#cinematic essay

[allweknewisdead]

The Royal Road (2015) - Jenni Olson

I think of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo as a sort of cinematic ode to nostalgia - it's a cautionary tale really, about the pull of the past and the futility of striving for things that are unreachable precisely because they only exist in the long ago.

[homebasejack]

What does it feel like to stand on the edge of a drowned world? Step into a dream where the tide is the only thing that's real. New video out now.

Is the Earth seeking revenge, or are we simply in the way of its ancient, impartial laws?

[panteechrist]

Cinematic Essay assignment--a discussion of the commodification of human bodies even now through the use of poetry, narration, and appropriated clips

[mediaonefall2014]

Cinematic Essay Intro Review

A film essay (or "cinematic essay") consists of the evolution of a theme or an idea rather than a plot per se; or the film literally being a cinematic accompaniment to a narrator reading an essay. From another perspective, an essay film could be defined as a documentary film visual basis combined with a form of commentary that contains elements of self-portrait (rather than autobiography), where the signature (rather than the life story) of the filmmaker is apparent. The cinematic essay often blends documentary, fiction, and experimental film making using a tones and editing styles.[17]

-Wikipedia

Chris Marker, La Jetée - https://vimeo.com/46620661

The Wikipedia article on Le Jetée - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Jet%C3%A9e

 Le Jetée/12 Monkey's comparison film - http://blip.tv/renegadecut/22-12-monkeys-la-jet%C3%A9e-6595845

The Subconscious Art of Graffitti Removal - http://www.tudou.com/programs/view/WesVj4_lTCw

Kevin Lee, Elements of the Essay Film - https://vimeo.com/groups/35mmandrisdamburs/videos/90150897

Andrew Norman Wilson, Uncertainty Seminars - http://dismagazine.com/dystopia/66991/uncertainty-seminars/

Bill Domonkos - The Ends of Sleep - https://vimeo.com/73875213

BONUS

Great film example created from found archival footage>>>>WATCH>>>>Joe P. Bear - https://vimeo.com/7826295

Some Quotes:

There are deeper strata of truth in cinema, and there is such a thing as poetic, ecstatic truth. It is mysterious and elusive, and can be reached only through fabrication and imagination and stylization.

-Werner Herzog lecture at Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota (1999)

The essay (film)…strives to be beyond formal, conceptual, and social constraint…the essay film disrespects traditional boundaries, is transgressive both structurally and conceptually, is self-reflective and self reflexive. It also questions the subject positions of the filmmaker and audience as well as the audiovisual medium itself – whether film, video, or digital electronic.

-Nora Alter “The Political Im/perceptible in the Essay Film” (1996)

…cinema will gradually break free from the tyranny of what is visual, from the image for its own sake, from the immediate and concrete demands of the narrative, to become a means of writing just as flexible and subtle as written language…The cinema is now moving towards a form which is making it such a precise language that it will soon be possible to write ideas directly onto film.

-Alexandre Astruc, “The birth of a New Avant-Garde” (1948)

[nicolewebbphotography-blog]

"Painted" -A commentary on media and cosmetics. Nicole Webb

[peterpainter-blog]

I think psychoanalysis is bad science. Or rather that it's not science at all. But sometimes it can be very charming if used as a framework for literary (or cinema) criticism. As it has very little relation to reality, apart from symbolic reality called psychoanalysis created by psychoanalysts themselves of course, then ultimately it's meaningless.

But so are many beautiful things. Most of the good music for example, is made for pure sensational pleasure. Or the game of chess. It's a universe contained within itself. It's reality with strictly set rules and even borders. Well, you can say chess is not meaningless because it helps to train the brain. But to be honest I don't know anyone who has really trained his brain playing chess, to achieve anything else rather than become a good chess player. You just can't apply the rules of chess to every day's reality. Well, you can try of course, but it would be a little too far fetched if you'd seriously suggest that some sort of universal law of castling is responsible for let's say banking crisis or whatever. In chess you can definitely enjoy nice combination though. And that's what it's all about.

In my opinion the same goes for psychoanalysis here. You definitely can enjoy ŽiŽek's talk. He is truly terrific thinker. It's beautifully worded and it's clever in it's own psychoanalytical way.  Even if you don't take psychoanalysis seriously, this is a witty cinematic essay to enjoy.

It's also useful. One can quote him in essays and it will look good, because he's original thinker, famous and respected. It also might be useful to learn the method and use it in ones own critical work... Just for the sake of fuck....

Oh sorry, sorry, sorry! My unconsciousness just ran wild.

For the sake of fun, I mean of course.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0828154/

PS. Thank you for reading my first blog post in here. More must come.