BANG: Robert Breer in 35mm April 11, 2008

Robert Breer will be present to introduce his films on Friday, April 11!

Faster than a speeding bullet, the inspired animations of artist Robert Breer exist in a category all their own. Simultaneously playful and formal, autobiographical and abstract, Breer’s films literally fly off the screen; moving images indeed. His radical approach, dazzling imagery and all-around ingenuity shine brighter than ever in Anthology’s brand-new 35mm blow-ups of sixteen of his classic short films. We’ve also preserved his earliest works, the FORM PHASES series, in 16mm, and we offer up these and all our new prints for your screening pleasure. You may have seen Breer’s films before but you’ve never experienced them with this much clarity or detail. These prints are proof positive that Breer is one of the true masters of experimental cinema.

All of the films in these programs were preserved by Anthology with the generous support of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Unless otherwise noted, all films in this program are 16mm blown-up to 35mm.

PROGRAM 1:
BLAZES (1961, 3 minutes)
“100 basic images switching positions for four thousand frames. A continuous explosion.” –R.B.

66 (1966, 5.5 minutes)
“Abstract, quasi-geometric study in interrupted continuity.” –R.B.

69 (1969, 4.5 minutes)
“It’s so absolutely beautiful, so perfect, so like nothing else. Forms, geometry, lines, movements, light very basic, very pure, very surprising, very subtle.” –Jonas Mekas

70 (1970, 5 minutes)
“Made with spray paint and hand-cut stencils, this film was an attempt at maximum plastic intensity… [P]laces Breer for the first time among the major colorists of the avant-garde.” –P. Adams Sitney

77 (1970, 6.5 minutes)
“Breer is a consummate master of cinematic space. Like Hans Richter, he constantly provokes a sense of depth through changing the scale of his shapes.” –Noel Carroll

FIST FIGHT (1964, 9 minutes)
Created as a component of Allan Kaprow’s 1964 staging of the opera ORIGINALE by Karlheinz Stockhausen which featured Charlotte Moorman and many of NYC’s other avant-garde luminaries.

SWISS ARMY KNIFE WITH RAT AND PIGEON (1981, 6.5 minutes)
“Displays sinuous cutting between live action and animated images, rapid-fire associations and transformations, freedom in collaging the everyday with the imaginary in sound and image, and a diabolical moment of synthesis at the climax when the rat trap is sprung.” –Amy Taubin

FUJI (1974, 9 minutes)
“A poetic, rhythmic, riveting achievement…in which fragments of landscapes, passengers, and train interiors blend into a magical color dream of a voyage. One of the most important works by a master who – like Conner, Brakhage, Broughton – spans several avant-gardes in his ever more perfect explorations.” –Amos Vogel

Total running time: ca. 55 minutes.

Upcoming Showings:

* Saturday Apr 12 7:30 PM
* Friday Apr 11 7:30 PM