + 7.29 + 7.39 + 7.40 GB -- Exact Untouched Copy

Runtime (total): 1140 minutes

Type: Black and White | Color | Tinted

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1

Sound: English DD2.0

Subtitles: none



BONUS FEATURES:

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Disc 1: The Mechanized Eye
Experiments in Technique and Form
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unseen-cinema.com/disc1.html

The dynamic qualities of motion pictures are explored by cameramen and filmmakers through novel experiments in technique and form. Early cinematographers James White, "Billy" Bitzer, and Frederick Armitage display experimental shooting styles that wowed audiences. Other independent companies further image manipulation through creative staging, editing, and printing, such as a stunning three-screen film that predates Gance's Napoleon. Experiments by photographer Walker Evans, painter Emlen Etting, musician Jerome Hill, and the film collectives Nykino and Artkino record the world in a continual process of flux. A most extreme approach is realized by Henwar Rodakiewicz with Portrait of a Young Man (1925-31), a monumental study of natural and abstract motions.

18 Films:
5 Paris Exposition Films (1900)-James White
Eiffel Tower from Trocadero Palace (1900)
Palace of Electricity (1900)
Champs de Mars (1900)
Panorama of Eiffel Tower (1900)
Scene from Elevator Ascending Eiffel Tower (1900)
Captain Nissen Going through Whirpool Rapids, Niagra Falls (1901)-creators unknown
Down the Hudson (1903)-Frederick Armitage & A.E. Weed
The Ghost Train (1903)-creators unknown
Westinghouse Works, Panorama View Street Car Motor Room (1904)-G.W. "Billy" Bitzer
In Youth, Beside the Lonely Sea (c. 1924-25)-creators unknown
Melody on Parade (c. 1936)-creators unknown
La Cartomancienne (The Fortune Teller) (1932)-Jerome Hill
Pie in the Sky (1934-35)-Nykino: Elia Kazan, Ralph Steiner & Irving Lerner
Travel Notes (1932)-Walker Evans
Oil: A Symphony in Motion (1930-33)-Artkino: M.G. MacPherson & Jean Michelson
Poem 8 (1932-33)-Emlen Etting
Storm (1941-43)-Paul Burnford
Portrait of a Young Man (1925-31)-Henwar Rodakiewicz

Poster: JimB 
Groep: a.b.dvd.classics