Film Practice

Rather than watch the theatrical releases of films, we watch ‘making of’ featurettes, typically found in the film’s bonus materials. Films are followed by discussions on the couches.

Winter Semester 2009/10
Curated by Eric Ellingsen & Christina Werner

Fernando Meirelles: “A Vision Of Blindness” from Blindness, 2008
Jim Jarmusch: “The Odyssey: Journey Into the Life of a Samurai” from Ghost Dog, 1999
Werner Herzog: Burden of Dreams, 1982
Stacy Peralta: Dogtown and Z-Boys, 2001
“Volume 1: The Work of Director Spike Jonze” (Making of “Drop” with The Pharcyde, Audio, commentaries from Fatboy Slim, Christopher Walken)
“Planet Earth part 1: behind-the-scenes footage” by David Attenborough
Werner Herzog: Grizzly Man, 2005
Peter Watkins: Punishment Park, 1971
Wendy Apple: The Cutting Edge – The Magic of Movie Editing, 2004
Alfred Hitchcock: “Rope Unleashed” featurette
Eleanor Coppola: Hearts of Darkness – A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, 1991
Michel Gondry: Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, 2004: Making-of featurette
Ron Fricke: Baraka, 1992
Sofia Coppola: Lost in Translation, 2003: “Lost on Location”: behind-the-scenes featurette
Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, 1988
Richard Feynman: The inconceivable nature of nature
Iannis Xenakis: Ligeti – Artikulation
Wim Wenders: Notebook on Cities and Clothes, 1989
Alison Chernick: Matthew Barney: No Restraint, 2006

List of Films:

Time perception videos (Youtube):
“La Sortie de l’Usine Lumière à Lyon” (The first commercial movie, 1895); and “Vue Lumière No 765 – Loie Fuller’s Serpentine Dance” (1896) by The Lumière Brothers
“Jean Taris, Swimming Champion” (1931) by Jean Vigo
“Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance” (scenes) & Bonus Features Interview with the
director and composer, by Godfrey Reggio, music by Phillip Glass
“Claim Excerpts” (1971) by Vito Acconci
“Rhythm 10” (“The Star”, 1999); “Art Must Be Beautiful” (1975);
and “Rhythm 0” (1974), by Marina Abramovi?
“Zen for Film” (1962-1964) by Nam June Paik
Two films by Pash Buzari
“Cinematographer Style” (2006) by Jon Fauer
“For All Mankind” (1989) by Al Reinert
“La Jetée” (1962) by Chris Marker
“The Wild Blue Yonder” (director’s commentary), by Werner Herzog
“The Blue Planet: Seas of Life” (Episode 4: “The Deep” 2001) by BBC & Discovery Channel
Making-of Documentary “Truffaut: A View from the Inside” and “An Appreciation with Bob Balaban and Biographer Annette Insdorf”, both from the DVD for “Day for Night” (1973) by Francois Truffaut