If you don't know Bill Morrison, you ought to. The bracingly original director of "Decasia," a 2002 favorite of Errol Morris and J. Hoberman and an entry in the National Film Registry, has defined avant-garde cinema for over two decades. At last, his restored body of work comes to DVD and VOD this Fall from Icarus Films. "Bill Morrison: Collected Works (1996-2013)" will hit shelves and digital platforms on September 23, just a few weeks before the Museum of Modern Art mounts a major New York retrospective of his singular shorts and features (October 14-November 21). The 16 films in the set include a Blu-ray of "Decasia," Morrison's electrifying collage of decayed found footage pulled from the early 20th century, with an unsettling score by composer Michael Gordon. J. Hoberman wrote, "The film is a fierce dance of destruction. Its flame-like, roiling black-and-white inspires trembling and gratitude." "Decasia" is a great place to.
- 8/26/2014
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Thompson on Hollywood
Film is dead. So, what better way to give it a proper send off than to watch Bill Morrison’s haunting Light Is Calling, in which the filmmaker manipulates and elevates the 1926 silent film The Bells into a dreamlike meditation on random romantic encounters.
Although the film has a hazy, ruminative pace, Morrison creates a heightened sense of dramatic tension simply by slowing down the simple action of a soldier happening upon a pretty girl in a field to a near unbearable level. The viewer is forced to first figure out the movie’s “plot,” as it were, by latching onto the brief snippets of clearly defined imagery of the original film. Then, when the storyline becomes obvious, the waiting of the two parallel actions — of the girl and the solider — to inevitably intersect is drawn out to an extreme degree most likely not intended by the original filmmaker, James Young.
Although the film has a hazy, ruminative pace, Morrison creates a heightened sense of dramatic tension simply by slowing down the simple action of a soldier happening upon a pretty girl in a field to a near unbearable level. The viewer is forced to first figure out the movie’s “plot,” as it were, by latching onto the brief snippets of clearly defined imagery of the original film. Then, when the storyline becomes obvious, the waiting of the two parallel actions — of the girl and the solider — to inevitably intersect is drawn out to an extreme degree most likely not intended by the original filmmaker, James Young.
- 7/10/2013
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
Bill Morrison’s newest film The Shooting Gallery has just finished playing a mere handful of screenings at the Bam Fisher Fishman Space as part of the 30th Next Wave Festival. It represents a new step in Morrison’s oeuvre because it introduces, as far as I’m aware, the concept of interactivity into his work, with audience members each receiving a laser pointer which they used as a remote control to select video and audio clips throughout the screening. The result—with music by Richard Einhorn, design by Jim Findlay, and interactive programming by Ryan Holsopple—is vintage Morrison but also something completely new.
Morrison is best known as a manipulator of archival footage, particularly footage that’s decaying into obsolescence. By showcasing these strips of film that are beyond any hope of restoration, Morrison actually resurrects them, gives them new life, and highlights the physical nature of film—its tactileness,...
Morrison is best known as a manipulator of archival footage, particularly footage that’s decaying into obsolescence. By showcasing these strips of film that are beyond any hope of restoration, Morrison actually resurrects them, gives them new life, and highlights the physical nature of film—its tactileness,...
- 11/12/2012
- by Randy Astle
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
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