1970s experimental films

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1970s Experimental Films: Then and Now

This essay focuses on films by the British experimental filmmakers Guy Sherwin, Malcolm Le Grice, William Raban and John Smith, who began working in the 1970s and had affiliations with the London Filmmakers’ Co-operative (LFMC). Their contemporary practices continue to engage with debates centred on issues concerning materiality, alternative structures to narrative, light, time and duration. A key theme in these filmmakers’ recent films and videos is their revisiting of earlier works – hence the subtitle of this essay ‘Then and Now’ – which begs a number of questions. What are these figures each doing, and doing differently, in their re-engagement with earlier working methods and aesthetic concerns? What exactly is at stake when filmmakers revisit aspects of their work from an earlier period? Can historical lines of enquiry be drawn, revealing technological, aesthetic or political changes affecting the works? And what is at stake when filmmakers’ embrace new technologies in a transition from film to video?

The Girl Chewing Gum , John Smith (courtesy of the artist)

The Man Phoning Mum , John Smith (courtesy of the artist)

The films discussed here include a number from Sherwin’s ‘Short Film Series’ (1975-2014) and two of his abstract films, Cycles (1972) and Rem-Jet Loops (2015, made with Lynn Loo); Le Grice’s Matrix (1973) and its later incarnations Matrix 73-06 (2006) and Marking Time (2015); Raban’s River Yar (1971-72), South Foreland (2007), Angles of Incidence (1973) and About Now MMX (2010); and Smith’s The Girl Chewing Gum (1976) and The Man Phoning Mum (2012). A number of questions were posed to the filmmakers, with the initial intention being to incorporate responses within this essay. The responses were, however, generously detailed and insightful and it therefore seemed invaluable to include them as appendices to the discussions.

Sherwin was an early LFMC member, with his commitment to using 16mm film sustained through his continued interest in (amongst other preoccupations) light and time. His ‘Short Film Series’ (1975 – 2014), spanning almost four decades, takes the simple format of a 100 foot roll of black-and-white 16mm film, and more often than not focuses on the single subject of the title, with filming akin to a beautifully composed photograph, revealing subtle changes in light, movement, tonal range or focus. The subject of Portrait with Parents (1975) is echoed in the more recent Guy and Kai (2013). Both are portraits of the title’s subjects, although the former is a wider shot including Sherwin’s parents, who are standing either side of an oval mirror, above a mantelpiece, showing the filmmaker’s reflection (as he films with a hand-cranked camera). Guy and Kai is more tightly framed, with father and son’s heads and shoulders filling the frame, calling to mind Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests (1964-66) and Peter Gidal’s Heads (1969). In Sherwin’s Yi Wei (2011) the close-up of an eye draws on his distinctly similar, earlier films Eye (1978) and Blink (1977). And in Mei (2010) Sherwin has recorded, in close-up, the features of his very young daughter Mei, echoing an earlier film of his first daughter Maya (1978).

A number of Sherwin’s 1970s films focused on windows include Window (1976) and Barn (1978), a subject he has revisited in the later Window/Light (2013). All three films have a fixed point of view, namely the camera looking out of a window. Barn shows a view across a field (of wheat or corn perhaps) with the barn doors on either side framing the scene that includes trees and passing clouds. Throughout the film flashes of light illuminate the pastoral scene making sharp contrasts within the monochrome image. Window opens with a black screen (instead of a white one, as most of the films from the series do) and slowly progresses – by adding more light – to reveal a large window divided into sections, with handles also evident. The view outside the window shows domestic buildings on the road opposite and the film ends when it flares out into white light. The recent Window/Light (2013) includes the image, gradually increased in exposure, of a high window looking out onto a breeze-blown tree in leaf. The superimposed image of a light-bulb also appears intermittently, at times flaring out the scene with its light. The light-bulb’s detailed filament is sometimes revealed, which is perhaps a nod to the demise of the light bulb as we have known it since its invention, having been replaced by new energy saving ‘long life’ bulbs.

While these films show a personal engagement with earlier work, it is particularly in Sherwin’s re-invigoration of the earlier abstract work, such as Cycles (1972-77) from the ‘Optical Sound Film’ series, that some interesting new departures can be found in Rem-Jet Loops (2015) for example. The original is a 16mm single screen film in which Sherwin produced sound and image by working directly onto the filmstrip with paper dots stuck on, or holes punched into, the filmstrip. Sherwin here explored equivalences between sound and the ‘persistence of vision’, identifying differences between units of time in film (24 frames per second) and sound (e.g. 72 beats per second), thereby creating a dialogue between visual and aural perception. During projection, as the frequency of dots on the filmstrip increase, they eventually become a pulsating ball of light. Together with the sound “the film highlights the different sensitivities in our visual and aural senses”. 1

While Cycles is a piece for standard film projection, the more recent Rem-Jet Loops (2015), a collaboration with Lynn Loo, is performed with three projectors. In a recent article Sherwin has discussed the path that he has taken in his re-engagement with Cycles , which was invigorated by his interest in expanded cinema with live projection, and his partnership with Loo. Cycles gave rise to Cycles #3 (1972/2003) which uses two 16mm projectors running identical prints, superimposed and out of phase by about a minute. For Sherwin Cycles #3 , “gave rise to fascinating and unpredictable pulsing of image and sound” which was extended by “making subtle shifts of size, volume, focus and timbre during projection”, making it “possible to modulate spatial and rhythmic fluctuations as a strong component of the work”. 2

These possibilities are extended in Rem-Jet Loops , which involves three projectors, optical sound, an equaliser, contact microphones and an intermittently used radio, with Loo and Sherwin operating projectors and sound mix simultaneously. Its handmade film loops include imagery and optical sound produced by an equivalent physical action, with numerous possibilities opened up to modulate sound and image through the use of wide lenses, contact and light sensitive microphones and projector movement within the space. Additional attention is given to the overall quality of sound, with Sherwin suggesting that “perhaps in this work we have come closest to the condition of improvised music with its high degree of flexibility and immediacy in performance – qualities that are hard to achieve with film.” 3

Interestingly, Malcolm Le Grice has also drawn comparison with music in his re-engagement with earlier works, noting that jazz musicians might produce a ‘new’ performance for an earlier composition but one which ‘closely retains the “original” composition’. This is not too surprising however, as music has influenced his work conceptually and is also evident in the soundtrack of seminal early films like Little Dog for Roger (1967) and Berlin Horse (1970).

Berlin Horse , Malcolm Le Grice (courtesy of the artist)

Le Grice started filmmaking in the 1960s and was instrumental in the establishment of the workshop at the LFMC. Alongside the structural/materialist filmmaker Peter Gidal, his theoretical writings and filmmaking were influential in shaping understandings of formalist filmmaking which was prevalent at the LFMC in the 1960s and ’70s. Although Le Grice made distinctive and seminal works in film, he also embraced video and digital (computer-generated) technologies early on, with his interests in ‘the politics of perception’, viewer engagement, film form and materiality informing both his filmmaking and theoretical writings.

Le Grice’s film Matrix (1973) has some resonance with Sherwin’s abstract films and their modernist overtones. References to colour field painters like Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still are evident in Matrix , with the work consisting of six looped films of optically printed solid colour blocks. Each film consists of two colour blocks divided horizontally by a black line with the quiet stillness of a colour field painting subverted through movement, and a soundtrack produced on a Zinovief ‘Putney’ analogue synthesizer. The films are projected simultaneously with six projectors, eliciting a dynamism absent in stationary 2D paintings. Le Grice also moves the projectors around mid-performance, ensuring an active space of projection. Each screening of Matrix is distinctive due to the live-action projection, rendering the colour fields as an active exploration of colour, space, light and film apparatus, making each event a singular, unrepeatable work. While the performance of the piece is improvised, a consistently similar pattern evolves as the six projectors are moved, firstly with the screens overlapping and superimposed, then moving outwards to form six complete screens in two rows of three. Improvisation with diverse patterns continues as the image is progressively de-focused and the screens eventually return to the centre. Matrix evolves with a sense of dynamism, materialising as it does through the expanded projection event.

Over thirty years later the earlier work was revisited for ‘Matrix 73-06’ (2006), closely based on the original concept and broadly following documentation of a 2004 screening performance. The 2006 re-engagement is a video installation, simulating the appearance of a film projection with softened screen edges including four full screen images within the single video frame. Shown on three video projectors, the total number of apparent ‘screens’ are doubled, maintaining the symmetry of the original piece in the new format. The colour has also been re-generated digitally to compensate for the lack of intensity in the telecine of the original film loops. Where the new work differs from its original is in the ‘sharpness’ of the digital version, the lack of material traces of film, and in the fact that movements are constructed rather than spontaneous. The film version always gives rise to spontaneous new iterations in the moment of its projection, whereas the digital doesn’t offer such possibilities. One could argue that this removes a certain spontaneity or ‘aliveness’ which was integral to the expanded cinema pieces, yet digital technology has allowed Le Grice to reconfigure the piece at the ‘production stage’ leading to new avenues of exploration In a recent retrospective exhibition, Le Grice presented his newest rendition of the earlier work, Marking Time (2015). Here Le Grice has extended the depth of ‘film’ space by using 3D video technology, with the colour fields (echoing the earlier film) overlapping, intersecting, receding and advancing.

2’45, William Raban (courtesy of the artist)

William Raban, a contemporary of Le Grice’s, also worked extensively at the LFMC in the 1970s, and engaged in formal, structural and material experimentation with film, in seminal works such as 2’45” (1973) in which a film of audience members entering an auditorium was repeatedly filmed, processed and projected, with each new film including the previous event’s projection. The focus of Raban’s filmmaking since the 1970s includes preoccupations eloquently described in his recent professorial address:

In terms of using film to materialise time, I have identified two distinct strands in my work. I have described the processes that are at work in About Now MMX (2010) that make this film an example of fragmentary time with a lineage that goes back to some of the initial structural film experiments from the 1970s. Whereas, I have also explored ways of materialising time in Thames Film (1986), Island Race (1996), The Houseless Shadow (2011), Time and the Wave (2013) and most recently 72-82 (2014), that seem to be more about continuous time. Nevertheless, the obsession with materiality of time remains a singularly consistent aspect of my entire body of practice. 4

In Raban’s early exploration of time, Angles of Incidence (1973), the ‘axis of camera rotation’ and the shifting minor changes in viewpoint were explored by attaching a rope between a camera (fixed to a tripod) and a central point in a large window. In the more recent film About Now MMX Raban similarly created a cinematic map of east London from the fixed aerial viewpoint of Erno Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower, where the camera tracked across the city using time-lapse exposures emphasizing the ‘frame-by-frameness of the film’s construction to produce a sense of fragmentary time’ that has resonances with 1970s films like Angles of Incidence ’. 5

River Yar, William Raban and Chris Welsby (courtesy of William Raban and LUX, London)

In an earlier collaboration with Chris Welsby on their seminal 1970s film River Yar (1971-72), technological, structural and procedural approaches were used to document the landscape. A tidal estuary was filmed over three weeks during the spring and autumn equinoxes, referencing the landscape tradition but also offering insights into duration, light and cinematographic recording devices. Despite certain controlled filmmaking conditions the work also allowed for incidental occurrences to enter into the work, with the two-screen film consisting of real-time footage of sunrise and sunset and time-compression sequences where the swift rush of time is evident in the changing patterns of light, nature, day and night, thereby compressing the time of the seasonal equinoxes and revealing dialogues between film content and cinematographic recording. Echoes of River Yar are evident in Raban’s more recent South Foreland (2007), a two-screen installation (projected on opposing gallery walls) that includes a 3-minute time-lapse film recorded over sixteen hours of a summer day with a soundtrack of foghorns. The time compression and landscape scenes of nature – the sea and fog intermittently rolling in and obscuring the scene – are reiterated from the earlier film, but they are also counter-posed by the addition of a smaller screen which includes images and the sound of a rotating radar scanner, exuding ominous suggestions of surveillance.

Alongside Raban’s persistent preoccupation with the materiality of time is an interest in the urban London landscape seen in 1970s films like Thames Barrier (1977) through to Thames Film (1986) and more recently in About Now MMX. In contrast to these films of Raban’s, which focus on expansive natural or urban landscapes, John Smith’s films are often rooted in a particular place or location, but centre on the details of urban life.

Smith’s seminal film The Girl Chewing Gum (1976) uses humour (often lacking in 1970s formalist films) to reveal a disjunction between sound and image that is gradually made apparent to the viewer as the film unfolds. The 12-minute film, composed of two shots, centres on a busy urban intersection in East London, with cars and pedestrians passing by. Smith makes full use here (and in more recent films) of the serendipitous nature of working with the moving image, whereby the incidental or accidental unplanned actions and events are embraced to become a key part of the film. 6

The soundtrack includes the apparently synchronous noise of the busy street with road-works and a burglar alarm, with a voiceover (recorded after filming) initially appearing to be that of a film director instructing the actors’ movements. Although events initially occur as instructed, the viewer soon realises that the scenes being ‘choreographed’ are far too complex for such evidently easy cohesion, as most of the film consists of a wide shot of a busy street corner with cars, buses and pedestrians moving in and out of frame. The humour becomes evident as ‘actors’ and objects in the film seemingly obey the directed orders, which include such banal directives as ‘… and I want the clock to now move jerkily towards me…’ when the camera zooms in to focus on the clock face above a building. The viewer realises that something is clearly up as the narrator (Smith) says: ‘now, two pigeons fly across’ before two birds are seen crossing the screen in flight from left to right. Smith also intersperses his directions with ‘good’, ‘ok’ or ‘now’, adding a sense of banality, as if the actors, birds and clock are obediently following instructions. Before the close of the film, a cut to a change of scenery ‘ambiguously locates the commentator in a distant field’, thereby disclosing the ‘director’s’ possible location (although he may be lying, as suggested by a subsequent reference to the sight of a man with a helicopter in his pocket and the blackbird with the nine-foot wingspan). When watching the film the viewer fairly quickly realises that something is amiss between action and direction, but Smith recognises that this discrepancy is essentially what commercial ‘Hollywood’ cinema is based upon – the idea of narrative illusion, fantasy or make belief – as he discloses in his interview with Tom Harrad:

What I was interested in when making the film is that even once you know that these things aren’t being directed, such is the power of language that there is still a kind of magical quality to the word. Even when you know you’re being lied to, it is still very easy to imagine the scenarios being described. 7

Smith’s work is anti-illusionistic, with The Girl Chewing Gum establishing his fondness for exposing illusions through the interlacing of word-play, image and narrative construction also evident in his films Associations (1975) and Gargantuan (1992). In more recent film like Soft Work (2012) and unusual Red cardigan (2011) Smith continues with a humorous, deadpan voiceover that explains banal events unfolding on the screen with a sense of indifference. Almost forty years later Smith revisited the original location of The Girl Chewing Gum to film The Man Phoning Mum (2012), which was recorded on HD video and in parts superimposed the original film. Here the black and white pedestrians and cars from 1976 meet with their colourful contemporary counterparts in the well-trodden street, oblivious to each other’s existence. There are moments where the two films are transposed, creating an immediacy between past and present as the eye focuses intermittently on either the monochrome image or the colour one. In other parts either the earlier or later film takes central focus. The soundtrack in the later film, however, remains the same. This is indicative, I would suggest, of its central importance to Smith as it instrumentally shapes any reading of the new film, drawing a clear trajectory between past and present, old and new works.

In concluding discussions on the filmmakers’ re-engagement with their 1970s films it is useful to note the significant shifts in the moving image landscape, particularly as accessible technologies have affected the marked rise in artists’/experimental filmmaking. While this marked rise should be seen in a positive light, with experimentation including a diverse range of approaches to moving image practice, there are also concerns that the long histories of experimental film have been underappreciated. I would suggest the fact that the filmmakers discussed here have re-engaged with their earlier works serves a two-fold purpose. It provides the filmmakers (and audiences) with renewed opportunities to interrogate what is at stake regarding the works within the context of the newer digital technologies (or in the case of Sherwin’s practice a continued commitment to film). At the same time, new works that derive from older pieces also point back to antecedent histories, opening up spaces for critical and theoretical reflection on those histories. It is encouraging to see the increased recognition that earlier filmmakers are now receiving in retrospective exhibitions and publications focusing on earlier highly fertile decades, which laid the groundwork for the extensive range of moving image works proliferating and forming part of the present and future trajectories.

Filmmakers’ responses to questions posed by the author: Guy Sherwin (GS), Malcolm Le Grice (MLG), William Raban (WR).

John Smith was unable to provide responses due to time constraints, but his extensive website (John Smith Films.com) provides details which readers may wish to refer to.

Patti Gaal Holmes: Does your more recent contemporary film/video work (of the past 10-15 years) provide insights into developments within your film practice and allow for historical trajectories to be drawn from the 1970s to the present?

GS : In many ways my film practice has remained the same, but circumstances have changed so dramatically that it is now a very different kind of practice. The digital era means that artists working in film rethink the medium to develop its unique qualities. In my film performances with Lynn Loo we intervene during performance, changing image-size, position, focus, overlaying images from several projectors as well as working with the projectors’ optical sounds via filters, mixer and so on. And it’s important that we perform our projectors in the same space as the audience. All this contributes to the live immediacy and physical presence of the works; such as Vowels & Consonants , Cycles #3, Washi #2 and Mobius Loops . The materiality of film was stressed in the 1970s primarily by artists working at the LFMC, but the context was so different. The emphasis at that time was on the materiality of the viewing experience in dire opposition to the seductive illusionism of mainstream cinema. Our film practice today also values that aspect of materiality but puts more emphasis on the physical, mechanical and indexical properties of film as distinct from digital’s virtuality, and absence.

Cycles #3 , Guy Sherwin

WR: I think there are detectable traces of my origins in structural film evident in the recent films I have made. It is more obvious in some films than others and I would single out two examples. The first is the three-screen film installation After Duchamp (2003). I had the idea back in 1975 but it wasn’t until Karen Mirza and Brad Butler invited me to make and present the work at their Light Reading series at the 291 Gallery in London that the installation came into being. Another example is About Now MMX (2010) that creates a cinematic map of London from the aerial viewpoint of Erno Goldfinger’s Balfron Tower in east London. The use of time-lapse and the way that the camera is constantly tracking across the city below emphasizes the frame-by-frameness of the film’s construction to produce a sense of fragmentary time that is common to some of my films made in the early ‘70s such as Angles of Incidence (1973) for example. Whilst it is probably harder to connect a film like The Houseless Shadow (2011) to work from the ‘70s, there remains in all my work a minimalist approach, or economy of means, that goes back to the first films I made.

PGH: Could you say something about medium specificity and film’s analogue materiality and hands-on tangibility within the digital realm?

GS: I’ve answered that in response to the previous question, but there are also additional contexts. Lynn and I are sometimes invited to perform at sound /music /noise festivals and venues: El Nicho in Mexico City; Asso/Cable/MIRE in Nantes; Audiograft in Oxford; Cafe Oto in London. Musicians working digitally often seek material qualities in the production of sound (to give presence and evidence to live performance) and can look to film, to the materiality of the projectors’ optical sound as well as other ways that the projector machine and the filmstrip itself can make its aural presence felt, through contact mikes, photo resistors, etc.

MLG: I have recently been asked similar questions in various forms. This mainly derives from the change in production and exhibition media from film to video and then digital systems. I began working with computers in 1968 together with considering other forms of technologies. I have never seen an opposition between what is now known as the digital and the traditional technologies of cinema. My early work was very strongly focused on the physicality of the medium – filmstrip, scratches, sprockets etc. – and on the physicality of the projection – space, light beam and screen. I saw this as a form of stress on current reality for the spectator in opposition to the dominant illusionist tradition of cinema. In retrospect I see this as a strategic or symbolic stress on the condition of presence rather than some historically permanent fundamental condition of cinema. In many articles that take on the issues of the digital in media, I have argued that the digital effectively has no ‘physical’ condition as a medium – that it is not a ‘medium’ in the same way that painting, sculpture or film is a medium. At all levels, digital systems do not have any intrinsic form or permanent condition relating production to distribution or exhibition. The digital transactions themselves – electronic pulses at near the speed of light – are not available to our senses directly and how they are translated into sensory form is a matter of continually developing output and distribution technologies.

In order to deal with this loss of a seemingly permanent filmic physicality, in my practice I have replaced the notion of medium with discourse where the temporal, visual and auditory manipulations (form – sequence – change – KINEMATICS) become the symbolic reference point. I no longer talk about film but cinema in this kinematic sense (not in the sense of popular cinema institution and industry). It is true that this change has represented a difficulty in my own practice. I have been troubled by the illusionistic transparency of High Definition video but have chosen to ‘take this on’ rather than continuously re-work the ‘safer’ aesthetic of filmic materiality. Rightly or wrongly, I have incorporated some of the ‘strategies’ of presence like multi-projection offering spectator choice in construction of the experience as in FINITI (2011) for example. And strategies of image transformation (digital rather than film re-printing) as in Even a Cyclops Pays the Ferryman (1998) for example and in the 3D Where When (2015) using layering of symbolic fields again offering choices and alternative constructions to the spectator. I have also re-explored the blank or colour-field screen as in the 3D Marking Time (2015) – a reference back to projection – a starting point of cinema-zero that began for me with installations and works like Matrix [1973].

WR: From 1970 to 2010, all my films had been shot on either 16mm or 35mm film. I loved working on film for many reasons, not least because of its tactility at both camera and editing stages but also because I felt that 40 years of experience having worked with the medium gave me considerable confidence in putting up images on the screen that I wanted to show. The Houseless Shadow was my first digital production and the two subsequent films Time and the Wave (2013) and 72-82 (2014) have all been produced digitally.

I still think there is an undeniable difference between film and digital so the idea of medium-specificity remains important to me – as does the idea of the indexical signifier. A film that is produced entirely within analogue means of production will always expose to the audience evidential traces of manipulation whether in terms of dust marks and scratches or through the effects of rephotography and optical printing, the interventions that have been made cannot be easily concealed from a discerning audience. I don’t think that one can consider the indexical signifier in the same way with digital. The postproduction processes allow for so many ways in which ‘mistakes’ can be rectified or erased from filtering out dust marks and scratches to altering the picture by matte effects and so on, that I feel that the digital movie becomes as much about erasure as inscription.

PGH: Is continuing to work with film an anachronistic activity, fetishising the materiality of the medium and its apparatus of display? Or does film continue to provide new possibilities for filmmaking and audience engagement?

GS: The people who fetishise film are more likely to be viewers than filmmakers. To be an artist working in film is utterly different from working with digital video; film has qualities of tactility, immediacy and presence not possible with video. Maybe there is a parallel here with painting and the way it sought to redefine itself after the invention of photography? Sally Golding, Greg Pope, Bruce McClure, Gaelle Rouard, Metamkine, Silvi Simon and many others have found ways to work with film’s material qualities in new and exciting ways.

MLG: Fetishising would be a harsh judgment as there are artists like Guy Sherwin and Lynn Loo who continue to produce exciting and inventive works using minimal elements of film. One might equally see an insistence on digital experiment as a form of fetish – the obsession with technology is equally suspect. For myself, I continue to want to explore an artistic invention that links technology as a form of language with the construction of an aesthetic (experiential) philosophy. At this point in cinematic history the options for production and distribution/exhibition are vast and developing – the main issue remains the ‘meaning’ of the work and its ‘ethical’ relationship to the audience – as Fats Waller said – “It ain’t what you do – it’s the way that you do it”.

WR: I switched to working with digital out of necessity in 2011 because the last laboratory in London that could produce film prints closed down. It is still just about possible to get films printed in Europe but the waiting time and shipping cost make it impractical and prohibitively expensive. Some filmmakers are attached to the idea of a DIY ethic and places such as no.w.here laboratory in London still offer the opportunity for people to develop and print their own black and white films but since I stopped working at the London Filmmakers’ Co-op Laboratory in 1976, I came to increasingly rely on commercial laboratories. Personally, I think that continuing to work with the film medium has become an anachronistic activity. It is massively more expensive than digital means of production. Although the shutter in the film projector introduces a slight flicker effect that makes it intrinsically different to video projection, film projectors do not have the same light intensity that modern digital projectors surpass and I have yet to be persuaded that projected film carries the same level of tonality and detail as digital projection. Film projection is rapidly becoming a lost art now that the majority of films screened in the UK are shown digitally. Digital projection is chemically inert and static whereas with film, even a static image there is always a slight tremble to the image. If film is about the look, then digital is about the stare.

• Guy Sherwin, Optical Sound Films , (London: Lux, 2007), p. 15. ↩
• Guy Sherwin, ‘Live Cinema: Sound & Image Guy Sherwin’ OEI – On Film #69-70 (2015), p. 208. ↩
• ibid., p. 210. ↩
• William Raban, Materiality of Time , Professorial Platform, University of the Arts, London, 2015, p. 15. ↩
• See the interview response below. ↩
• Tom Harrad, ‘Interview with John Smith’ in The White Review (March 2014), http://www.thewhitereview.org/interviews/interview-with-john-smith/ ↩
• Ibid. ↩

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What are the Best Experimental Films of All Time?

It's time to check out the other side of filmmaking..

Endless Poetry by Jodorowsky

Sometimes I get so caught up in narrative cinema that I forget there's a whole realm of artists out there doing beautiful and interesting work on the experimental side of things. Experimental film is so much fun. It's a place where all artistic representation matters, and it's somewhere I go when I want to be challenged.

If you've never fully indulged in the weirder, artsier side of cinema—or are already a fan and want to celebrate it—I want to take you through the world of experimental movies, with some history and characteristics, and dig into some of the greatest to ever grace our screens.

Sound good?

Let's dive in.

What is Experimental Film?

The experimental genre in film and TV refers to productions that deviate from the traditional narrative structure and style of mainstream entertainment.

These productions often challenge viewers to think outside the box and explore unconventional ideas and perspectives.

It is characterized by its willingness to take risks and push boundaries, whether through abstract visuals, innovative storytelling techniques, or unconventional editing styles

The Characteristics of Experimental Film

Many experimental films use other disciplines like painting, dance, literature, and poetry.

What I love about this is is that its art that's being created mastering other art. And as new artistic endeavors arise, we often see that added into experimental outputs.

Key Characteristics:

• Non-linear Narrative: Experimental films often lack a traditional plot or linear narrative structure. They may be abstract, fragmented, or entirely devoid of a storyline.
• Visual and Sound Experimentation: These films often experiment with visual and sound elements, using techniques like collage, montage, superimposition, slow motion, and distorted or manipulated sounds.
• Exploration of Themes: Experimental cinema can explore a wide range of themes, including the subconscious, dreams, memory, perception, identity, and social and political issues.
• Personal Expression: Many experimental films are deeply personal works, reflecting the filmmaker's unique vision and artistic expression.

Experimental Film Techniques:

• Found Footage: Using pre-existing film or video footage in a new context.
• Direct Animation: Scratching or painting directly onto film strips.
• Structural Film: Focusing on the material properties of film, such as light, movement, and time.
• Expanded Cinema: Combining film with live performance, installation art, or other multimedia elements.

A Brief History of Experimental Film

film-grab.com

The roots of experimental cinema can be traced back to the early days of filmmaking, with filmmakers like Georges Méliès experimenting with visual effects and trick photography in the late 19th century.

However, it was during the early 20th century, with the rise of Dadaism and Surrealism, that experimental cinema truly began to flourish. These art movements, with their emphasis on challenging conventions and exploring the subconscious, found a natural expression in the medium of film.

In the 1920s and 1930s, filmmakers like Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí created surrealist films that shocked and bewildered audiences with their dreamlike imagery and unconventional narratives.

These early experiments paved the way for a wave of avant-garde filmmakers in the postwar era, who pushed the boundaries of cinema even further.

The 1960s and 1970s saw a surge in experimental filmmaking, with filmmakers like Stan Brakhage, Maya Deren, and Kenneth Anger exploring new techniques and pushing the limits of what was considered possible in film.

These filmmakers often worked outside of the mainstream film industry, creating films that were personal, challenging, and often deeply political.

The Impact of Experimental Film Across the Globe

Experimental cinema challenges viewers to rethink their expectations of what a film can be. It encourages critical thinking, provokes emotional responses, and opens up new possibilities for artistic expression.

These films have often been at the forefront of social and political movements, challenging dominant ideologies and giving voice to marginalized communities.

While experimental films may not always be commercially successful or widely seen, they have a significant impact on the world of art and culture.

They have influenced mainstream filmmakers, inspired new artistic movements, and sparked important conversations about the nature of reality, perception, and human experience.

Artistic Influence:

• Mainstream Cinema: Experimental film techniques and aesthetics have been adopted and adapted by mainstream filmmakers. For example, the use of montage, slow motion, and fragmented narratives can be traced back to early experimental films.
• Music Videos: The music video industry is a direct beneficiary of experimental film. The use of visual metaphors, rapid editing, and unconventional storytelling in music videos often draws inspiration from experimental cinema.
• Visual Arts: Experimental film has had a profound impact on visual artists. The use of found footage, collage, and manipulation of film stock has inspired many artists to experiment with new forms and techniques.
• Other Art Forms: The influence of experimental film extends beyond the visual arts. Its impact can be seen in dance, theatre, and literature, where artists have embraced non-linear narratives, fragmentation, and experimentation with form.

Cultural and Social Impact:

• Challenging Conventions: Experimental film has always challenged societal norms and conventions. It has often tackled taboo subjects, questioned authority, and given voice to marginalized communities.
• Political Activism: Experimental filmmakers have often used their work as a tool for social and political activism. They have shed light on social issues, challenged oppressive regimes, and advocated for change.
• Global Dialogue: Experimental film festivals and screenings provide a platform for filmmakers from around the world to share their work and engage in dialogue. This cross-cultural exchange of ideas and perspectives has enriched the global film community.

Specific Examples of Global Impact:

• Latin America: The Third Cinema movement in Latin America in the 1960s and 1970s was heavily influenced by experimental film. Filmmakers used cinema as a tool to challenge political oppression and social injustice.
• Japan: The Japanese avant-garde film movement in the 1960s and 1970s produced a wealth of experimental films that challenged traditional Japanese aesthetics and explored new forms of expression.
• Europe: European experimental film has a long and rich history, with filmmakers pushing boundaries and experimenting with new technologies. The European avant-garde has inspired filmmakers around the world.
• Africa: African experimental filmmakers have used film to document social and political struggles, challenge stereotypes, and express unique cultural identities.

The Best Experimental Films

So, what are the best experimental films of all time?

The following list showcases 50 of the most groundbreaking and influential experimental films of all time, spanning various eras and styles.

There is so set order, just a bunch of ones I think everyone should check out.

• Un Chien Andalou (1929) - Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí
• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) - Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid
• Entr'acte (1924) - René Clair
• Man with a Movie Camera (1929) - Dziga Vertov
• L'Age d'Or (1930) - Luis Buñuel
• A Movie (1958) - Bruce Conner
• Wavelength (1967) - Michael Snow
• Dog Star Man (1964) - Stan Brakhage
• The Blood of a Poet (1930) - Jean Cocteau
• Scorpio Rising (1963) - Kenneth Anger
• Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) - Kenneth Anger
• Flaming Creatures (1963) - Jack Smith
• Rose Hobart (1936) - Joseph Cornell
• Mothlight (1963) - Stan Brakhage
• La Jetée (1962) - Chris Marker
• Fuses (1964) - Carolee Schneemann
• The Dante Quartet (1987) - Stan Brakhage
• Line Describing a Cone (1973) - Anthony McCall
• Light Is Waiting (2007) - Michael Snow
• The Flicker (1966) - Tony Conrad
• Ballet Mécanique (1924) - Fernand Léger
• The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928) - Germaine Dulac
• Anemic Cinema (1926) - Marcel Duchamp
• Berlin: Symphony of a Great City (1927) - Walter Ruttmann
• Emak Bakia (1926) - Man Ray
• Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946) - Maya Deren
• At Land (1944) - Maya Deren
• A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945) - Maya Deren
• The Very Eye of Night (1958) - Maya Deren
• Window Water Baby Moving (1959) - Stan Brakhage
• Bridges-Go-Round (1958) - Shirley Clarke
• Serene Velocity (1970) - Ernie Gehr
• Zorns Lemma (1970) - Hollis Frampton
• The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (1971) - Stan Brakhage
• The Girl Chewing Gum (1976) - John Smith
• Report (1967) - Bruce Conner
• Reassemblage (1982) - Trinh T. Minh-ha
• Tongues Untied (1989) - Marlon Riggs
• Handsworth Songs (1986) - Black Audio Film Collective
• Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) - William Greaves
• The Clock (2010) - Christian Marclay
• The Grand Bizarre (2018) - Jodie Mack
• Leviathan (2012) - Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
• Sans Soleil (1983) - Chris Marker
• Decasia (2002) - Bill Morrison
• Blue (1993) - Derek Jarman
• Last Year at Marienbad (1961) - Alain Resnais
• Persona (1966) - Ingmar Bergman
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989) - Shinya Tsukamoto
• Eraserhead (1977) - David Lynch

This list barely scratches the surface of the vast and diverse world of experimental cinema.

Each film on this list represents a unique and daring exploration of the medium, pushing the boundaries of what is possible in film and leaving a lasting impact on the world of art and culture.

But maybe I left off your favorite. If so, I want to hear about it.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

• How Can You Get Narrative Ideas From Watching Non-Narrative Films? ›
• Charlie Cole's Experimental Short 'Waterfall' Reminds Us of The Importance of Form ›
• Experimental Filmmaking for Dummies (Part 1): Why You Should Be Making Experimental Films ›
• Where is a good online place for new experimental film/video? - Quora ›
• 50 Avant Garde and Experimental Cinema Gallery ›
• What are some good experimental films? : r/flicks ›

How to Write the Best Fight Scenes

Ready for battle here are 5 tips to punch-up your fight scenes.

So you’re midway through act one and it’s time for your characters to throw down. Writing a fight scene can put a lot of pressure on the screenwriter. It’s hard to know how the fight will look on the page. You don’t want it to go on too long, and you don’t want it to be so short there’s no tension. And what if you've got multiple people throwing down at once?

This is also where the internal and external conflict comes into play. Tread carefully!

It's awesome fight scene day at No Film School . And while no fight scene will be as awesome as this one from Undefeatable (1983) - which you can check out in this behind-the-scenes interview here - let's take a look at how you can learn to write some punched-up, high-kicking fight scenes of your own.

How To Write Fight Scenes in Your Screenplay

Writing fight scenes is more than just blocks of action. You need to keep in mind the flow of the story, the tone, and even the characters relations to the setting around them.

If you're new to screenwriting or want to brush up on your action writing techniques, I recommend this video from John August .

For the rest of you, let’s jump right into learning how to write fight scenes.

1 - Make Your Fight Scene Personal

In general, you want the stuff happening in your screenplay to matter to the characters. That’s like... rule one of all screenwriting. And fighting is no different.

Still, in action scenes, it’s easy just to have random people attacking. You want punches to be thrown, but you want the consequences of those punches to matter personally.

Think about the scene in Fight Club where Edward Norton beats himself up.

_________________________

Jack PUNCHES HIMSELF in the nose. Blood starts to trickle.

He punches himself in the jaw, throws himself back as if by the force of the punch, SLAMS against a framed picture and SHATTERS the glass. He falls to the floor. JACK (V.O.) I Am Jack's Smirking Revenge. Jack gets back to his feet. JACK Please... don't hit me again, please. I'm your responsibility... He PUNCHES himself in the stomach, then in the jaw again. He reels backward, pulls down a hanging shelf, its contents flying. He hits the floor. JACK (V.O.) For some reason, I thought of my first fight -- with Tyler. Jack crawls toward Boss, dripping blood, grabs Boss's leg. JACK Please... give me the paychecks like I asked for. I won't be any trouble. You won't see me again. Jack climbs up Boss's leg while Boss tries to shake him off. Boss stumbles back into his desk, knocking off belongings. JACK (V.O.) Under and behind and inside everything this man took for granted, something horrible had been growing. Jack crawls high enough to grab Boss's belt, hoisting himself up. He dribbles blood a Boss's clothing, SMUDGES blood from his face onto the knuckles of Boss's hand. JACK Please... please... JACK (V.O.) And right then, at our most excellent moment together... Two SECURITY GUARDS enter and gape at the sight. Behind them stand CURIOUS WORKERS, looking in. JACK (gurgling blood) Please don't hit me again.

Now, this scene is exceptionally personal, because its a guy beating himself up. But look at the way the beats are laid out on the page.

The writing is sparse. We feel every punch, but it doesn't go overboard. We know WHY this is happening, and we have the execution for how it should happen as well.

It also reads fast - we are always moving.

It creates tension between two people. In this scene, even though Jack is the aggressor, he's also the one being hit. This juxtaposition gives the audience a clear person to root for, and clear emotions about the scene.

We’re rooting for Jack’s toxic masculinity here. Even though the boss is a victim in this situation.

This fits the theme of the screenplay and leads us into our next fight scene tip.

2 - The Best Fight Scenes Fit the Rest of the Script

Now, all the examples you see here will fit the tones of their respective screenplays, because professional screenwriters wrote them. And I think it would be mean to just grab some bad ones and shame those people.

I’m not into being mean. This is a "writing fight scenes" post. But I don’t want to hurt you.

In a movie like The Hunger Games , the violence is antithetical to the message. That means if you're writing a script about how you want violence to end, you have to make the action on the page both exciting and reconcile that theme.

So let’s look at a fight scene in the middle of the movie.

__________________

Katniss scans the Cornucopia - all those weapons. Knives, spears, maces, clubs. And a BOW AND ARROWS... 40 seconds, 39, 38...There's nothing but a plain of hardpacked dirt between her and that bow, except the fact that the 23 other Tributes might be running for it too.

She swallows hard, her breaths shallow. Watching the others: Cato, Clove, Marvel, Glimmer, Thresh, Bravura - they all look so steely. Aren't they terrified too? They don't seem it. But Rue does. The little thing is trembling. Fox-Face too ...

20 seconds, 19, 18... The whole world is that bow. Katniss has to have it. Then she sees Peeta, looking right at her... shaking his head as if to talk her out of running for it. Concentration broken, that fast. Katniss loses her edge.

Nine seconds, 8, eyes darting, 6, 5, hands clenched, 3, 2 ... until Bravura can't wait any longer. He steps off his platform just as the clock hits one, and: ... he EXPLODES, just like that. A LANDMINE - sending pieces of him spraying in all directions. The countdown stops. No one breathes. Or blinks. We hear a CANNON BLAST. Then the clock resumes - ONE, ZERO - before Katniss can regroup. And a LOUD GONG goes off…

... and it has begun. The Tributes burst from their platforms, racing for the Cornucopia.

It's a dizzying, chaotic blur - CHILDREN, running for weapons. We hear our first SCREAM. Katniss turns. A GROAN nearby - someone dying. CANNON BLAST #2.

There's a loaf of bread ten feet away, beside a folded up sheet of plastic and an orange BACKPACK. Katniss lunges forward, grabs the bread, the plastic, and…

Wait, there are suddenly FOUR HANDS on the backpack: hers and those of the BOY FROM 9. They grapple for it. Both confused, disoriented, desperate. His eyes narrow, determined. Then a lost look crosses them. And red spray plumes from his mouth. He staggers forward, releasing his grip on the pack. ... revealing a knife in his back - thrown from 20 yards away - by Clove, who has two more knives in hand. Katniss freezes. Then she wheels, sprinting away while throwing the backpack over her shoulders. We hear a deadly WHIZZING sound... This knife implants itself in the backpack. Katniss keeps running, doesn't look back, leaving behind the horror of the Cornucopia. Adolescents killing each other.

And each time a body falls, another CANNON BLAST can be heard. Three, four, five... Katniss keeps running.

Okay, so let’s talk about how this fight scene works within the story’s tone, and the screenplays flow. This script is all about a unique world it’s building, and the inhumanity of that world.

This scene ramps up the excitement. We can feel the countdown. The beginning of this scene sells us on how and why the Hunger Games have survived all these years.

But then we are reminded of the death that comes with it. Of the children who are going to die during it.

This is an excellent reminder of the moral complexity at the heart of the film.

The style here is also important. Short bursts of action, followed up by consequences. A mood is set and followed up on.

We don’t spend time beating this information into the people. Just deliver it and move on.

If you want to know how to write good fight scenes, you need to focus on your story.

3 - The Best Fight Scenes Don't Beat a Dead Horse

You’re writing the blueprint for a movie. We can debate whether or not the screenplay is a literary artifact all we want but at the end of the day, this needs to hit the screen.

That means, don't waste time reiterating what’s happening. Just show it to us and move on. Write like you're editing the movie in your brain.

This platitude works in even the most complicated of fights scenes. Like Helm’s Deep, from The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers .

WIDE ON: THE URUK-HAI continue advancing on HELM’S DEEP. VOLLEY after VOLLEY of arrows are launched into the fray felling the frontline over and over, but the advance cannot be halted...

ANGLE ON: URUK-HAI launch arrows from crossbows into the

ALLIANCE...ELVES and MEN fall to their doom among the approaching throng...the URUK-HAI produce ladders and mount them against the WALL.

ANGLE ON: ARAGORN looks down to this new peril.

ARAGORN (in ELVISH; subtitled) Pendraid! Ladders!

ANGLE ON: GIMLI jumps with glee.

GIMLI Good!

ANGLE ON: Ladders with URUK-HAI riders are raised against the WALL.

ARAGORN Swords! Swords!

ANGLE ON: The ELVES draw their swords and prepare for close combat.

ANGLE ON: The first URUK-HAI comes over the wall and GIMLI is the first to make contact.

QUICK SERIES OF CUTS: The URUK-HAI begin pouring over the wall...the MEN and ELVES battle against them.

First off, this is a truly bad-ass scene. One of the best action scenes of recent memory, and a great piece to study if you want to learn how to write combat scenes in general.

Peter Jackson is a master director, but when we look at the blueprint of the screenplay, it’s pretty sparse.

We’re not going overboard on the amount of Uruk-hai charging. Or the death and arrows. This is a great way to put a massive battle out onto the page. We have a clear idea of who is commanding what, and how the shots will line up in the edit.

This awesome fight scene helps push the drama to the next level.

The action is balanced. It reads quickly, and we can imagine each snippet as they pass through our brain.

And imagination is important. Especially as emotions take over. If you're trying to write action scenes you can get lost in all the details you imagine, but a better method is to give a few key details and let the other ones be imagined by the reader.

4 - Learn How to Write Good Fight Scenes By Putting the Emotions on the Page

We talk a lot about how to strategize your fight scenes when it comes to action writing, but you also want to clue the audience in on how they should feel when it’s happening.

Much like when The Hunger Games emphasizes the death of kids, you want to audience to either revel in the battle or deal with the complicated emotions that go along with violence.

For my money, John Logan is one of the greatest writers of all time.

And his script for Gladiator demonstrates how to write a fight scene.

INT. COLOSSEUM - ARENA - DAY Tiger waits. He stands in the center of the arena. He has only a traditional short sword. The crowd is breathless with anticipation. As: CASSIUS (orating) And from the rocky promontories and martial bloodlines of Spain... representing the training lyceum of Proximo Antoninus... I give you... THE WARRIOR MAXIMUS! The crowd cheers. Maximus appears from his gate. His fans have increased in number considerably. They eagerly crane forward and celebrate him. Meanwhile, Maximus looks at Tiger. Only one man with a sword? Maximus approaches, cautious but confident. He stops a few feet from Tiger. They lock eyes, salute each other and then turn to the Imperial Box, raising their swords. The crowd waits eagerly for the immortal words... MAXIMUS AND TIGER We who are about to die salute you. The crowd cheers and Maximus immediately turns and starts slashing -- Tiger easily blocks and strikes back -- The swordplay is very fast -- they block and parry and hack like lightning -- constantly attacking -- they are perfectly matched -- As he fights Maximus becomes aware of a strange sound over the roar of the crowd -- a low rumbling -- then he feels something -- a vibration in the ground -- Suddenly traps doors swing open and four enormous platforms rise into view. On each platform is a snarling Bengal tiger restrained by a chain. Tiger's teams of "cornermen" hold the chains through a pulley system. The cornermen are safely inside cages. The platforms stop at ground level. The four ferocious tigers now mark the four corners of the battleground. Tiger takes advantage of Maximus' momentary confusion and assaults brutally -- forcing him back toward one of the tigers -- the tiger claws for Maximus -- Maximus just evades it claws -- rolls for a new position -- another tiger snaps at him -- Tiger attacks -- Maximus is on the defensive -- fighting off Tiger and evading the four snarling beasts -- And then all four tigers are suddenly closer. The teams of cornermen are letting the chains play out, bit by bit, gradually reducing the size of the battleground. The crowd roars. But the fight is hardly fair. Whenever Tiger is near one of the tigers the cornermen pull back the tiger slightly -- when Maximus is near a tiger they let it out a bit. Maximus and Tiger fight -- swirling action -- finally, Maximus has the edge -- he circles so that the sun stabs into Tiger's eyes -- then Maximus lunges forward under Tiger's swinging sword and SLAMS into him -- they fall -- a tiger swats at Maximus' face -- he jerks his head back -- he shoots out a leg and kicks Tiger's sword toward one of the tigers -- it is out of reach -- Maximus leaps up and stands over the winded Tiger, sword to his throat. Tiger is gasping for breath, crushed. Then one of Tiger's corners suddenly cheats -- they completely release a tiger -- it leaps for Maximus -- Maximus barely has time to turn -- the tiger crashes into him -- its claws slashing into his back, cutting through his leather armor -- Maximus shoves an armored forearm into the tiger's jaws and stabs with his sword -- Tiger takes this chance to pull himself up -- one of his corners throws him another sword -- the crowd boos -- Maximus wrestles with the tiger -- spinning it around with superhuman effort so it is always between himself and Tiger -- so that Tiger can't get at him -- Maximus finally kills the tiger and leaps for Tiger -- he quickly disarms him and tosses him to the ground -- Maximus stands over him -- ready to administer the coup de grace. All eyes turn to the Emperor. Commodus slowly stands and steps to the edge of the Imperial Box. He raises his arm and gives the fatal thumbs down. Maximus looks up at him. And then defiantly tosses the sword to the ground, refusing to kill Tiger. Commodus is stunned. The crowd gasps -- a collective intake of breath -- and then an enormous roar building. It cascades around the Colosseum. It is a roaring celebration of the unexpected act of mercy. And the delicious act of defiance of the Emperor. Commodus slowly sits. Maximus walks across the arena -- the people stand and cheer for him. Cries of "Maximus the Merciful" can be heard. It is the birth of a hero.

I mean W-O-W.

Logan is a master, so I want to take this moment to apologize for not being him for you readers, but I’m gonna spend my life trying.

Think about how you felt the first time you ever saw that scene. If you haven't seen that scene yet, then just go watch it now and thank me later.

How can we tell what emotions are present in this scene?

Well, in the beginning, we can sense the foreboding, but as the fight begins, Logan takes special care to annunciate the facts to use. We know the fight isn't fair, and we know the crowd matters. As he takes us through this, he’s building up for the mic drop.

“It is the birth of a hero.”

Okay, now we not only know what happens in this scene, but we also know WHY the scene matters outside of the fight.

Little touches like this accentuate your writing style and take your writing to the next level.

Sometimes it’s not just about the fight, but what happens after. It's about what the fight means. Stakes.

Writing fight scenes is not unlike writing every other scene; the stakes and the drama make all the difference.

5 - Spending Time on the Aftermath is Key to the Best Fight Scene

Where does this fight take you?

Is a hero born?

A new confidence found?

Does someone die, or maybe some part of them dies?

After every battle, give us a second to breathe. And To set up why this fight meant something. Win or lose, we need to know the repercussions that follow.

EXT. BRIDGE STREET ­ DAY HULK throws IRON MAN off him. Thor and Cap run over to him. Thor RIPS off Tony's helmet. He appears to be dead. They stand around not sure. Then... THE HULK YELLS IN FURY. THE NOISE STARTLES TONY AWAKE. TONY What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me? CAPTAIN AMERICA (A BEAT) We won. TONY Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it. THOR (looking up at Stark Tower) We're not finished yet. A beat. TONY And then shawarma after. INT. STARK PENTHOUSE ­ DAY Loki crawls onto the stair, looking like a piece of shit rag doll. He takes a few breathers, senses someone is behind him. He turns TO FIND THE AVENGERS STARING AT HIM, PISSED. LOKI If it's all the same to you. I'll have that drink. THE HULK SNORTS AT HIM.

Aside from humor, the aftermath of this scene ties up the whole movie. The Avengers was about this team coming together as one.

By spending time in the aftermath of this insane battle, we get to solidify the theme, get some levity out, and nail that this team will be together for a long time.

At least, until there’s a Civil War.

Make sure that when your characters take a break, we feel what they feel after its over.

Whether they are protagonists or antagonists , their feelings matter.

Look at the polar opposite of this Avengers battle. The neck-break in Man of Steel .

In these moments of the aftermath, we see a guy who compromised everything he believed in to save a city. It ruins him. And contributes to the downer of an ending.

Your fight scenes matter. Figure out how they’ll affect the characters moving forward. And the audience too.

After all, you want your screenplay to be successful. You can always rewrite !

Summing Up How to Write the Best Fight Scenes

Now that you understand the five tips on how to write good fight scenes, I can’t wait to see them in your own writing.

Join us for the Free Screenwriting Seminar, or just add these scenes to that pilot you've been working on for staffing season.

Remember, make it matter to the characters and always appeal to the emotions at hand.

Now go back to your corner, take out your mouth guard, and get writing!

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By Amelia Ames

April 17, 2017

After MoMA's Bruce Conner retrospective this past summer and the Whitney's celebrated "Dreamlands: Immersive Cinema and Art" survey, experimental film finally seems to be back on the New York art world's agenda. But for a long time, film was the thorn of art history after that thing called "Hollywood" came along, which threatened the avant-garde film's separation from mainstream cinema.

Experimental or avant-garde film can be traced all the way back to canonical artists like Marcel Duchamp and Many Ray , but what happens post-Hollywood? Here's a quick guide to postwar experimental film in the United States, ranging from Expanded Cinema of the '60s to the origins of underground queer cinema with artists like Jack Smith. We've got the critics and the crucial texts you need to read (each essay has been linked) and the artists you need to know.

Expanded Cinema of the '60s

Critic to Know: GENE YOUNGBLOOD Seminal Text to Know: Expanded Cinema (1970)

Gene Youngblood was a crucial theorist of media arts and alternative cinema during the 1960s and '70s. He was the first to consider video an art form, folding computer and media art into the genre. His seminal book Expanded Cinema was the first to define one of the most heterogeneous movements in film history. As you can probably guess from term, “expanded cinema” refers to cinema that expands beyond the bounds of traditional uses of celluloid film, to inhabit a wide range of other materials and forms including video, television, light shows, computer art, multimedia installation and performance, kinetic sculpture, theater, and even holography. Mixing psychedelic consciousness and Marxist theory, Youngblood explains “when we say expanded cinema we actually mean an expanded consciousness.” So if you’re still confused after seeing Stan Vanderbeek’s immersive psychedelic Movie Drome (1965) at the Whitney’s Dreamlands exhibition this year, take a look at the first chapter of Youngblood’s Expanded Cinema (the entire book is available on the PDF link above).

ARTISTS TO KNOW: Stan Vanderbeek, Carolee Schneemann , Malcom Le Grice, Mark Leckey

Found Footage Film

Critic to Know: CRAIG BALDWIN Seminal Text to Know: From Junk to Funk to Punk to Link : A survey of found-footage film in San Francisco Bay Area

Any narrative of postwar experimental film has to begin in California. Reacting against the expansion of Hollywood, experimental film was, in essence, a form of cinema that radically opposed the aesthetics and politics of mainstream media. The rise of psychedelic light shows, beatnik films, and alternative outdoor venues like Canyon Cinema (a filmmakers cooperative started by Bruce Baillie that exhibited independent, non-commercial film) all lead the Bay area to become an epicenter of avant-garde film in the second half of the century. Experimental filmmaker Craig Baldwin’s essay “From Junk to Funk to Punk to Link” is a must-read for anyone interested in a short genealogy of found footage film, seen in likes of Bruce Conner and Gunvor Nelson's work. A pioneer of found-footage himself, Baldwin remains in San Francisco to this day where he continues to program content for Artist’s Television Access, which broadcasts art films on Public-access television. For more on experimental film in the Bay Area click here to see the Berkeley Art Museum’s catalogue, “Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-2000.”

ARTISTS TO KNOW: Bruce Conner , Craig Baldwin, Robert & Gunvor Nelson, Chick Strand

Structuralist Film

Critic to Know: PETER GIDAL Seminal Text: "Introduction" of Structural Film Anthology (1976)

Structuralist or Materialist film is what Minimalism was to sculpture in the 1960s. In his paradigm book Structural Film Anthology (1976), English theoretician and filmmaker Peter Gidal writes frankly that "Structural/Materialist film attempts to be non-illusionist" in its attempt to "demystify the film process." Structuralist film, like Minimalist objects, doesn't actually represent anything. Instead, it exposes the relations between the camera and the way an image is presented, and explores the characteristics specific to the medium—spotlighting elements like flatness, grain, light, and movement. Tony Conrad's film The Flicker (1966), exemplary of the movement, consists purely of rapidly alternating black and white frames, achieving a kind of strobe light effect. If you're hesitant to submit yourself to the full fifteen minutes of Flicker (we don't blame you), then take a look at Gidal's introduction in the Structural Film Anthology to get a better idea about what this strange movement was really about.

ARTISTS TO KNOW: Tony Conrad, Hollis Frampton, Michael Snow

Feminist Film

Critic to Know: LAURA MULVEY Seminal Text: Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema (1975)

Laura Mulvey is a British feminist film theorist, currently teaching film and media studies at Birbeck, University of London. Drawing from psychoanalysts Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan, Mulvey’s seminal essay “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” (1975) was crucial in inaugurating the intersection of film theory, psychoanalysis, and feminism. Mulvey was the first to term what has come to be known as the “male gaze.” In the essay, she argues that classic Hollywood cinema inevitably positioned the spectator as a masculine and active voyeur, and the passive woman on screen as object of his scopic desire. The essay challenged conventional film theory and paved the way for an entire era of feminist artist’s work on the male gaze (think Cindy Sherman’s Untitled film stills.). After reading “Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema” you’ll never look at a Hitchcock or John Wayne the same.

ARTISTS TO KNOW: Peggy Ahwesh, Barbara Hammer, Laurie Simmons

Camp & Queer Cinema

Critic to Know: SUSAN SONTAG Seminal Text: "Notes On Camp" (1964)

Susan Sontag was one of the most revered writers, filmmakers, political activists, and critics of her generation. Sontag wrote extensively about photography, culture and media, AIDS, and the Vietnam War. Sontag’s most well known essay, “Notes on Camp,” is crucial for anyone interested in the legacy of queer filmmakers like Jack Smith, who is most known for his banned film Flaming Creatures (1963) that right-wing politician Strom Thurmand mentioned in anti-pornography speeches. Although Sontag does not define camp, she writes that the essence of a “camp” sensibility lies in “its love of the unnatural: of artifice and exaggeration.” For anyone interested in the kitschy, exotic films of Jack Smith and underground Queer Cinema, Sontag’s “Notes on Camp” is a must.

ARTISTS TO KNOW: Jack Smith, Andy Warhol , Isaac Julien

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A Critical Guide to Understanding Experimental Film

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Toronto film festival 2024: all of deadline’s movie reviews, 50 avant garde and experimental films gallery: from ‘meshes of the afternoon’, ‘the holy mountain’, ‘scorpio rising’ to ‘the lighthouse’ & more.

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Since the creation of the camera and the dawn of cinema, film has been one long experiment. Experimental film has often been defined through its rejection of traditional storytelling and structure, its defiance of logic or reason while creating mesmerizing scenes through dreamlike abstraction and subjective narrative.

A key figure in the early history of experimental film was the French filmmaker Georges Méliès. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, Méliès was one of the first filmmakers to use special effects and trick photography to create fantastical and surreal images on the screen. His films, such as A Trip to the Moon and The Impossible Voyage , were some of the first examples of what would later be called experimental film. Another important trailblazer during the silent era was female director Lois Weber who is credited in creating an estimated 200 to 400 films. She was credited with pioneering the use of the split screen technique to portray simultaneous action in her 1913 film Suspense .

The 1920s and 30s saw the development of experimental film with the rise of surrealism and the Dada movement with artists Man Ray, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, Robert Florey who pioneered the boundaries and medium of creative short film.

Director Maya Deren would lead the movement into the ’40s with her groundbreaking short Meshes of the Afternoon . She abandoned surrealism and instead focused on using multiple exposures and superimposition in her work creating striking imagery.

Underground cult directors Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger, Steven Arnold James Bidgood ( Pink Narcissus , 1971) and Wakefield Poole all created visual imagery of transgressive sexuality that have become artifacts of queer cinema. Anger would blaze the trail with his legendary films Rabbit’s Moon (1950); Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (1954) and Scorpio Rising (1963).

Jonas Mekas, one of the most important figures in avant-garde film, was part of the underground movement in the ’60s pushing the boundaries of censorship (and legality) with his films The Brig (1963), Lost Lost Lost (1975) Gun of the Trees (1962). Of course, in France, director Jean-Luc Godard helped popularize the French New Wave with Breathless (1960).

The decade also saw a new wave of Black directors contributing to the medium. Edward Owens’ critically-acclaimed 1966 short film Private Imaginings and Narrative Facts opened the space for Black filmmakers and led the wave of emerging talents contributing to the medium in the ’70s. This included Charles Burnett with his 1978 film Killer of Sheep and Barbara McCullough with Still from Water Ritual #1: An Urban Rite of Purification .

Filmmakers have continued to push the boundaries of cinema with modern masterpieces in recent years such as Béla Tarr Ágnes Hranitzky’s The Turin Horse ; The Lobster directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and Enter The Void by Gaspar Noé.

Scroll down to take a trip through the history of experimental cinema from its inception to the films that carry the transgressive torch today.

THE LIGHTHOUSE, 2019

Dir. Robert Eggers, starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson.

THE WOLF HOUSE, (aka LA CASA LOBO), 2018

Dir. Joaquín Cociña and Cristóbal León, featuring Amalia Kassai(voice), Rainer Krause(voice) and Karina Hyland.  

THE LOBSTER, 2015

Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz.

THE TURIN HORSE, (aka A TORINOI LO), 2011

Dir. Béla Tarr Ágnes Hranitzky(co-director), starring Erika Bok, János Derzsi and Mihály Kormos.

ENTER THE VOID, (aka SOUDAIN LE VIDE), 2009

Dir. Gaspar Noé, starring Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta and Cyril Roy.  

RUSSIAN ARK, 2002

Dir. Aleksandr Sokurov, starring Sergey Dreyden, Mariya Kuznetsova and Leonid Mozgovoy.

GUMMO, 1997

Dir. Harmony Korine, starring Jacob Sewell, Nick Sutton, Lara Tosh and Chloë Sevigny.

THE WATERMELON WOMAN, 1996

Dir. starring Cheryl Dunye, Valarie Walker and Guinevere Turner.

CHRONOS, 1985

Dir. Ron Fricke

KOYAANISQATSI, 1983

Dir. Godfrey Reggio

STALKER, 1979

Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy and Nikolay Grinko.

WATER RITUAL #1: AN URBAN RITE OF PURIFICATION, 1979

Dir. Barbara McCullough

KILLER OF SHEEP, 1978

Dir. Charles Burnett starring Henry G. Sanders amd Kaycee Moore.

HOUSE, (aka HAUSU), 1977

Dir. Nobuhiko Ôbayashi, starring Miki Jinbo, Kimiko Ikegami and Kumiko Ôba.

ERASERHEAD, 1976

Dir. David Lynch, starring Jack Nance.

THE MIRROR, (aka ZERKALO), 1975

Dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, starring Margarita Terekhova, Filipp Yankovskiy and Ignat Daniltsev.

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES, 1975

Dir. Chantal Akerman, starring Delphine Seyrig, Jan Decorte and Henri Storck.  

THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, (aka LA MONTANA SAGRADA), 1973

Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, Horacio Salinas and Zamira Saunders.

THE DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, (aka LE CHARME DISCRET DE LA BOURGEOISIE), 1972

Dir. Luis Buñuel, starring Delphine Seyrig, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Bulle Ogier, Milena Vukotic, Paul Frankeur, Stephane Audran and Fernando Rey.

PINK NARCISSUS, 1971

Dir. James Bidgood,  starring Bobby Kendall and Don Brooks.

LUMINOUS PROCURESS, 1971

Dir. Steven Arnold, starring Pandora, Steve Solberg and Ronald Farrell.  

EL TOPO, 1970

Dir. Alejandro Jodorowsky, starring Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky and José Legarreta.

VALERIE AND HER WEEK OF WONDERS (aka VALERIE A TYDEN DIVU), 1970

Dir. Jaromil Jires, starring Jaroslava Schallerova, Helena Anýzová and Petr Kopriva.

THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES (SAYAT NOVA), 1969

Dir. Sergei Parajanov, starring Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan and Vilen Galstyan.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, 1968

Dir. Stanley Kubrick, starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood and William Sylvester.

WAVELENGTH, 1967

Dir. Michael Snow, features Hollis Frampton, Lyne Grossman and Naoto Nakazawa.

PERSONA, 1966

Dir. Ingmar Bergman, starring Liv Ullmann and Bibi Andersson.

PRIVATE IMAGINGS AND NARRATIVE FACTS, 1966

Dir. Edward Owens

THE CHELSEA GIRLS, 1966

Dir. Andy Warhol, starring Brigid Berlin, Randy Borscheidt and Christian Päffgen.  

DAISIES, (aka SEDMIKRASKY), 1966

Dir. Vera Chytilová, starring Jitka Cerhova and Ivana Karbonova.

I AM CUBA (aka SOY CUBA/YA KUBA), 1964

dir. Mikhail Kalatozov, starring Luz Maria Collazo, Sergio Corrieri, Salvador Wood and José Gallardo.  

SCORPIO RISING, 1963

Dir. Kenneth Anger, starring Ernie Allo, Bruce Byron and Frank Carifi.

8 1/2, 1963

Dir. Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée and Claudia Cardinale.

LA JETEE, 1962

Dir. Chris Marker, starring Jacques Ledoux, Étienne Becker, Jean Négroni(voice) and Hélène Chatelain.

LAST YEAR AT MARIENBAD, (aka L’ANNEE DERNIERE A MARIENBAD), Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, 1961

Dir. Alain Resnais, starring Delphine Seyrig and Giorgio Albertazzi.

GUNS OF THE TREES, 1961

Dir. Jonas Mekas starring Ben Carruthers, Argus Speare Julliard, Adolfas Mekas, Frances Stillman and Ben Carruthers.

BREATHLESS, 1960

Dir. Jean-Luc Godard, starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg and Daniel Boulanger.

THE SEVENTH SEAL, 1957

Dir. Ingmar Bergman, starring Bengt Ekerot, Max von Sydow and Gunnar Björnstrand.

RASHOMON, 1950

Dir. Akira Kurosawa, starring Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyo.

INAUGURATION OF THE PLEASURE DOME, 1954

Di. Kenneth Anger, starring Samson De Brier, Marjorie Cameron and Joan Whitney.

MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON, 1943

Dir. Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, starring Maya Deren.

RAINBOW DANCE, 1936

Dir. Len Lye starring Rupert Doone.

THE BLOOD OF A POET, (aka LE SANG D’UN POETE), 1930

Dir. Jean Cocteau, starring, Enrique Rivero, Elizabeth Lee Miller and Pauline Carton.

THE MAN WITH A MOVIE CAMERA, 1929

Dir. Dziga Vertov, starring Mikhail Kaufman and Elizaveta Svilova.

UN CHIEN ANDALOU, (ANDALUSIAN DOG), 1929

Dir. Luis Buñuel, written by Salvador Dalí and starring Pierre Batcheff, Simone Mareuil and Luis Buñuel.

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF 9413 — A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA, 1928

Dir. Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapich, starring Jules Raucourt, Voya George and Robert Florey.

ENTR’ACTE, 1924

Dir. René Clair, starring Jean Börlin, Inge Frïss and Francis Picabi.

RETURN TO REASON (Le Retour à la raison), 1923

Dir. Man Ray, starring Kiki of Montparnasse

SUSPENSE, 1913

Dir. Lois Weber, starring Lois Weber, Val Paul and Douglas Gerrard.

A TRIP TO THE MOON, 1902

Dir. Georges Méliès featuring Georges Méliès, Victor André and Bleuette Bernon.

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Experimental Film

Experimental films are very different from feature-length Hollywood fiction films. In Mothlight (1963), Stan Brakhage (1933–2003) completely avoids "normal" filmmaking (he doesn't even use a camera) by sprinkling seeds, grass, dead moths, and bee parts directly onto the film stock; the result is a three-minute rhythmic "dance" between nature and the projector mechanism.

There are many types of experimental film, but despite their diversity, it is possible to pin down tendencies that help make experimental film a discrete genre. Edward Small identifies eight traits of experimental films and in the process defines important differences between the avant-garde and Hollywood.

Most obviously, production is a collaborative enterprise, but most experimental filmmakers conceive, shoot, and edit their films alone or with a minimal crew. Often they even assume the responsibility for the distribution of the finished film. It follows that experimental films are made outside of industry economics, with the filmmakers themselves often paying for production (sometimes with money from small grants or the rentals on previous films). This low-budget approach buys independence: Maya Deren (1917–1961) bought an inexpensive 16mm Bolex camera with money she inherited after her father's death, and used this camera to make all of her films, forging a career completely apart from the Hollywood mode of production.

Unlike mainstream feature films, experimental works are usually short, often under thirty minutes in length. This is in part because of their small budgets, though most filmmakers make short films for aesthetic reasons too: to capture a fleeting moment, perhaps, or to create new visuals with the camera. Ten Second Film (Bruce Conner, 1965) was originally shown at the 1965 New York Film Festival, and all ten seconds were reproduced in their entirety, as strips of film, on the festival's poster. Experimental filmmakers are usually the first to try out new ways of making movies, after which these technologies are adopted by Hollywood. Scott Bartlett's (1943–1990) films, such as OFFON (1967, with Tom DeWitt), were the first to mix computer and film imagery, and influenced Douglas Trumbull's (b. 1942) light show in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). The reverse is also true: avant-garde filmmakers continue to use formats such as Pixelvision or 8mm long after the height of their popularity. Also like OFFON , experimental production often focuses on abstract imagery. The quintessential example is Stan Brakhage's notion of "closed-eye vision," the attempt to duplicate on film the shimmers of light we see on our eyelids when our eyes are closed.

As Brakhage's films suggest, most experimental films avoid verbal communication, giving primacy to the visual. Unlike "talkie" Hollywood movies, experimental films are typically silent, or use sound in nonnaturalistic ways. As well, experimental films typically ignore, subvert, or fragment the storytelling rules of Hollywood cinema. Some films—such as Harry Smith's (1923–1991) Early Abstractions (1939–1956)—abandon narrative altogether and focus instead on creating a colorful, ever-changing picture plane. When experimental films do settle down into a story, it's often one that shocks or disturbs conventional sensibilities. Sometimes their subject is themselves and the medium of cinema.

Many experimental films violate one or more of the above traits. Andy Warhol 's (1928–1987) Empire (1964) is over eight hours long, and Peter Hutton's movies photograph nature in objective terms, avoiding the avant-garde tendency toward subjective psychology. The traits, though, provide a rough guide to the ways that experimental films differ from feature-length narratives, and provide an entrance into the history of the avant-garde.

MAYA DEREN b. Eleanora Derenkowsky, Kiev, Russia, 29 April 1917, d. 13 October 1961

One of the most important women in American experimental cinema, Maya Deren emigrated with her parents in 1922 to the United States , where Eleanora developed a keen interest in the arts that launched her into a varied early career, including a stint touring with Katherine Dunham 's dance company. In 1941, while with the company in Los Angeles , she met and married filmmaker Alexander Hammid. In 1943 Deren adopted the first name Maya (Hindu for "illusion") and made Meshes of the Afternoon , a psychodrama rife with symbolic, fascinating repetition that rejuvenated the American avant-garde.

Deren's love of dance manifests itself in the films following Meshes . At Land (1944) is a dream of female empowerment that foregrounds Deren's own graceful movements, while A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945) is a portrait of dancer Talley Beatty as he moves from repose to a vigorous, ballet-like jump. Meshes , At Land , and A Study are unified by Deren's signature editing strategy: flowing motions that bridge abrupt cuts between different locales. In A Study , for instance, Beatty's single leap travels through a room, an art museum, against a backdrop of sky, and then ends in the woods, as he falls into a crouch and stops moving.

The combination of real-life incident and artistic manipulation is, for Deren, the essence of cinema. In her essay "Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality" she argues that photography and cinema is the art of the "controlled accident," the "delicate balance" between spontaneity and deliberate design in art. Deren further extends the notion of the controlled accident to include those formal properties—slow-motion, negative images, disjunctive editing—that shape and alter the images of real life provided by the film camera.

Deren's other films are the Meshes -like Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946), the dance film Meditation on Violence (1948), and The Very Eye of Night (1958). In 1946 Deren divorced Alexander Hammid. In the late 1940s she became passionately interested in Haitian religion and dance, and traveled three times to Haiti to do research that resulted in the book Divine Horsemen: The Voodoo Gods of Haiti (1953) and hours of footage of Haitian rituals (some of which was edited into the video release Divine Horsemen ). Deren became a legend in New York City's Greenwich Village , both for her practice of voodoo and for the assistance she provided to younger experimental filmmakers. The Creative Film Foundation (CFF) was founded by Deren to provide financial help to struggling filmmakers; Stan Brakhage, Stan Vanderbeek, Robert Breer, Shirley Clarke, and Carmen D'Avino received CFF grants.

RECOMMENDED VIEWING

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), At Land (1944), A Study in Choreography for Camera (1945), Ritual in Transfigured Time (1946), Meditation on Violence (1948)

FURTHER READING

Clark, VeVe, Millicent Hodson, and Catrina Neiman. The Legend of Maya Deren: A Documentary Biography and Collected Works , vol. 1, part 1: Signatures (1917–42) . New York: Anthology Film Archives/Film Culture, 1984.

Clark, VeVe, Millicent Hodson, and Catrina Neiman. The Legend of Maya Deren: A Documentary Biography and Collected Works , vol. 1, part 2: Chambers (1942–47) . New York: Anthology Film Archives/Film Culture, 1988.

Deren, Maya. "Cinematography: The Creative Use of Reality." Film Theory and Criticism , edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen, 187–198. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Nichols, Bill, ed. Maya Deren and the American Avant-Garde . Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001.

Craig Fischer

EARLY HISTORY

Many of the seminal texts of US experimental film history, such as P. Adams Sitney's Visionary Film , begin with a discussion of the production of Maya Deren's Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). More recent scholarly work, however, has unearthed a vibrant post–World

War I avant-garde American film movement with roots in European art and culture. American artists such as Man Ray (1890–1976) and Dudley Murphy (1897–1968) lived in France and took inspiration from dadaism and surrealism in the 1920s; Ray made his first film, Le Retour à la raison ( Return to Reason , 1923), for a famous dada soirée, and Murphy collaborated with Fernand́ger (1881–1955) on the surrealist Ballet mécanique (Mechanical ballet, 1924). Technological innovation, Le specifically Kodak's 1924 introduction of 16mm film and the user-friendly Cine-Kodak 16mm camera, helped to jump-start the 1920s avant-garde ( Lovers of Cinema , p. 18).

The creators in this first wave of experimental filmmaking came from different careers and interests. Elia Kazan (1909–2003), Orson Welles (1915–1985), and Gregg Toland (1904–1948) dabbled in the avant-garde, but achieved true success in mainstream film. Douglass Crockwell was a magazine illustrator of the Norman Rockwell school, but his Glens Falls Sequence (1934–1946) is an abstract dance of mutating shapes. Several film teachers and scholars (Theodore Huff, Lewis Jacobs, Jay Leyda) made avant-garde films too. Yet, despite these different backgrounds and motivations, most experimental film practitioners thought of themselves as amateurs rather than professional filmmakers, but the term "amateur" was praise rather than a pejorative, implying a commitment to art over commerce. The types of films by these "amateur" avant-gardists fall into distinct genres. Many made offbeat stories inspired by literary sources and cutting-edge art movements. James Sibley Watson, Jr. (1894–1982) and Melville Webber (1871–1947) invoke such sources as Edgar Allan Poe , German expressionism, and Old Testament narratives in The Fall of the House of Usher (1928) and Lot in Sodom (1933). Other films told stories that parodied film genres, such as Theodore Huff's first movie, Hearts of the West (1931), which features an all-children cast in a spoof of silent westerns. Filmmaker and artist Joseph Cornell (1903–1972) made collage films that turned Hollywood narratives into studies in surrealism. In Rose Hobart (1936), Cornell took footage from a Universal B movie that featured the contract player Rose Hobart, scored all of Hobart's actions to an old samba record, and projected the reedited footage through red-tinted lenses.

Other filmmakers abandoned narrative. Paul Strand (1890–1976) and Charles Sheeler 's (1883–1965) Manhatta (1921), the first avant-garde film produced in the United States , was the first "city symphony" film, a genre of associative documentaries that celebrate urban life and the machines of modernity. Other American examples of the genre include A Bronx Morning (Jay Leyda, 1931) and The Pursuit of Happiness (Rudy Burkhardt, 1940), but the most famous city symphony of all, The Man with the Movie Camera ( Dziga Vertov , 1929), was made in Soviet Russia. Another common type of nonnarrative documentary was the dance film; Hands (Stella Simon, 1926) and Introspection (Sara Arledge, 1941–1946) use innovative form to capture bodies reacting to music, and are clear inspirations for Maya Deren's work. Rhythms are at the center of both dance films and abstract films, those works that focus on unfamiliar objects and patterns. H2O (1929) by Ralph Steiner catalogs how water reflects light in raindrops and rivers; the films of Oskar Fischinger (1900–1967), Mary Ann Bute, and Dwinell Grant are paintings in motion, dances of colors and shapes instead of the human body.

There were four venues for the exhibition of early experimental film. In the United States, for example, the "little cinemas," the art theaters that emerged during the 1920s and 1930s to program repertory classics and European fare, sometimes showed experimental shorts before their features. The Life and Death of 9413—A Hollywood Extra (1928) was paired with a German/Indian coproduction, Light of Asia (1926), at the Philadelphia Motion Picture Guild, and Roman Freulich's Prisoners (1934) was followed by Sweden, Land of the Vikings (1934) at the Little Theatre in Baltimore ( Lovers of Cinema , p. 24). On occasion, avant-garde shorts were even on the same program as Hollywood features. Art galleries were another venue for experimental films, as were the screenings of the Workers Film and Photo League, a branch of the Communist Party that regularly exhibited nonmainstream films of all types. The most important exhibition space for the avant-garde during this period was provided by the Amateur Cinema League (ACL), founded in New York City in 1926. The ACL nationally distributed key avant-garde films, organized "ten best" contests for amateur filmmakers, and published extravagant praise for experimental work in the ACL magazine, Amateur Movie Makers . As Patricia Zimmerman points out, the activities of the ACL were just a small part of the amateur film phenomenon: "The New York Times speculated that that there were over one hundred thousand home moviemakers in 1937 and five hundred services for rental of films for home viewing" (Zimmerman in Horak, p. 143). No wonder experimental filmmakers from this period embraced the "amateur" label so readily. However, most of these activities vanished as the Depression ground on. Though several important experimental filmmakers—Arledge, Burkhardt, Cornell—began to make work in the second half of the 1930s, it would be another ten years before a new avant-garde generation would build systems of production, distribution, and exhibition that rivaled those of the amateur film movement.

POSTWAR POETICS

In the immediate postwar period, the most important exhibition space for experimental films were the ciné clubs, organizations of film fans who would rent and discuss offbeat films. The first flowering of ciné clubs occurred in France in the 1920s, as venues for the impressionist work of such avant-gardists as Germaine Dulac (1882–1942) and Jean Epstein (1897–1953). Luis Buñuel made Un Chien Andalou (1929) in collaboration with the painter Salvador Dali . Hans Richter , Viking Eggeling, Oskar Fischinger, Jon Jost, and Jean Cocteau are among the many other avant-garde filmmakers to work in Europe.

In the United States, the first such club, Art in Cinema, whose screenings were helmed by Frank Stauffacher at the San Francisco Museum of Art, was established in 1947. Stauffacher helped Amos and Marcia Vogel start a club, Cinema 16, in New York City, and for sixteen years (1947–1963) the Vogels sponsored programs that included experimental shorts such as Kenneth Anger's (b. 1927) Fireworks (1947) and Bruce Conner's A Movie (1957) with documentaries, educational shorts, art films, and special events featuring speakers such as playwright Arthur Miller and Alfred Hitchcock . In 1950 the Vogels also began to distribute experimental films around the country (primarily to colleges and other ciné clubs) through Cinema 16. Although financial troubles forced the Vogels to shut down Cinema 16 in 1963, its effect was lasting and profound.

Other exhibition spaces besides ciné clubs included college classes, art galleries and museums, and bars. Occasionally, an entrepreneurial filmmaker might even screen in a mainstream theater. Between 1946 and 1949, for instance, Maya Deren rented the two-hundred-seat Provincetown Playhouse eight times for programs of her films. As opportunities for the exhibition of avant-garde films grew, trends began to form. Following Deren's example, several filmmakers in the immediate postwar period made surrealist, dream-inflected narratives. Sidney Peterson (1905–2000) and James Broughton (1913–1999) collaborated on The Potted Psalm (1946), a loose-limbed tale featuring gravestones, mannequins, and other irrational symbols. Peterson's subsequent films, such as The Cage (1947) and The Lead Shoes (1948), combine disturbing images with recursive narratives and compulsive repetition. Broughton made his first film, Mother's Day , in 1948, and across four decades of filmmaking his works shifted in emphasis from offbeat, erotic comedy to an unabashed celebration of gay sexuality. Willard Maas (1911–1971) was another practitioner of the postwar experimental narrative; his Geography of the Body (1946) turns close-ups of human anatomy into a travelogue of a surreal continent. For his first film, Stan Brakhage made Interim (1952), a romantic Derenesque narrative, but afterwards he quickly took off in new directions.

Animation was also a vibrant part of the postwar avant-garde. The most prolific avant-garde animator was Robert Breer (b. 1926), who between 1952 and 1970 produced at least one film a year. James (1921–1982) and John Whitney (1917–1995) pioneered computer-generated films, and their success gave them the opportunity to make cartoons for the mainstream UPA studio and to produce animated effects for Alfred Hitchcock 's Vertigo (1958). Australian artist Len Lye (1901–1980) painted directly on the surface of the film strip in such films as A Colour Box (1935) and Free Radicals (1958). And Jordan Belson's (b. 1926) San Francisco light shows evolved into symmetrically patterned, Buddhist-influenced films such as Mandala (1953) and Allures (1961).

Several postwar filmmakers explored film form in ways different from animation. Bruce Conner began his career in the arts as a sculptor, but became famous as the conceptualizer-editor of a series of "found footage" films that edited previously shot footage into new and bizarre combinations. In A Movie , Conner subverts our cause-effect expectations (and makes us laugh) by juxtaposing, for example, a shot of a German soldier staring into a periscope with a picture of a girl wearing a bikini and staring into the camera. Other Conner films subject newly shot footage to unorthodox cutting: in Vivian (1963), Conner filmed his friend Vivian Kurz in various environments—in an art gallery, in her bedroom—and then edited the rolls into a kinetic flow of images that comments on the nature of photographic representation. Vivian has a pop music soundtrack—as do other Conner films, such as Cosmic Ray (1961) and Mongoloid (1978)—and Conner's synchronization of editing and musical rhythm is the origin of the music video .

Marie Menken (1909–1970) used time-lapse photography as the formal center of many of her films. A team player in the New York Underground—she worked on films by Warhol, Deren, and her husband, Willard Maas—Menken also crafted miniature movies that condense time. Moonplay (1962) is a collection of full moons photographed over the course of several years, while Menken herself described Go! Go! Go! (1962–1964) as "a time-lapse record of a day in the life of a city."

ANDY WARHOL b. Andrew Warhola, Forest City, Pennsylvania, 6 August 1928, d. 22 February 1987

Probably the best-known American artist of the twentieth century, Andy Warhol studied commercial art at Carnegie Mellon University . In 1949 he moved to New York City and carved out a career as an advertising artist. In the early 1960s Warhol became a pioneer of pop art by creating paintings that showcased the most ubiquitous icons of American popular culture: Campbell's Soup cans, Brillo boxes, celebrities such as Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe . With his paintings and silkscreens in high demand, Warhol established the Factory, a workshop and hangout where he supervised "art workers" in the making of Warhol "originals." The subjects of his art were the mass media and mass production, and the art was created on the Factory's improvisational assembly line .

A neglected aspect of Warhol's 1960s artistic production was his work in experimental film. Just as his graphic art used simplicity to challenge notions of "art," Warhol's avant-garde films embraced the realist aesthetic strategies of the putative fathers of cinema, Louis and Auguste Lumière. Warhol returned to cinema's zero point by setting up a 16mm camera and encouraging the artsy types who inhabited the Factory to perform for the lens. Sometimes Warhol commissioned writers (most notably off-off-Broadway playwright Ronald Tavel) to provide screenplays, but usually the Factory crew filmed with just a central conceit—open to extended improvisation—as a rough guide. In Kiss (1963), Warhol showcased various couples (hetero- and homosexual) kissing, each for the three-minute length of the camera magazine; Sleep (1963) uses a few camera angles to photograph poet John Giorno's body as he slumbers. Warhol's films had a profound effect on avant-garde film practice of the 1960s, especially the decade's structural filmmakers.

Warhol's movies of the mid-1960s built on the simple structures of his earlier work. Inner and Outer Space (1965) juxtaposes ghostly video images of Warhol "superstar" Edie Sedgwick with film footage of her commenting on her own video reflection, while Chelsea Girls (1966), which played commercially in New York City, uses two screens to depict the inhabitants of the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. Warhol's epic was perhaps **** ( Four Stars , 1966–1967), a twenty-five-hour explosion of superimpositions (two projectors fired footage simultaneously on the same screen) that was shown only once and then disassembled.

After Warhol was shot and almost killed by Valerie Solanas in June 1968, he stopped making films. Instead, he farmed out the Factory's filmmaking activities to his protégé, Paul Morrissey, who went on to direct several Warhol-influenced but more mainstream features, including Flesh (1968), Trash (1970), Heat (1972), Flesh for Frankenstein (1973), and Blood for Dracula (1974).

Kiss (1963), Sleep (1963), Empire (1964), Poor Little Rich Girl (1965), My Hustler (1965), Chelsea Girls (1966), The Nude Restaurant (1967), Blue Movie (1969)

Gidal, Peter. Andy Warhol: Films and Paintings . New York: Dutton, 1971.

Koch, Stephen. Stargazer: Andy Warhol's World and His Films . 2nd ed. New York: M. Boyars, 1985.

Koestenbaum, Wayne. Andy Warhol . New York: Penguin, 2001.

O'Pray, Michael, ed. Andy Warhol: Film Factory . London: British Film Institute, 1989.

Warhol, Andy. The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B & Back Again) . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975.

Radical content as well as form was common in the postwar avant-garde, particularly films that addressed homosexual desire. Probably the most famous "queer" experimental filmmaker of this period is Kenneth Anger , who made the trailblazing Fireworks at the age of seventeen. Fireworks is a mélange of same-sex flirtation, sadomasochism, and sailors; the film's finale features a sailor lighting a Roman candle (firework) in his crotch. ( Fireworks was shown several times at Cinema 16, often as part of a "Forbidden Films" program, and Amos

Vogel also distributed Anger's work.) Anger's epic Scorpio Rising (1963) connects gay desire and satanism—for Anger (as for Jean Genet ), being gay means repudiating traditional norms and embracing the subversive and decadent—and the film juxtaposes a chronicle of California biker culture with a pop-rock soundtrack in ways that, like Conner's works, anticipate music videos. Anger's films treat homosexuality as inherently transgressive; in contrast, many of Gregory Markopoulos's (1928–1992) works place same-sex desire in a classical context. The Iliac Passion (1967), for example, features several members of the 1960s New York gay demimonde—Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, Taylor Mead—cast as mythic characters such as Poseidon and Orpheus. Markopoulos also pioneered a single-frame, scattershot approach to editing that made his films tightly wound, dense fabrics of allusions, classical and otherwise.

As Markopoulos explored the deep connections between sexuality and myth, Jack Smith turned popular culture into his own queer playground. Soon after meeting experimental filmmakers Ken Jacobs (b. 1933) and Bob Fleischner in a film class at the City College of New York in 1956, Smith collaborated with Jacobs on a series of films—including Star Spangled to Death (1958/2004) and Little Stabs at Happiness (1959)—that ditch plot and instead allow Smith to improvise personas for the camera. Both the charm and narcissism of this approach finds its perfect expression in Jacobs, Fleischner, and Smith's Blonde Cobra (1963), where Smith delivers a monologue to his image in a mirror. After a falling out with Jacobs, Smith directed several films himself, the most notorious being Flaming Creatures (1963), a mad chronicle of a pansexual orgy, complete with simulated rape and faux -earthquake, that was declared obscene in New York Criminal Court. Even while Smith worked on such films as the unfinished Normal Love (begun 1964) and No President (1968), he increasingly shifted his energies to performance art , letting his love of Z-grade Hollywood stars (especially the beloved Maria Montez) and radical politics run rampant in theater pieces, slide shows, and "expanded cinema" experiences such as I Was a Male Yvonne de Carlo for the Lucky Landlord Underground (1982).

The 1960s deserves its own subsection primarily because of Andy Warhol, who began making 16mm long-take, quotidian extravaganzas in 1963, and whose popularity throughout the decade brought visibility to experimental films as a whole. In addition, the rise of a leftist counter-culture during the decade and the increased distribution of nonmainstream movies led to an exponential increase in the number of artists who made avant-garde films during this time. Among the most important filmmakers of the era were Bruce Baillie (b. 1931), Ken Jacobs, the Kuchar brothers (George, b. 1942, and Mike, b. 1942), Robert Nelson, Stan Vanderbeek (1927–1984), Michael Snow (b. 1929), and Joyce Wieland (1931–1998). However, much of the credit for the explosion of creativity in the 1960s in the United States belongs to Jonas Mekas (b. 1922).

Born in Lithuania, Mekas published several books of poetry and literary sketches—and spent time in forced-labor and displaced-persons camps during World War II —before he and his brother Adolfas emigrated to the United States in 1949. He quickly became a fixture at Cinema 16, where he shot footage that would later appear in his diary film Lost Lost Lost (1975). In January 1955 he began Film Culture , "America's Independent Motion Picture Magazine," whose early topics included classical Hollywood filmmaking (the journal published Andrew Sarris's first articles on auteurism), the international art cinema, and Mekas's own criticism. Within a few years, Film Culture 's focus zeroed in on the avant-garde and Mekas became experimental film's hardest working promoter.

In the 1960s his weekly "Movie Journal" column in the Village Voice publicized experimental filmmakers and the events where their films could be seen, and Mekas himself was one of these filmmakers: his feature Guns of the Trees (codirected by Adolfas) was released in 1961, his film document of the play The Brig in 1964, and his first ambitious diaristic film, Walden , in 1969. In 1964 he organized the Film-Makers' Cinematheque, a venue for US avant-garde film that provocatively overlapped with vanguard artists in other fields as well. With Shirley Clarke (1919–1997) and Lionel Rogosin (1924–2000), Mekas started the FilmMakers' Distribution Center, a distribution exchange that he hoped would supply an ever-expanding circuit of theaters with experimental work. Although both the Cinematheque and Distribution Center failed, Mekas established Anthology Film Archives in 1970, a museum/theater/preservation complex devoted to experimental films. Although various controversies have erupted throughout its history—most notably, perhaps, around its attempt to establish a list of canonical "essential" films that would be in permanent repertory—Anthology endures to this day, a tribute to Mekas's commitment to the avant-garde.

Perhaps Mekas's most unusual contribution to experimental film exhibition was the midnight movie. Mekas's midnight screenings at Manhattan's Charles Theatre between 1961 and 1963 followed an open-mic structure: audience members either paid admission or brought a reel of film to show, and Mekas supplemented these submissions with works by Markopoulos, Menken, Jacobs, and others. Later in the decade, entrepreneur Mike Getz resurrected the midnight movie model when he used family connections to begin Underground Cinema 12. Getz's uncle, Louis Sher, was the owner of a chain of Midwest art cinemas, and Getz persuaded Sher to exhibit midnight programs of avant-garde shorts at many of these theaters. Underground Cinema 12 brought experimental film out of its centers in New York City and San Francisco and gave it exposure elsewhere in the country. In 1967, for instance, in the college town of Champaign, Illinois, viewers had the opportunity to see Conner's A Movie , Vanderbeek's Breathdeath (1964), Peyote Queen (Storm De Hirsch, 1965), and Sins of the Fleshapoids (Mike Kuchar, 1965) at Sher's local art theater. Mekas's Charles screenings and Getz's Underground Cinema 12 were important precursors to the 1970s midnight movie experience as it coalesced around cult films such as The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Eraserhead (1977).

Mekas's nurturing of the avant-garde led to an explosion of experimental auteurs. In such works as Mass for the Dakota Sioux (1963–1964) and Quick Billy (1967–1970), Bruce Baillie welds his love for the West with a poetic, Brakhage-inspired spontaneity. In his best-known film, Castro Street (1966), Baillie, who also cofounded in 1961 Canyon Cinema, an exhibition program that evolved into the biggest distributor of experimental films in the United States, uses multiple superimpositions to celebrate his beloved San Francisco neighborhood; All My Life (1966) consists of a single three-minute shot (a track along a picket fence that ends with a pan up to the sky) that captures the ravishing light in a California backyard. After collaborating with Jack Smith, Ken Jacobs made a number of avant-garde films, including Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969). Subsequently, Jacobs began researching optical effects and illusions, which resulted in his "Nervous System" performances, improvisations where Jacobs "plays" two projectors in ways that display how various properties of the film medium (flicker, lenses, projection) can mold and alter images. The Kuchar brothers, George and Mike, grew up in the Bronx, and as teenagers used an 8mm camera to shoot their own tawdry versions of Hollywood melodramas. They then showed tiny epics such as I Was a Teenage Rumpot (1960) and Pussy on a Hot Tin Roof (1961) at open screenings for amateur filmmakers, where they garnered attention from the avant-garde. Later films jumped up to 16mm, but their movies remained campy, unprofessional, rude, and thoroughly hypnotic, implicit subversions of Hollywood standards of "quality." After the mid-1960s the brothers worked separately, and Mike has made few films since. George has remained astonishingly prolific, producing films and videotapes at the rate of at least two a year.

The profane jokester of the 1960s avant-garde explosion, Robert Nelson first courted controversy with Oh Dem Watermelons (1965), his second film, a chaotic mix of gags and images involving melons accompanied in part by a racist Stephen Foster soundtrack. Nelson's tour de force, Bleu Shut (1970), functions as both a ruthless parody of structural film and a perfect example of Nelson's tendency to pack his films with crazed digressions and absurd asides. Best known as a performance artist, Carolee Schneemann (b. 1939) made several influential autobiographical avant-garde movies, including Fuses (1967), a portrait of Schneemann's sex life with composer James Tenney, for which Brakhage inspired Schneemann to paint and scratch directly on the footage to capture the joy and energy of lovemaking. While studying filmmaking at New York University, Warren Sonbert (1947–1995) shot a number of short diary films—including Where Did Our Love Go? (1966), Hall of Mirrors (1966), and The Bad and the Beautiful (1967)—that combine pop music soundtracks with candid footage of such 1960s Manhattan scenemakers as René Ricard and Gerald Malanga. With The Carriage Trade (1971), Sonbert shifted into a more rigorous type of filmmaking based on silence, extremely brief shots, and graphic contrasts. Sonbert's later films, such as Divided Loyalties (1978) and Honor and Obey (1988), use this rigorous form to create portraits of a world full of alienation and sorrow. Sonbert died of AIDS in 1995. Stan Vanderbeek pioneered the use of computer imagery, collage animation, and compilation filmmaking. Terry Gilliam 's cutout animation for Monty Python's Flying Circus was inspired by Vanderbeek's Science Friction (1959), and many of Vanderbeek's earliest films were political satires in collage form. In the late 1960s Vanderbeek collaborated with Kenneth Knowlton of Bell Telephone Laboratories to make some of the first computer-generated films, and built an avant-garde movie theater, the Movie Drome of Stony Point, New York, that was equipped to properly present his own multiprojector works.

In Canada, painter Joyce Wieland (1931–1998) also made films with a dry wit that anticipates many structural films. Rat Life and Diet in North America (1968) juxtaposes footage of mice with a narrated soundtrack that defines the rodents as heroes of a narrative about political oppression and liberation. After making two avant-garde films— La Raison avant la passion ( Reason Over Passion , 1968–1969) and Pierre Vallières (1972)—devoted to Canadian issues, Wieland reached out to a larger audience with her narrative feminist feature The Far Shore (1976).

During this period, many challenging experimental films were made outside the United States. From the 1930s to the 1980s, Norman McLaren (1914–1987) produced playful animated and live-action shorts for Canada's National Film Board. French philosopher Guy Debord made several films—including Sur le passage de quelques personnes à travers une assez courte unité de temps ( On the Passage of a Few People through a Rather Brief Period in Time , 1959) and Critique de la séparation ( Critique of Separation , 1961)—designed to vex conventional audience expectation and dissect mass media manipulation. In Japan, Takahito Iimura (b. 1937) began a series of scandalous shorts with Ai ( Love , 1962).

THREE TYPES OF EXPERIMENTAL FILM

In the late 1960s experimental film headed in a new aesthetic direction. In an article published in Film Culture in 1969, critic P. Adams Sitney defined the structuralist film as a "tight nexus of content, a shape designed to explore the facets of the material" ( Film Culture Reader , p. 327), which becomes clear when these films are compared with previous avant-garde traditions. In the films of lyricists such as Brakhage and Baillie, rhythm is dependent on what is being photographed, or on the associations possible through manipulations of form. In Window Water Baby Moving (1962), for example, Brakhage's quick cuts fragment time and connect his wife Jane's pregnant stomach to the birth of their daughter. In contrast, structuralist films don't have "rhythms" as much as they do systems that, in Sitney's words, render content "minimal and subsidiary to the outline" ( Film Culture Reader , p. 327). Watching a structuralist film, then, is a little like watching a chain of dominoes: after the first domino tumbles, our attention is on how the overall organization plays out rather than on the individual dominoes. Sitney considers such Andy Warhol Factory films as Sleep (1963) and Eat (1963) to be important precursors of structural film, particularly because of their reliance on improvisatory performance and fixed camera positions. Later in the decade, other avant-garde filmmakers turned to structural film. Michael Snow's influential Wavelength (1967) is organized around a forty-five-minute zoom that moves from a wide shot of a New York loft to a close-up of a picture of ocean waves on the loft's farthest wall. Snow continued to explore reframing with Back and Forth (1969), a shot of a classroom photographed by a camera that pans with ever-increasing speed, and La Région centrale (The Central Region, 1971), a portrait of a northern Quebec landscape photographed by a machine that runs through a series of automated circular pans.

Critic David James has isolated the origin of structural film in the "radical film reductions" of the 1960s Fluxus art movement: works such as Nam June Paik's (1932–2006) Zen for Film (1964)—a projection of nothing but a bright, empty surface, occasionally punctuated by scratches and dirt—points to a cinema preoccupied with its own formal properties. Fluxus films, and the structuralist movies they spawned, explore the material nature of film as a medium and the various phases of the production process. For example, Peter Kubelka's (b. 1934) Arnulf Rainer (1958–1960) and Tony Conrad's The Flicker (1966) consist solely of alternating black-and-white frames of various lengths to explore the optical effects of flicker. Paul Sharits's (1943–1993) Ray Gun Virus (1966) and S:TREAM:S: S:ECTION:S:ECTION:S:S:ECTIONED (1968–1971) add color, emulsion scratches, and even portraits of faces to rapid-fire flicker. The distortion of space through changes in lens focal length is the subject of Ernie Gehr's (b. 1943) Serene Velocity (1970), which juxtaposes long shots of an empty corridor with shots of the same hallway while the camera zooms in. Larry Gottheim's Barn Rushes (1971) explores the nature of filmic representation and duplication by photographing a landscape under different light conditions and with different film stocks. J. J. Murphy's Print Generation (1973–1974) subjects a one-minute piece of film to fifty duplications, and the process renders the footage abstract and unintelligible. (Murphy also distorts sound, and one twist of Print Generation is that as the image distorts, the sound becomes clearer, and vice versa.) In Britain, Malcolm le Grice and Peter Gidal, and in Germany Wilhelm and Birgit Hein, also worked in this mode.

The graininess and dirtiness of the film image is considered in Film in Which There Appear Edge Lettering, Sprocket Holes, Dirt Particles, Etc. (Owen Land, 1966), which offers a starring role to one of cinema's most ignored performers: the "Chinagirl" that lab workers would use to check the quality of a print. Ken Jacobs's Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (1969) analyzes a 1905 short of the same name by speeding up and rewinding the original footage, and by zooming in on portions of the mise-en-scène to such a magnified degree that details become grainy abstractions and blobs of light. The nature of projection itself is the subject of Line Describing a Cone (Anthony McCall, 1973), which requires an audience to stand in a gallery space and watch a projector throw a light beam that gradually (over a half-hour) changes shape into a cone.

The most important structuralist filmmaker is Hollis Frampton (1936–1984), who began his career with a series of films that explore minimalist elements. Manual of Arms (1966) organizes portraits of New York artists into a rigid grid structure, and Lemon (1969) subjects the fruit to a series of ever-shifting lighting designs. Frampton's vision expanded and deepened with Zorns Lemma (1970), which was strongly influenced by the animal locomotion studies of proto-filmmaker Eadweard Muybridge . The seven-film series Hapax Legomena (1971–1972) is Frampton's Ulysses , a compendium of formal innovations that, at its most accomplished—as in part 1, Nostalgia (1971)—is both intellectually and emotionally moving. Frampton died in 1984 at age forty-eight, having spent the last decade of his life on the unfinished epic Magellan (1972–1980), fragments of which (particularly Gloria! [1979]) function as stand-alone films.

Structuralist film was influential enough to spread to many different countries. Filmmakers such as Malcolm Le Grice and Peter Gidal congregated at the London Film Makers' Cooperative to screen their structuralist works and debate the future of the avant-garde, while in France, Rose Lowder began a series of 16mm loops that explored frame-by-frame transitions and their effects on audiences.

STAN BRAKHAGE b. Kansas City , Missouri, 14 January 1933, d. 9 March 2003

The most prolific and influential experimental filmmaker in US film history, Stan Brakhage also wrote insightfully about his own films and the work of other filmmakers. The most oft-quoted passage in experimental film criticism is the opening of Brakhage's text Metaphors on Vision (1963): "Imagine an eye unruled by man-made laws of perspective, an eye unprejudiced by compositional logic, an eye which does not respond to the name of everything but which must know each object encountered in life through an adventure of perception." This passage explicates the major aesthetic strain in Brakhage's films: abstraction. From the beginning of his career, Brakhage combined the photographic image with marks and paint applied directly onto the filmstrip, and many of his films of the 1980s and 1990s are completely abstract, partly for financial reasons and partly because he believed in the liberating power of nonlinear, nonnarrative aesthetic experiences. Some of Brakhage's abstract "adventures in perception" are Eye Myth (1967), The Text of Light (1974), The Dante Quartet (1987), and Black Ice (1994).

Brakhage briefly attended Dartmouth College on a scholarship, but he found academia so uncongenial that he had a nervous breakdown , left school, and spent four years traveling and living in San Francisco and New York. During this period Brakhage made his earliest films, including psychodramas such as Interim (1952) and Desistfilm (1954).

While making Anticipation of the Night (1958), which he intended to end with footage of his suicide, he fell in love with and married Jane Collom. Stan and Jane remained married for twenty-nine years, and a major subgenre of Brakhage's work chronicles the rise and fall of this marriage, from domestic quarrels ( Wedlock House: An Intercourse , 1959) and the birth of children ( Window Water Baby Moving , 1959) to Brakhage's increasing estrangement from Jane and his teenage children ( Tortured Dust , 1984). Many critics consider Brakhage's singular achievement to be Dog Star Man (1962–1964), a four-part epic that uses multiple superimpositions to connect the activities of his family (then living a back-tothe-land existence in rural Colorado) to myth and the rhythms of nature.

In 1996 Brakhage was diagnosed with cancer, which might have been caused by the dyes he had used to paint on film. His last works include the live-action self-portrait Stan's Window (2003), and Chinese Series (2003), a film Brakhage made on his deathbed by using his fingernail to etch dancing white marks into black film emulsion.

The Wonder Ring (1955), Reflections on Black (1955), Anticipation of the Night (1958), Window Water Baby Moving (1959), Mothlight (1963), Dog Star Man (1962–1964), The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (1971), The Text of Light (1974), Murder Psalm (1980), The Loom (1986), Commingled Containers (1996)

Brakhage, Stan. Essential Brakhage: Selected Writings on Film-Making . New York: McPherson, 2001

James, David E., ed. Stan Brakhage: Filmmaker . Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2005.

Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde, 1942–2000 . 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

"Stan Brakhage: Correspondences." Chicago Review 47/48, nos. 4/1 (Winter 2001–Spring 2002): 11–30.

Yet the structural film movement was essentially over by the mid-1970s. Structuralist films were triumphs of formal design, but a new generation of leftist experimental artists criticized the apolitical nature of films such as Wavelength and Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son , and began to make movies with ideological content that tackled social issues such as feminism and colonialism. Yet, reverberations of structuralist film continue into later avant-garde film. Sink or Swim (Su Friedrich, 1990) follows a Zorns Lemma –like alphabetical structure, while Teatro Amazonas (Sharon Lockhart, 1999) is a witty commentary on cultural colonialism and a stylish update of Standish Lawder's structuralist Necrology (1971), a one-shot film of people on an escalator projected backwards.

But structuralist filmmakers realized that cinema's formal properties could do more than just tell stories, and made artworks that revealed to us that sometimes a zoom can be more than just a zoom, that it can embody nothing less than a way of seeing.

Another important wave in 1970s experimental film, roughly concurrent with structuralist film, was the rise of the "new talkies," feature-length works influenced by critical theory and the politicized art films of Jean-Luc Godard (b. 1930), Jean-Marie Straub (b. 1933), and Daniele Huillet (b. 1936). Although most experimental films are short, the feature-length experimental film has a long pedigree. During the 1950s and 1960s, as Deren and Brakhage were making their influential short films, other avant-gardists dabbled in longer, more narrative forms. Ron Rice's (1935–1964) Beat-saturated The Flower Thief (1960) and The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man (1963) are feature-length showcases for actor Taylor Mead's inspired improvisations, while Warhol's 1960s films were often longer than most Hollywood films. Some, such as Chelsea Girls (1966), ran in first-run mainstream movie theaters.

The feature-length new talkies that emerged in the 1970s were a more specific type of avant-garde genre. The new talkies are typified by an engagement with critical theory and a return to storytelling, albeit to deconstruct storytelling as a signifying practice. (Many new talkies are simultaneously narratives and essays on narrative.) These traits are clear in the quintessential new talkie, Laura Mulvey (b. 1941) and Peter Wollen's (b. 1938) Riddles of the Sphinx (1977), which tells the story of Louise, a woman who talks with coworkers about childcare and decides to move from a house to an apartment. Sphinx 's form owes much to Godard, but its narrative is something new: an attempt to capture the life of a woman without recourse to genre, "erotica," or the male gaze.

Other key new talkie auteurs are Yvonne Rainer (b. 1934) and Trinh T. Minh-ha (b. 1953). Rainer began her career in dance, bringing aesthetic and political radicalism to the performances she orchestrated as part of the Judson Dance Theater. Her movies such as Film About a Woman Who … (1974) and Privilege (1990) form a kind of spiritual autobiography, tackling various subjects as Rainer herself goes through a lifetime of experiences and observations. Shot through all these films is Rainer's belief in everyday life as a site of political struggle, showing how the personal is always political. Trinh T. Minh-ha's own multicultural background—she has lived in France, the United States, and West Africa—informs Reassemblage (1982), Naked Spaces—Living Is Round (1985), and Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1989). These films renounce traditional narrative and documentary forms, and search for avant-garde ways of representing people of different societies (including Senegal, Mauritania, Burkino Faso, and Vietnam) to First World audiences. But Minh-ha's recent career reveals the difficulty of sustaining new talkie practices in today's film culture. In his seminal essay "The Two Avant-Gardes," Peter Wollen argues that the politicized Godardian art film and the formalist experimental film were the twin poles of 1960s cinematic radicalism, and that the new talkies can be understood as an attempt to bring these poles together ( Readings and Writings , pp. 92–104). Yet, since the 1960s, art cinema has shifted decisively away from radical politics, while experimental cinema has exploded into a multiplicity of approaches, some formal in emphasis and some not.

One mutation in experimental film occurred in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when a group of New York artists made films that emulated the do-it-yourself aesthetics and catchy nihilism of early punk rock. Made in 8mm on miniscule budgets, these films rejected both Hollywood norms and the pretensions of the more formalist tendency in experimental film. Although this movement went by various names ("new cinema," "no wave cinema"), "cinema of transgression" is the most common because of its defining use in Nick Zedd's infamous "The Cinema of Transgression Manifesto" (1985), which begins with a denunciation of the "laziness known as structuralism" and the work of "profoundly undeserving non-talents like Brakhage, Snow, Frampton, Gehr, Breer, etc." and a celebration of films that directly attack "every value system known to man" (p. 40). Like most manifestoes, Zedd's "Transgression" slays the father and claims a complete break with an outmoded past. But many of the cinema of transgression films were, in essence, exhibitions of scandalous behavior, and are logical descendants of an experimental film tradition that includes Kurt Kren's (1929–1998) material action shorts of the 1960s and Vito Acconci's (b. 1940) early 1970s 8mm performance documentaries (which record Acconci plastering up his anus and crushing cockroaches on his body). One significant difference between these precursors and the cinema of transgression is venue: Kren's and Acconci's works were screened in film societies and art galleries , while the transgression films were shown mostly in New York City punk bars.

Although Zedd's manifesto was clearly an act of publicity-seeking hyperbole, the cinema of transgression delivered, throughout the 1980s, a robust wave of avant-garde filmmakers and films. In several works made between 1978 and 1981 ( Guérillère Talks [1978], Beauty Becomes the Beast [1979], and Liberty's Booty [1980]), Vivienne Dick combined documentary interviews, melodramatic narratives, and a jittery camera style perfectly suited to low-fi 8mm. Beth and Scott B.'s Black Box (1978) is a stroboscopic aural assault that treats its spectators like tortured prisoners. Other important transgressors include Richard Kern, Alyce Wittenstein, Cassandra Stark, Eric Mitchell, Kembra Pfahler, James Nares, and Zedd himself, whose affinity for over-the-top parody is present in his films from Geek Maggot Bingo (1983), a send-up of cheesy B-movie horror, to the video spoof The Lord of the Cockrings (2002). Several factors, including the steady gentrification of New York City's Lower East Side and the spread of AIDS, ended the cinema of transgression. Yet the films of many contemporary avant-gardists, including Peggy Ahwesh, Jon Moritsugu, Luther Price, and Martha Colburn, bear the influence of the transgression example.

THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE

According to many critics, the experimental film world went through a period of flagging energy and diminished creativity during the 1980s. Among the reasons, according to Paul Arthur, were the skyrocketing costs of 16mm processing, cutbacks in government and private-foundation funding, and the economic and aesthetic challenges posed by video. By the 1990s, however, it was clear that the movement had undergone a resurgence. Older figures such as Brakhage, Mekas, and Jacobs remained active, and a new generation of artists, aesthetic trends, and exhibition strategies emerged.

One such trend in contemporary experimental production is the use of "outdated" formats. Sadie Benning (b. 1973), the daughter of filmmaker James Benning (b. 1942), shot ghostly autobiographical movies like If Every Girl Had a Diary (1990) and It Wasn't Love (1992) with the Pixelvision–2000, a black-and-white toy video camera that records small, blurry images on audio cassette tape. The Pixelvision camera was only available from 1987 to 1989, but the work of Sadie Benning and other filmmakers (Joe Gibbons, Michael Almereyda, Peggy Ahwesh, Eric Saks) have kept Pixelvision alive. Many avant-gardists have continued to use both regular 8mm and super-8mm, and are passionate about the aesthetic qualities of small-gauge filmmaking. Perhaps the ultimate validation of human-scale small-gauge filmmaking was the exhibition "Big as Life: An American History of 8mm Films," which exhibited small-gauge works by Conner, Brakhage, Wieland, and many others at both New York's Museum of Modern Art and the San Francisco Cinematheque from 1998 to 1999.

Museum retrospectives such as the "Big as Life" program are an important part of experimental film distribution, but the real screening innovation of the last decade were microcinemas—small theaters run by dedicated filmmakers and fans as showcases for nonmainstream work. Total Mobile Home Microcinema, the first contemporary microcinema, was established in 1993 by Rebecca Barton and David Sherman in the basement of their San Francisco apartment building, and by the late 1990s, at least a hundred had sprung up in various cities around the United States. Some of the highest-profile microcinemas include Greenwich Village 's Robert Beck Memorial Cinema, begun by filmmakers Bradley Eros and Brian Frye; San Francisco's Other Cinema, curated by master collagist Craig Baldwin; and the Aurora Picture Show, Andrea Grover's microcinema, housed in a converted church in Houston. Perhaps the microcinema with the most ambitious programming was Blinding Light (1998–2003), a one-hundred-seat, six-night-a-week theater in Vancouver.

The New York Film Festival's "Views from the Avant-Garde," founded by critic Mark McEllhatten and Film Comment editor Gavin Smith in 1997, is an annual cross-section of the experimental film world. The continued activity of established venues such as Anthology Film Archives, Chicago Filmmakers, and the San Francisco Cinematheque, coupled with the rise of microcinemas and touring programs such as John Columbus's Black Maria Film and Video Festival and the MadCatFilm Festival, have made it somewhat easier to see experimental films, a trend pushed even further by the more recent ability to download films from Internet sites such as www.hi-beam.net.

SEE ALSO Animation ; Surrealism ; Video

Arthur, Paul. A Line of Sight: American Avant-Garde Film Since 1965 . Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.

Dixon, Wheeler Winston. The Exploding Eye: A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema . Ithaca: State University of New York Press, 1998.

Horak, Jan-Christopher, ed. Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-Garde, 1919–1945 . Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995.

James, David E. Allegories of Cinema: American Film in the Sixties . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1989.

Le Grice, Malcolm. Abstract Film and Beyond . Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1977.

MacDonald, Scott. Cinema 16: Documents Toward a History of the Film Society . Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.

——. A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers . Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988.

Posner, Bruce, ed. Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film, 1893–1941 . New York: Anthology Film Archives, 2001.

Rabinovitz, Lauren. Points of Resistance: Women, Power, and Politics in the New York Avant-Garde Cinema, 1943–1971 . 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2003.

Rees, A. L. A History of Experimental Film and Video . London: British Film Institute, 1999.

Sitney, P. Adams, ed. Film Culture Reader . 2nd ed. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, 2000.

Small, Edward S. Direct Theory: Experimental Film/Video as Major Genre . Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1994.

Wollen, Peter. "The Two Avant-Gardes." Readings and Writings: Semiotic Counter-Strategies , 92–104. London: Verso, 1982.

Zedd, Nick. "The Cinema of Transgression Manifesto." Film Threat Video Guide 5 (1992): 40.

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A History of 1970s Experimental Film

Review type: Text | Posted on: 3 June 2016

A History of 1970s Experimental Film: Britain’s Decade of Diversity by Patti Gaal-Holmes (Palgrave Macmillan, 2015), 256 pages, ISBN: 978-1137369376 (hardback), £60

Historical accounts of British experimental cinema often sweepingly portray the 1970s as a decade dominated by structural and materialist works – that is, films which rejected content in favour of explorations of the medium’s form and distinct qualities. The artist and historian Patti Gaal-Holmes’ book takes this reductive characterization to task and proposes an alternative reading of the decade. She offers up ‘a form of historical reclamation’ (page 1), drawing attention to experimental films that have often been sidelined or ignored. In particular, she argues against the ‘return to image’ myth, according to which an interest in aesthetics resurfaced in 1980s experimental cinema. ‘Image’, she argues, ‘never disappeared in the 1970s, and thus made no return.’ (1)

The subsequent four chapters in Gaal-Holmes’ book trace separate-but-interconnected thematic strands through the British experimental cinema of the 1970s. Chapter three examines the relationships between experimental film and other forms of visual art, including painting, drawing, sculpture and photography. The chapter forges productive connections between structuralist and materialist filmmakers, and creators driven more by matters of aesthetics: many, it emerges, wanted to explore tensions and connections between filmmaking and other forms of artistic practice. For instance, Gaal-Holmes argues that landscape, most often discussed as a genre of painting and photography, also serves as a recurrent concern across 1970s experimental film, whether being treated romantically (as in films by Derek Jarman and Margaret Tait) or more conceptually (as in works by Chris Welsby).

Chapter four focuses on films in which ‘the personal, symbolic or metaphoric use of image tends to be central’ (98). Individual works including Peter Whitehead’s Fire in the Water  (1977) and Derek Jarman’s In the Shadow of the Sun (1974-81) are dissected in detail; key practitioners such as B. S. Johnson, David Larcher and Margaret Tait are discussed. Here, Gaal-Holmes is particularly successful in effecting her intended historical recalibration: many of the works and practitioners she discusses have been neglected or marginalised in previous accounts of 1970s British experimental cinema.

Following a necessary chapter on structuralism and materialism that pays this strand of experimental film history its due, Gaal-Holmes’ final chapter explores the relationship between women and film. Key conceptual concerns of the decade (such as the notion of a distinctly feminine aesthetic) are neatly summarized; dominant themes in experimental films by women are identified, and significant works named and discussed. This chapter, in particular, serves as a valuable overview of a broad and complex topic, and could be extracted by teachers for classroom use.

For those students unfamiliar with the history of British experimental film, a book such as David Curtis’ A History of Artists’ Film and Video in Britain, 1897-2004 (BFI, 2007) may be needed to provide grounding before tackling Gaal-Holmes’ book. Curtis’ book is also, notably, comprehensively illustrated in colour, whereas the only images in Gaal-Holmes’ are on the cover (a shame, given the latter’s challenge to the ‘return to image’ thesis). However, Gaal-Holmes’ text is to be commended for paying sustained attention to some neglected works and directors, and for setting in motion an important political debate about the ways in which the history of experimental cinema is written.

Dr Glyn Davis

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A History of 1970s Experimental Film

Britain's Decade of Diversity

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• Patti Gaal-Holmes 0

Independent Artist/filmmaker and Historian, UK

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• British cinema
• experimental art
• bibliography
• Great Britain
• history of literature
• organization
• visual arts

Table of contents (8 chapters)

Front matter, introduction.

Patti Gaal-Holmes

Questions of History

Institutional frameworks and organisational strategies, experimental film and other visual arts, visionary, mythopoeia and diary films, experiments with structure and material, women and film, conclusion: (re)cognitions and (re)considerations for this history, back matter.

“The artist and historian Patti Gaal-Holmes’ book takes this reductive characterisation to task and proposes an alternative reading of the decade. … serves as a valuable overview of a broad and complex topic, and could be extracted by teachers for classroom use. … Holmes’ text is to be commended for paying sustained attention to some neglected works and directors, and for setting in motion an important political debate about the ways in which the history of experimental cinema is written.” (Glyn Davis, BUFVC, Issue 102, March, 2016)

"Patti Gaal-Holmes's book offers a comprehensive, informative and readable survey of the creative innovations of experimental filmmakers working in Britain in the 1970s which places their work in key historical, political and socio-cultural contexts. What is particularly impressive here is the balance between Gaal-Holmes's passionate love of experimental film as an artist/filmmaker and her scholarly attention to detail." - Paul Newland, Aberystwyth University, UK

Authors and Affiliations

About the author, bibliographic information.

Book Title : A History of 1970s Experimental Film

Book Subtitle : Britain's Decade of Diversity

Authors : Patti Gaal-Holmes

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137369383

Publisher : Palgrave Macmillan London

eBook Packages : Palgrave Media & Culture Collection , Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)

Copyright Information : Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015

Hardcover ISBN : 978-1-137-36937-6 Published: 16 March 2015

Softcover ISBN : 978-1-349-47491-2 Published: 01 January 2015

eBook ISBN : 978-1-137-36938-3 Published: 17 March 2015

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XVIII, 231

Topics : Film History , British Cinema and TV , Arts , Screen Studies , Genre , Media Studies

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The Top 50 Avant-garde / Experimental Movies of All Time

Rank This Chart

Persona https://www.flickchart.com/movie/51477FA9A2 1966 , 85 min.

Ingmar Bergman   •    Starring: Bibi Andersson ,  Liv Ullmann ,  Margareta Krook

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Foreign Language Film

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Woman in the Dunes https://www.flickchart.com/movie/64B8483026 1964 , 123 min.

Hiroshi Teshigahara   •    Starring: Eiji Okada ,  Kyoko Kishida ,  Hiroko Ito

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Based-on-20th-Century-Literature    •    Drama

The Mirror https://www.flickchart.com/movie/5AF38E0152 1975 , 106 min.

Andrei Tarkovsky   •    Starring: Margarita Terekhova ,  Oleg Yankovskiy ,  Filipp Yankovsky

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Based-on-a-True-Story    •    Biopic

The Holy Mountain https://www.flickchart.com/movie/BE984A7F57 1973 , 114 min.

Alejandro Jodorowsky   •    Starring: Alejandro Jodorowsky ,  Horacio Salinas ,  Zamira Saunders

Adventure    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Media Satire

Last Year at Marienbad https://www.flickchart.com/movie/441EAFCC25 1961 , 94 min.

Alain Resnais   •    Starring: Delphine Seyrig ,  Giorgio Albertazzi ,  Sacha Pitoeff

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie https://www.flickchart.com/movie/15A7167D59 1972 , 102 min.

Luis Buñuel   •    Starring: Fernando Rey ,  Jean-Pierre Cassel ,  Stéphane Audran

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Black Comedy    •    Comedy

Pierrot le fou https://www.flickchart.com/movie/9E50B9C505 1965 , 110 min.

Jean-Luc Godard   •    Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo ,  Anna Karina ,  Graziella Galvani

My Life to Live https://www.flickchart.com/movie/141B741C6D 1962 , 85 min.

Jean-Luc Godard   •    Starring: Anna Karina ,  Guylaine Schlumberger ,  Eric Schlumberger

Man with a Movie Camera https://www.flickchart.com/movie/63B3024A94 1929 , 68 min.

Dziga Vertov   •    Starring: Mikhail Kaufman

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    City Symphony film    •    Culture and Society

F for Fake https://www.flickchart.com/movie/C9F96645FE 1973 , 85 min.

Orson Welles   •    Starring: Joseph Cotten ,  Richard Wilson ,  Orson Welles

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Biography    •    Con Artist / Hustler

Possession https://www.flickchart.com/movie/044AF02050 1981 , 123 min.

Andrzej Zulawski   •    Starring: Isabelle Adjani ,  Sam Neill ,  Margit Carstensen

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Horror

La jetée https://www.flickchart.com/movie/8A66EDB3DF 1962 , 28 min.

Chris Marker   •    Starring: Jean Négroni ,  Hélène Chatelain ,  Davos Hanich

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Foreign Language Film    •    French New Wave

Eraserhead https://www.flickchart.com/movie/185269423E 1977 , 89 min.

David Lynch   •    Starring: Jack Nance ,  Jeanne Bates ,  Judith Anna Roberts

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Body Horror    •    Dystopian Film

House https://www.flickchart.com/movie/E24174DEBB 1977 , 88 min.

Nobuhiko Ôbayashi   •    Starring: Kimiko Ikegami ,  Kumiko Ohba ,  Yôko Minamida

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Comedy    •    Fantasy Comedy

El Topo https://www.flickchart.com/movie/F83F7F7114 1970 , 125 min.

Alejandro Jodorowsky   •    Starring: Alejandro Jodorowsky ,  Alfonso Arau ,  Brontis Jodorowsky

Adventure    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Foreign Language Film

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas https://www.flickchart.com/movie/BA1CE92A58 1998 , 118 min.

Terry Gilliam   •    Starring: Johnny Depp ,  Benicio Del Toro ,  Tobey Maguire

Absurd Comedy    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Based-on-20th-Century-Literature

Koyaanisqatsi https://www.flickchart.com/movie/258F656841 1982 , 86 min.

Godfrey Reggio

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Culture and Society    •    Documentary

Mulholland Dr. https://www.flickchart.com/movie/C35401EBF0 2001 , 147 min.

David Lynch   •    Starring: Naomi Watts ,  Laura Harring ,  Ann Miller

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Mindbender

Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles https://www.flickchart.com/movie/EDA0904CC2 1975 , 201 min.

Chantal Akerman   •    Starring: Delphine Seyrig ,  Jan Decorte ,  Henri Storck

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Female-Directed Film

Un Chien Andalou https://www.flickchart.com/movie/706EEDB109 1929 , 16 min.

Luis Buñuel   •    Starring: Pierre Batcheff ,  Simone Mareuil ,  Luis Buñuel

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Mindbender    •    Satire

Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me https://www.flickchart.com/movie/9FE579D217 1992 , 135 min.

David Lynch   •    Starring: Sheryl Lee ,  Chris Isaak ,  Ray Wise

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Based-on-Television    •    Mystery

Naked Lunch https://www.flickchart.com/movie/D690D04666 1991 , 115 min.

David Cronenberg   •    Starring: Peter Weller ,  Judy Davis ,  Ian Holm

Addiction Drama    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Based-on-20th-Century-Literature

Baraka https://www.flickchart.com/movie/D75B5A56E8 1992 , 96 min.

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Documentary

Santa Sangre https://www.flickchart.com/movie/2132D85083 1989 , 123 min.

Alejandro Jodorowsky   •    Starring: Axel Jodorowsky ,  Blanca Guerra ,  Guy Stockwell

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Fantasy

Enter the Void https://www.flickchart.com/movie/8D79E68AA0 2009 , 136 min.

Gaspar Noé   •    Starring: Paz de la Huerta ,  Nathaniel Brown ,  Cyril Roy

Meshes of the Afternoon https://www.flickchart.com/movie/8F00E91577 1943 , 14 min.

Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid   •    Starring: Maya Deren ,  Alexander Hammid

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Fantasy    •    Female-Directed Film

Daisies https://www.flickchart.com/movie/44BF48CA9B 1966 , 74 min.

Vera Chytilová   •    Starring: Ivana Karbanová ,  Jitka Cerhová ,  Julius Albert

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Black Comedy    •    Comedy Drama

Sans Soleil https://www.flickchart.com/movie/4CFB2B8A65 1983 , 100 min.

Chris Marker   •    Starring: Florence Delay ,  Arielle Dombasle ,  Riyoko Ikeda

Inland Empire https://www.flickchart.com/movie/83BDDB87AE 2006 , 180 min.

David Lynch   •    Starring: Harry Dean Stanton ,  Laura Dern ,  Justin Theroux

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Ensemble Film    •    Mindbender

Waltz with Bashir https://www.flickchart.com/movie/1EBFC9EFB0 2008 , 90 min.

Ari Folman   •    Starring: Ron Ben-Yishai ,  Ronny Dayag ,  Ari Folman

Animation    •    Anti-War Film    •    Avant-garde / Experimental

Week End https://www.flickchart.com/movie/0423946FDF 1967 , 105 min.

Jean-Luc Godard   •    Starring: Jean Yanne ,  Jean-Pierre Kalfon ,  Yves Afonso

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Black Comedy    •    Cannibal Film

Pi https://www.flickchart.com/movie/87C82D2CC5 1998 , 84 min.

Darren Aronofsky   •    Starring: Sean Gullette ,  Mark Margolis ,  Ben Shenkman

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Mindbender    •    Psychological Thriller

Waking Life https://www.flickchart.com/movie/53143C0A99 2001 , 99 min.

Richard Linklater   •    Starring: Wiley Wiggins ,  Kim Krizan ,  Ethan Hawke

Animation    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama

I Am Cuba https://www.flickchart.com/movie/D51F42CA2A 1964 , 141 min.

Mikhail Kalatozov   •    Starring: Salvador Wood ,  Sergio Corrieri ,  José Gallardo

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Epic

Holy Motors https://www.flickchart.com/movie/07D7EDAD1C 2012 , 115 min.

Leos Carax   •    Starring: Denis Lavant ,  Edith Scob ,  Kylie Minogue

The Phantom of Liberty https://www.flickchart.com/movie/3F7F41A6CA 1974 , 104 min.

Luis Buñuel   •    Starring: Adolfo Celi ,  Adriana Asti ,  Julien Bertheau

Celine and Julie Go Boating https://www.flickchart.com/movie/2582D8E1CE 1974 , 193 min.

Jacques Rivette   •    Starring: Juliet Berto ,  Dominique Labourier ,  Bulle Ogier

L'Age d'Or https://www.flickchart.com/movie/E221B053AD 1930 , 60 min.

Luis Buñuel   •    Starring: Gaston Modot ,  Lya Lys

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Comedy    •    Drama

The Blood of a Poet https://www.flickchart.com/movie/4EDCF5BA0F 1932 , 55 min.

Jean Cocteau   •    Starring: Enrique Rivero ,  Elizabeth Lee Miller ,  Pauline Carton

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Fantasy    •    Foreign Language Film

Twin Peaks: The Return https://www.flickchart.com/movie/5E60BF025F 2017 , 1080 min.

David Lynch   •    Starring: Kyle MacLachlan ,  David Lynch ,  Naomi Watts

Absurd Comedy    •    Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Crime Drama

Dogville https://www.flickchart.com/movie/8B20DD452D 2003 , 178 min.

Lars von Trier   •    Starring: John Hurt ,  Philip Baker Hall ,  Nicole Kidman

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Melodrama

Alice https://www.flickchart.com/movie/34A2DAFAE9 1988 , 86 min.

Jan Svankmajer   •    Starring: Kristyna Kohoutova

Adventure    •    Animation    •    Avant-garde / Experimental

Performance https://www.flickchart.com/movie/C86C15F887 1970 , 105 min.

Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg   •    Starring: James Fox ,  Mick Jagger ,  Anita Pallenberg

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Crime Drama    •    Crime

Tetsuo, the Iron Man https://www.flickchart.com/movie/4E50AFC392 1989 , 67 min.

Shinya Tsukamoto   •    Starring: Tomorowo Taguchi ,  Kei Fujiwara ,  Nobu Kanaoka

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Body Horror    •    Cyberpunk / Tech Noir

Mother! https://www.flickchart.com/movie/3E7F4BCE19 2017 , 121 min.

Darren Aronofsky   •    Starring: Jennifer Lawrence ,  Javier Bardem ,  Ed Harris

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Home Invasion Film

Russian Ark https://www.flickchart.com/movie/DC014A8D16 2002 , 99 min.

Aleksandr Sokurov   •    Starring: Sergei Dontsov ,  Mariya Kuznetsova ,  Leonid Mozgovoy

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Foreign Language Film

Gummo https://www.flickchart.com/movie/74AD1C7DAF 1997 , 89 min.

Harmony Korine   •    Starring: Jacob Reynolds ,  Jacob Sewell ,  Nick Sutton

The Color of Pomegranates https://www.flickchart.com/movie/470A9949DD 1968 , 79 min.

Sergei Parajanov   •    Starring: Sofiko Chiaureli ,  Melkon Aleksanyan ,  Vilen Galstyan

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Foreign Language Film    •    Period Film

A Page of Madness https://www.flickchart.com/movie/A8FAC211D5 1926 , 78 min.

Teinosuke Kinugasa   •    Starring: Masuo Inoue ,  Yoshie Nakagawa ,  Ayako Iijima

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    Drama    •    Psychological Drama

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City https://www.flickchart.com/movie/3E16DE4D15 1927 , 65 min.

Walter Ruttmann

Avant-garde / Experimental    •    City Symphony film    •    Documentary

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You, Too, Can Screen an Experimental Film

In the 1960s and ’70s, where and how a film was shown was often as important as the work itself.

Lately, the drive-in has made a comeback as a safe way of taking in a movie. But in the past, creative ways of showing films focused less on the audience and more on the artist’s vision of their work. As Tess Takahashi writes in Cinema Journal , experimental films of the 1960s and ’70s “expanded not only what constituted a screen, but where screens could be located and used.”

These experimental screenings generally fell into three categories, Takahashi explains. In the first kind, the way the film was screened was just as much a part of the artwork as the film. The 1967 Montreal Expo, for example, included the work In the Labyrinth , by Roman Kroitor, Colin Low, and Hugh O’Connor. The film was split across multiple screens, allowing viewers multiple perspectives at the same time. A reviewer at the time described the work : “a concrete fortress five stories high which the viewer enters, moving through dim, intimate corridors […] . He stands with 250 other viewers on both sides of a 38-foot wall screen, which fills the wide end of the teardrop, and peers over a railing, below center, at a 38-foot floor screen.” Films like In the Labyrinth and Nam June Paik’s work with cellist Charlotte Moorman, which “included a TV bra, TV bed, and TV cello,” were events, Takahashi writes, “special, rare, and not to be missed.”

The second type of screening was held in traditional spaces. On the surface, they seemed like regular moviegoing experiences, but the films were far from ordinary: The experimental works shown there would often blend with other art forms, like music and dance. Beryl Korot, for example, explored the connections between art and technology through video, in venues that would seem familiar to anyone who’d been to a movie in an auditorium. As Takahashi writes, “most experimental film, video, and multimedia screenings happened on the second kind of screen, traditional theatrical space.”

But it was the third kind of space, from churches to bars, that perfectly blended film and screenings. In the 1960s and ’70s, Takahashi writes, “the university classroom became an important and enduring setting for experimental film screening.” And long before Netflix bingeing , avant-garde filmmakers were early proponents of home viewings. Filmmakers would show works on makeshift screens in private homes, which both ensured the film would be seen and created a community. As one artist noted, “It was not just a showing; it was also a little tribal assemblage.”

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Broadcast TV also got into the act, with experimental work airing both as part of regular programming and when artists would buy commercial time to show their films. Two channels broadcast Stan VanDerBeek’s 1970 Violence Sonata  at once; the film “asked that people bring their TV sets into the homes of their neighbors and watch the two screens side by side.”

Experimental films, their venues, and even the screens themselves created a culture and community that carries on today. As Takahashi writes, “what was initially considered obscure, difficult, and hermetic instead emerges as a rich site of community, movement, and exchange.”

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95 Best '70s Movies Of All Time Ranked

The "Swinging Sixties" saw the rise of the civil rights movement, advancements in LGBTQ+ rights in the wake of the Stonewall Riots in 1969, and huge historically significant events such as the moon landing, also in 1969. Following this, the 1970s was a decade of great change with key events such as the growing anti-war sentiment against the controversial conflict in Vietnam, and the Watergate Scandal proving to be influential in all facets of society, including cinema.

As is usually the case, movies can be a mirror of what is happening at the time, and the 1970s proved to be a hugely varied decade for cinema. It was a period that saw greater diversification in Hollywood with Blaxploitation films such as "Shaft" and "Coffy," and martial arts films including "Enter the Dragon" and "Drunken Master" increasing in popularity and becoming more mainstream.

While you can find wonderful examples of every genre imaginable in the 1970s, it is perhaps best known for two key areas: gritty films with frequently bleak endings  and the rise of the blockbuster. The 1970s was a challenging time in social history, and while this was reflected in the often pessimistic cinematic output, the big blockbuster, crowd-pleasing films were also there to provide the perfect escapism. Whatever film you are in the mood for, this iconic era has got you covered, so join us as we take a look at the 95 best movies of the 1970s.

95. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Paying tribute to schlocky science fiction and horror B movies, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a provocative, subversive, and perverted musical comedy that features a standout performance from Tim Curry as the mad scientist, Dr. Frank-N-Furter. The fun starts when loved-up young couple Brad (Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) stumble across the home of Dr. Frank-N-Furter while stuck in a storm with a flat tire.

With a number of memorable songs including "Sweet Tranvestite" and "Time Warp," "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" is a singularly unique musical that has now become a cult classic. Upon its release, the film was a flop and was pulled from several theaters due to a lack of audience interest. In 1976, a year after the film's release, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" was revived as a midnight movie and its popularity grew from there, with audience participation encouraged and many fans coming to screenings in costume. According to the BBC , the film has since grossed over $170 million in addition to becoming the longest continually running movie release in history.

If you haven't seen this classic Blaxploitation flick, you will almost certainly have heard the theme song by Isaac Hayes, which won the Oscar for best original song for "Shaft." Richard Roundtree stars in the film as the effortlessly cool detective, John Shaft, who is hired by mobster Bumpy Jonas (Moses Gunn) to find his kidnapped daughter.

With memorable dialogue and characteristically over-the-top fight scenes, "Shaft" is a film that packs a punch and ultimately succeeds through the charismatic screen presence of Richard Roundtree as the titular protagonist. Like many Blaxploitation films, "Shaft" takes its inspiration from the '40s crime capers and film noirs, injecting a fresh flavor and energy to the genre that proved to be hugely popular in the 1970s. "Shaft" also proved to be a hit with audiences , making over $12 million off a meager budget of just $500,000.

93. Sorcerer

While director William Friedkin's other prominent films from this decade — namely "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection" — may have been considerably more successful, 1977's "Sorcerer" is a film that has earned a reputation over the years as being one of the greatest suspense thrillers ever made . A remake of the 1953 film "The Wages Of Fear," "Sorcerer" follows a similar narrative with four men on the run and marooned in a desolate South American village.

Led by former gang member Jackie Scanlon (Roy Scheider), they embark on a hazardous 200-mile journey to transport two truckloads of volatile nitroglycerin to extinguish a raging oil well fire. If they succeed, they will be paid $10,000 to buy their freedom out of there. With a series of well-constructed and nail-biting set-pieces — including a stunning sequence on an unstable rope bridge — "Sorcerer" is a masterclass in tension with a thought-provoking ending, distinctly lacking in emotion or remorse. It may not have received the same plaudits as Friedkin's other films, but "Sorcerer" is a riveting watch and well worth seeking out.

92. Harold and Maude

The 1970s was a decade for boundary pushing, and nowhere is that more prevalent than in the darkly comedic "Harold and Maude." In the film, Harold (Bud Cort) is a sardonic 19-year-old with an unhealthy fascination with death, and Maude (Ruth Gordon) is an eccentric 79-year-old with a zest for life. The two strike up an unlikely friendship that soon develops into something more romantic.

While on paper, Harold and Maude's relationship is overtly taboo-breaking, there is a surprising sweetness to their pairing as well, with Maude helping the morbid Harold to live life to the fullest. Largely due to its twisted and strange story, "Harold And Maude" was both a critical and commercial failure at the time, not making a profit until 12 years later (via The New York Times ). Subsequently critically reassessed, the film now holds a certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was given a Criterion release in 2012.

91. Saturday Night Fever

The 1970s was also a big era for music, and the one film that epitomized the rising popularity of disco music during this period was 1977's "Saturday Night Fever." In the film, John Travolta plays Tony Manero, a man with a dead-end job who still hasn't moved out of his parent's house. On the weekends, however, he comes alive when he goes to the disco with friends to show off his moves. When he chooses to compete in a big dance competition, he pairs up with Stephanie (Karen Lynn Gorney), and it isn't long before a romantic spark develops between them as well.

While he had made his name on the sitcom "Welcome Back, Kotter," it was "Saturday Night Fever" that made a star out of John Travolta, who also received an Oscar nomination for his role in the film. With the dance sequences being particularly memorable — demonstrating Travolta's dancing skills as well as his acting prowess — it isn't a surprise that the music plays an important part in the film, with the songs provided mostly by the Bee Gees. The soundtrack was a huge hit, selling more than $15 million copies in the U.S. and going on to become the second best-selling movie soundtrack of all time behind "The Bodyguard" ( via Audicus ).

90. The Warriors

Arriving at the tail-end of the decade, "The Warriors" takes place in a dystopian New York where Cyrus (Roger Hill) — leader of the Gramercy Riffs gang — gathers the city's street gangs together to encourage them to unite and take over the city. When Cyrus is killed, the gang known as the Warriors are blamed, leading to an eruption of violence. As chaos breaks loose, the night turns into a fight for survival as each gang tries to return to the safety of their own turf, while taking down whoever stands in their way.

While it has dystopian undertones, there is stark realism in "The Warriors," with gang culture prevalent — particularly in New York — during this decade. In 1973, the New York Times reported that "the gangs have unleashed a reign of terror," particularly in the South Bronx area, so while the violence in "The Warriors" may seem pulpy or exaggerated, there is an element of truth to it. For this reason, perhaps, the film really resonated with audiences, making just under $22.5 million at the box office.

89. The Man Who Fell to Earth

Sold on the star power of David Bowie — who was one of the most popular artists in the late '60s and early '70s — "The Man Who Fell to Earth" marked the singer's first major film appearance . He plays Thomas Jerome Newton, an alien who arrives in New Mexico to find water for his home planet, using the advanced technology of his home planet to accrue wealth in order to achieve this — something that brings him to the attention of rival corporations and government operatives. While on Earth, Thomas also meets and falls in love with hotel clerk Mary-Lou (Candy Clark), who teaches him some of what it means to be human.

As a singer, Bowie was known for frequently being able to reinvent himself and inhabiting characters such as Ziggy Stardust and the Thin White Duke, and it is this that makes him an inspired choice to play an alien inhabiting a human body. Due to its hypnotic qualities and surreal visuals, "The Man Who Fell To Earth" went on to become a cult classic, with audiences drawn to its experimental and meditative story.

88. Straw Dogs

When the unassuming, bespectacled David Sumner (Dustin Hoffman) marries beautiful Englishwoman Amy (Susan George) in "Straw Dogs," the pair move from America to a rural Cornish town for a quieter and more relaxed pace of life. When they arrive, David is singled out by the locals, perceiving him as having undeservedly taken one of their own. As things begin to escalate, and Amy and David become the targets of more extreme attacks, David takes matters into his own hands to protect his house.

Attracting controversy due to its depictions of sexual assault, "Straw Dogs" was subjected to edits to pass for censors. While cut in the United States, the U.K. took a much more hardline approach, and the film wasn't released uncut on home media until 2002 ( via BBFC ). The 1970s was undoubtedly an era for testing the limits, and despite the extreme, visceral elements of "Straw Dogs," it was one of the most impactful films of the decade.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). 

87. Last Tango in Paris

When grieving hotel owner Paul (Marlon Brando) meets Frenchwoman Jeanne (Maria Schneider) following his wife's death in "Last Tango in Paris," the pair seem to have instant chemistry and they embark on a passionate, carnal affair. While they initially want to retain a level of anonymity and do not reveal anything about themselves to each other — including their names and personal circumstances — they start to realize that their ignorance of each other cannot go on.

In its depiction of sexual violence, "Last Tango in Paris" was another '70s film that caused an outcry , leading to censorship in some countries, and an X rating from the MPAA — something that drastically limited the number of people that could see it. This didn't seem to affect the film's commercial success , however, and its notoriety and the subsequent media frenzy surrounding it pushed more people to go and see it. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, the fresh controversy started to surround the film when it was revealed that Maria Schneider had not been made aware of exactly what the controversial butter scene would entail (via El Mundo de Alycia ). While this has tarnished the legacy of the film, it has opened up the conversation and led to progressive changes to protect the welfare of actors, such as the introduction of intimacy coordinators (via The Hollywood Reporter ).

If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).

86. Play Misty for Me

Marking his directorial debut, Clint Eastwood also stars in "Play Misty for Me" as radio D.J. Dave Garver, who meets a woman called Evelyn Draper at a nightclub (Donna Mills). While he believes she is just a random girl, he later learns she is an obsessive fan who repeatedly calls his show and asks them to play the jazz song "Misty." After they sleep together, they start to casually see other, despite the fact Garver is in a relationship with his girlfriend Tobie (Donna Mills). Enraged by the idea that she can't be with him, Evelyn's behavior quickly turns erratic, and the question emerges of how far she will be prepared to go.

While at times it is a little formulaic, "Play Misty for Me" is nonetheless a highly effective psychological thriller, with Donna Mills' deranged performance as Evelyn Draper being genuinely frightening. The film hit the right notes with the critics, including Roger Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times , who wrote it "is not the artistic equal of 'Psycho,' but in the business of collecting an audience into the palm of its hand and then squeezing hard, it is supreme."

85. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

Providing audiences with a golden ticket to "a world of pure imagination," this fantastical confectionary musical follows young Charlie Bucket (Peter Ostrum) — a boy from a poor background who wins the opportunity to take a tour through the reclusive Willy Wonka's (Gene Wilder) famous chocolate factory. With just a hint of darkness underpinning it, the triumph of Charlie Bucket is the ultimate underdog story in "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," and he is the audience's relatable gateway to the lurid, yet wonderfully weird world of Wonka.

Gene Wilder's star turn as the titular candy king is legendary, equal parts charming, enigmatic, and manic, making him the perfect fit for the character. With a host of memorable songs and the wonderful message that kindness and generosity should succeed over greed and narcissism, it is a film overflowing with nostalgia and joy. While it wasn't a huge box office success , it gradually built cult status over time with the boost from home media sales.

84. All that Jazz

Written and directed by the legendary Bob Fosse, this semi-autobiographical film focuses on pill-popping choreographer Joe Gideon (Roy Scheider) as he struggles to balance editing a film he has directed with staging his latest Broadway musical. An intense perfectionist, womanizer, and reliant on a cocktail of drugs, Gideon's hedonistic lifestyle begins to take its toll in "All that Jazz."

Roy Scheider's performance is nothing short of extraordinary, and throughout the film, you really get the sense of him becoming worn down, as the pressures of his work and the self-inflicted neglect of his health overwhelm him. With hypnotic dance sequences — both real and imagined — "All that Jazz" is a mesmerizing and hypnotic character study of a troubled and charismatic figure. The film proved to be a huge hit with audiences and received nine Oscar nominations, winning in four categories including best original score and best editing.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

83. The Muppet Movie

While they have now had a number of feature films under their belt , 1979's "The Muppet Movie" was the first big-screen adventure for Jim Henson's popular puppets. With all your favorite characters along for the ride, "The Muppet Movie" sees Kermit traveling from Florida to California to try and become a Hollywood star. Along the way, he picks up the likes of Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, and of course, Miss Piggy, who also have dreams of stardom. Standing in their way is the villainous restauranter Doc Hopper (Charles Durning) who wants Kermit to be the spokesperson of his floundering chain of frog-legs restaurants.

With the trademark meta-humor, and a slew of celebrity cameos, "The Muppet Movie" represents the great and the good of their television series, "The Muppet Show," but with the added bonus of a great story that ties everything together. The film was a box office smash , making over $65 million worldwide off a budget of $8 million, and picked up two Oscar nominations for best original song and best score.

82. Mad Max

Set in a dystopian future in Australia, "Mad Max" features a world wherein the depletion of precious oil supplies has resulted in a chaotic, lawless society, and every day becomes a fight for survival. When what remains of the police force tries to take down a biker gang, things become personal for Max (Mel Gibson) after they murder his wife and son. With nothing left to live for, Max exacts his bloody revenge on the desolate roads in the outback.

George Miller's stunning film is a distinctly low-budget affair compared to 2015's "Mad Max Fury Road," but that is part of its charm. "Mad Max" feels reminiscent of a spaghetti western in places, with the complicated protagonist embarking on a one-man revenge mission against those who wronged him. The high-octane car chases are among some of the very best, and the often brutal and visceral action scenes feel wrought with emotion even as Max evolves into a cold-hearted killing machine.

81. Blazing Saddles

A hilarious pastiche of Westerns, "Blazing Saddles" has elements that haven't aged well, but it remains as funny now as it was in 1974 when it was released. When plans emerge to build a railroad through the small frontier town of Rock Ridge, greedy attorney general Hedley Lamarr (Harvey Korman) sends his thugs to rid them of their Sheriff so he can assume power and reap the millions the railroad will bring. Tasked with finding a new Sheriff to protect the town, Governor William J. Le Petomane (Mel Brooks) is convinced by Lamarr to hire black railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little) — a deliberate power play to bring chaos to the town so he can take over.

Bart's presence causes an uproar in the racially prejudiced town, however, through his friendship with gunslinger Jim (Gene Kelly), they start to come around to the idea when the town comes under attack. Vulgar, crass, and often outrageous, "Blazing Saddles" may be an acquired taste but its relentless and manic energy ensures the laughs come thick, fast, and consistently. With largely positive reviews from critics , "Blazing Saddles" success was cemented when it was nominated for three Academy Awards, for best actress, best original song, and best film editing.

80. Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore

While it has its moments, "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" is a distinctly warmer affair than Martin Scorsese's other '70s output. The film focuses on the titular woman (Ellen Burstyn), an aspiring singer who, along with her talkative son Tommy (Alfred Lutter), packs up their life in New Mexico with dreams of heading to California. Running into financial problems, they settle in Arizona, and Alice works as a waitress in a diner to save the money she needs. However, things change when she meets handsome rancher David (Kris Kristofferson).

Through the character of Alice, Scorsese's film beautifully captures the frustration and longing of a woman who feels as though she sacrificed her career for her family, and Burstyn's memorable performance reflects both her sadness and her determination to carve out a new path. Nominated for three Oscars, the Academy recognized the strength of Burstyn's performance, winning the prize for best actress in a leading role.

79. An Unmarried Woman

After Erica Benton's (Jill Clayburgh) marriage comes to an unceremonious end, her world is turned upside down in "An Unmarried Woman." As she processes the betrayal of her husband's infidelity, she takes tentative steps back into the world of dating — something she feels woefully unequipped for — until she eventually meets artist Saul (Alan Bates) and starts to consider whether there could be a future with him.

Jill Clayburgh is revelatory as Erica, and her performance exudes warmth as well as a heartbreaking vulnerability. There are many films that explore this idea of newfound freedom following a marriage breakdown, and while Erica does experience moments of joy through her relationship with Saul, it doesn't ignore the complex emotions she is feeling after a life-altering revelation. While we're willing Erica to find lasting happiness, the film acknowledges that real life isn't always as straightforward as that — something that is keenly felt in the film's bittersweet ending.

78. Kramer vs. Kramer

Where other '70s films such as "An Unmarried Woman" and "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" focus on the female perspective following a relationship breakdown, 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer" shifts this to focus on the film's husband. After his wife, Joanna (Meryl Streep), leaves him and their son, Billy (Justin Henry), Ted Kramer (Dustin Hoffman) is forced to abandon his career as a high-flying advertising executive and raise his son alone, allowing the two to form a stronger relationship.

Working effectively as both a relationship drama and a courtroom drama , "Kramer vs. Kramer" explores the toll divorce takes on all parties, with the resulting court battle threatening to tear the family apart even further. Ultimately, the film champions the importance of being present, and the evolution of Ted from an absent, work-obsessed man, to a loving father is a joy to watch. With two actors at the peak of their powers, "Kramer vs. Kramer" proved to be a huge success, nominated for nine Oscars and winning five, including prizes for both Streep and Hoffman, best picture, director, and adapted screenplay.

77. Invasion of the Body Snatchers

A remake of the 1956 classic, 1978's version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" shifts the action to San Francisco as strange plant pods begin appearing all over the city, assimilating and then duplicating people, transforming them into lifeless alien beings. Donald Sutherland plays Matthew Bennell, a man who works in the San Francisco Health Department and becomes aware of the threat when his colleague, Elizabeth (Brooke Adams), mentions her husband's behavior has suddenly changed. As similar reports start to crop up throughout the city, Bennell faces a race against time to work out what is happening and how to stop it.

As much as the original was about the post-war paranoia in America at the time — particularly the fear surrounding covert espionage — the remake is a distinctly '70s affair, reflecting a new era of paranoia and distrust in the government in the wake of Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. In addition to leaning more into the body horror elements, this version also expands on the themes, giving commentary on the shifting time period, in which the '60s freedom of expression has evolved into a decade of conformity. The haunting final scene of Sutherland's contorted face is an iconic movie moment and one that will live with you for a long time afterward.

76. Fantastic Planet

While the animation giant that is Disney suffered a period of uncertainty in the '70s. following the death of Walt Disney in 1966, the experimental French animated film, "Fantastic Planet," proved the genre was still thriving when you looked a little further outside the mainstream. The film charts the relationship between a race of tiny humans called Oms, who are ruled over by the oppressive blue-skinned creatures called Draags. When one of the Oms bonds with a young female Draag, it sparks a rebellion with the potential to either end with the two factions finding a way to live harmoniously with each other, or a war to determine the stronger group.

"Fantastic Planet" is undeniably surreal and strange, with a deep underlying allegory that in a way reflects the civil rights movement in America that had dominated much of the previous two decades. Providing a welcome palette cleanser to some of the more traditional animated films of the '70s, "Fantastic Planet" was included in Rolling Stone's list of the 40 greatest animated films with the article stating, "the inventive aesthetics alone qualify this one for inclusion on all-time lists such as these."

Now a multi-film franchise, 1976's "Rocky" was the film that started it all and the first one to introduce Sylvester Stallone as the working-class Philadelphia boxer, Rocky Balboa. Rising up the ranks from the small-time fights to the big leagues, Rocky is selected to fight the world heavyweight champion, Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) when Creed's original opponent is injured. While undergoing his training with the fiery Mickey (Burgess Meredith), Rocky also begins dating the quiet Adrian (Talia Shire), the sister of his friend Paulie (Burt Young), who gives him the motivation to succeed beyond just being the best.

Often imitated but rarely bettered, "Rocky" is not completely devoid of the cliches that seem to come organically with the plucky underdog story, but it is one of the purer offerings from the franchise, establishing a likable lead character and a surprisingly sweet relationship with the lovely Adrian. "Rocky" is a feel-good, triumphant sports movie classic, with the now-iconic scene of Rocky climbing the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art becoming a defining moment of the decade — and changing the way people would run up the stairs forever.

74. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Birthing one of the all-time great horror movie villains in the form of the chainsaw-wielding Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen), "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is a film that has never lost the power to shock and scare. After learning her grandfather's grave has been vandalized, Sally (Marilyn Burns) and her brother, Franklin (Paul A. Partain), head out with a group of friends to investigate. When they explore the family's old farmhouse, they are terrorized by the group of insane, blood-thirsty neighbors, and what began as a trip down memory lane becomes a desperate battle for survival.

Striking the perfect balance between the grotesque, gory deaths, and the atmospheric moments of extreme tension-building, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" is an unrelentingly nerve-wracking experience that masterfully executes its unique blend of extreme horror. It is nasty, boundary-pushing, and set a high bar for not just the '70s slasher movie, but the genre as a whole.

73. The Castle of Cagliostro

Six years before the legendary director Hayao Miyazaki co-founded the beloved animation house, Studio Ghibli, the delightful "The Castle Of Cagliostro" was a sign of the great things to come. Also his feature directorial debut, the film focuses on Arsene Lupin III (Yasuo Yamada), a dashing and daring thief who plans an elaborate casino heist. Upon learning the spoils of the heist are counterfeit, Lupin embarks on an adventure that leads him to the source of the fake bills, the villainous Count Lazare de Cagliostro (Tarō Ishida).

While Miyazaki later became known for the fantastical worlds of favorites such as "My Neighbor Totoro" and the Oscar-winning "Spirited Away," his debut is instead a well-paced and imaginative caper, imbued with a trademark sense of fun and wonder. While it sits outside the canon of Studio Ghibli, "The Castle Of Cagliostro" is still a wonderfully enjoyable film and another shining example of the under-appreciated animated greats that were released in this decade.

72. National Lampoon's Animal House

Outrageous and gut-bustingly funny, "National Lampoon's Animal House" sees a group of socially awkward freshmen trying to get into the haughty Omega Theta Pi fraternity. When they are rejected, they instead approach the riotous Delta Tau Chi House, which becomes the target of college dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon) who is trying to keep the hard-partying frat boys in check.

As well as being packed with gags and one-liners, "National Lampoon's Animal House" was a real trailblazer, setting a benchmark for the wave of "college" comedies and teen sex comedies that would follow. Without it, we wouldn't have had films such as the "American Pie" franchise, and it embodies a youthful and rebellious spirit that provides a welcome palette cleanser to some of the more serious output of the '70s. Critic Roger Ebert recognized the merit of the film in his review saying, "It's anarchic, messy, and filled with energy. It assaults us. Part of the movie's impact comes from its sheer level of manic energy."

71. Dawn of the Dead

When a horde of zombies begins to surge through America, humanity is forced into a desperate fight for survival against the undead as they struggle to find a place of safety in "Dawn of the Dead." Radio station employee Stephen (David Emge), his girlfriend Francine (Gaylen Ross), and SWAT team members Roger (Scott H. Reiniger) and Peter (Ken Foree) retreat to a shopping mall to make their final stand.

Later hilariously and lovingly lambasted in Edgar Wright's "Shaun Of The Dead," the strength of George A. Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead" lies in the way it utilizes not just everyday people, but everyday locations to terrifying — and frequently amusing — effect. Proving his prowess with the zombie genre in 1968's "Night Of The Living Dead," Romero's '70s contribution incorporated a cynical, satirical, and tongue-in-cheek sensibility, with lashings of dark comedy amidst the zombie carnage.

70. Walkabout

Five years before "The Man Who Fell to Earth," director Nicolas Roeg's poetic and hypnotic "Walkabout" presented a very different kind of survival movie. Lured into the harsh Australian outback by their father (John Meillon), a teenage girl (Jenny Agutter) and her younger brother (Lucien John) are left to fend for themselves after he tries to shoot them before turning the gun on himself. When they encounter an Indigenous boy, they are taught some key survival lessons and learn about the occasionally harmonious and often chaotic relationship between nature and humanity.

"Walkabout" is one of those films that appears to be one thing, but has a lot going on underneath the surface, with the idea of "returning to nature" echoing a Biblical Eden scenario. With vast differences between the two siblings and the Indigenous boy, the film also reflects on the importance of communication, and how basic human survival is something that can transcend any language or cultural barriers. An unusual and artistic meditation on life, "Walkabout" was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the prestigious Cannes film festival, and its status as an underseen cult favorite was cemented with its Criterion Collection release in 2010.

69. Suspiria

It is perhaps fitting in Dario Argento's Giallo horror masterpiece — with the term "Giallo" deriving from the Italian for yellow, the color used in Italian mystery thriller books — that color plays such an important role in the unique visual storytelling of "Suspiria." Lurid, garish, and resembling a technicolor fever-dream, "Suspiria" focuses on young ballerina Suzy (Jessica Harper) who attends a prestigious ballet academy in Germany. As she begins her training, Suze also experiences terrifying and hallucinatory visions, and when fellow student Pat (Eva Axén) is murdered, Suzy discovers something sinister is going on beneath the surface.

Sold on its power to shock and terrify, "Suspiria" remains a bloody, brutal, and brilliant film, with an eye-catching visual palette that makes it easily identifiable from almost any frame. While the initial critical response was mixed, over the years "Suspiria" has subsequently been reassessed, and is now regarded as a cult horror classic. Writing for AllMovie , critic Jason Buchanan called it, "one of the most striking assaults on the senses ever to be committed to celluloid ... this unrelenting tale of the supernatural was — and likely still is — the closest a filmmaker has come to capturing a nightmare on film."

With a plethora of creative death scenes that appear to have come from the mind of a deranged toddler, trippy Japanese horror "House" is an experience like no other. Irritated by her father's new partner, the young Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) decides to visit her aunt's remote mansion with six of her friends — the aptly named Kung Fu, Prof, Fantasy, Mac, Sweet, and Melody. However, it isn't long before strange and supernatural things start happening, leaving the girls terrified and fighting for their lives.

"House" is a film that has everything: flying severed heads, homicidal pianos, sentient appliances, and a possessed cat. While it may be an acquired taste, the fact it is so unpredictable and surreal means it is as entertaining as it is shocking — a film seemingly destined to become a cult classic based on the premise alone. '70s cinema was constantly pushing the boundaries and testing what it could get away with, and the film's bonkers energy demonstrates what can happen when this is taken to the extreme. A true landmark film and decades ahead of its time, it is a sheer miracle that a film like this even exists.

67. Deliverance

Where a survival adventure movie and horror intersect, you will find 1972's "Deliverance," a film that garnered controversy for its infamous "squeal like a pig" scene, and awards recognition with three Oscar nominations. When four city workers choose to take a canoeing trip to escape the rat race and their families, they find themselves at the mercy of the locals. Following a malice-tinged banjo battle , they take to the water, and things take a dark turn when two mountain men show up.

Heavy with masculine energy, "Deliverance" is a gritty, visceral, and intense film that explores man's primal side, and the brutality they are capable of when pushed to the edge. The contrast between the beautiful scenery of rural Georgia, and the film's more difficult-to-watch scenes reflects the duality of nature that is a prevalent theme throughout. The result is a beautifully shot film that has the power to repulse and scare, leaving audiences both in awe and frightened at how frail humans are compared to nature's wilder side.

While not the '70s film that Steven Spielberg is perhaps best known for, 1971's "Duel" is a masterclass in suspense building, and a sign of the greatness that was to follow four years later. David Mann (Dennis Weaver) is a salesman, driving solo on the highway when an oil tanker — driven by an aggressive unseen driver — tries to run him off the road. Locked in a potentially deadly game of cat and mouse, David desperately tries to evade the truck driver's increasingly erratic behavior, before he realizes he might just need to give them a taste of their own medicine in order to survive. 

The beauty of this film is in its simplicity, and just as "Jaws" finds its strength in the man vs. beast idea, "Duel" is a low-budget, stripped-back film about a relentless battle for survival between man and machine. While it was originally a made-for-TV movie, "Duel" is distinctly cinematic, and despite its slim budget, sparse script, and limited cast, it is wonderfully demonstrative of what an audacious and exciting director Spielberg was in this decade — just as his career was about to really take off.

65. Manhattan

More so than any of his other films, Woody Allen's "Manhattan" is as much a love letter to New York as it is a love story, with Allen playing divorced writer Isaac Davis. After his wife, Jill (Meryl Streep), leaves him for another woman, Isaac is struggling with the idea of being middle-aged and alone. While dating high-schooler, Tracey (Mariel Hemingway), he contemplates a relationship with Mary (Diane Keaton), who is having an affair with his best friend, Yale (Michael Murphy).

Bolstered by its excellent screenplay and exceptional performances, "Manhattan" is a funny and bittersweet film that gives an honest depiction of how messy and complicated relationships can be. As the title would suggest, it is a distinctly New York story — and the exquisite cinematography ensures it has rarely looked better — yet there is a universality to it, and a believability to the characters that makes it so charming. 

64. The Exorcist

Loosely based on real events, this iconic horror masterpiece from director William Friedkin is now amongst the most profitable — and notorious — horror movies ever made. When young girl, Regan (Linda Blair), begins acting strangely — speaking in tongues and even levitating — her mother (Ellen Burstyn) calls in a priest (Jason Miller) and an exorcism expert (Max von Sydow), after her attempts to get medical help for her daughter fail. 

Considered now to be one of the greatest horror movies of all time , "The Exorcist" is a striking, shocking, and disturbing film that not only tested the limits of what audiences could take in terms of scares but was also an affront to religion and spirituality — challenging moviegoers to think and question while they were also cowering in fear. Prompting people to scream , faint, and even vomit, "The Exorcist" steadily built upon its cult of notoriety, maintaining its box office record as the most profitable horror movie until 2017 when it was unseated by "It: Chapter One" ( via The Wrap ). 

63. A Clockwork Orange

While it was released in 1971, many audiences didn't see the controversial "A Clockwork Orange" until the late '90s, following director Stanley Kubrick's decision to withdraw the film following its initial theatrical run. The film follows the charismatic thug, Alex (Malcolm McDowell), and his band of "Droogs" as they embark on a spree of ultra-violence and mayhem in a retro-futuristic dystopian society. When Alex is caught following a break-in at a wealthy woman's mansion, the story shifts to whether Alex can be cured of his violent tendencies with an experimental reformation program.

Described by critic Roger Ebert as "an ideological mess" in his scathing two-star review , the film's supposed glamorization of violence was cited as the inspiration for a series of "copycat crimes," and the subsequent vilification in the press prompted Kubrick to pull the film. As is often the case, when a film is unavailable, the intrigue and notoriety surrounding it only increase as it becomes something of a holy grail for cinephiles. While undeniably bleak, the universal themes of youth disenfranchisement, government control, and the power and influence of technology and music, make "A Clockwork Orange" still relevant today.

62. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three

Joseph Sargent's taut and exciting thriller "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" sees a group of color-codenamed criminals hijack a New York City subway car, threatening to kill the passengers they take hostage unless they receive $1 million. Tasked with taking them down, police lieutenant Zack Garber (Walter Matthau) faces a race against time to stop the train and save those on board.

Even though the criminals brand themselves with codenames in order to give themselves a degree of anonymity — something Quentin Tarantino later paid homage to in "Reservoir Dogs" — "The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three" exhibits surprisingly strong character development, and by the end, there is the sense that we really know these characters and understand their motivations. Bolstered by the contained and claustrophobic setting of the subway train, this 1974 thriller is a fast-moving and energetic experience with exceptional dialogue and a characteristically brilliant performance from Robert Shaw as the ruthless leader of the gang.

61. Five Easy Pieces

In his first major starring role, Jack Nicholson delivers a beautifully nuanced performance as the pianist, Bobby Eroica Dupea. After he decides to move away from his upper-class background, Bobby takes a job in a California oil field where he dates a waitress, Rayette (Karen Black), and adjusts to a blue-collar way of life that is a stark contrast to his privileged upbringing. His attempts to reject his past reach an uncomfortable conundrum, however, when he finds out his father is ill, prompting him to reconnect with the estranged family he left behind and leads him to question where he belongs.

With heavy European influence, "Five Easy Pieces" is an engaging and insightful character study, with Nicholson's performance perfectly embodying the character's feeling of emotional ennui. This sense of being between two places and not really sure of where you fit in is something that was very characteristic of this decade — particularly amongst the youth who were disenfranchised by the previous generation and the government, partly due to the controversial war in Vietnam. Sitting at the precipice of the shifting counterculture from the 1960s to the 1970s, "Five Easy Pieces" existential qualities beautifully capture that feeling of trying to find where you belong, leaving enough ambiguity and open-endedness as a way to emphasize there isn't always an easy answer to this question.  

60. Superman: The Movie

The 1970s wasn't all gritty thrillers and provocative political dramas, and in 1978, a certain superhero was poised to swoop in and save the day. When his planet is on the brink of destruction, scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sends his son, Kal-El, to Earth. Renamed Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), and raised by farmers Jonathan (Glenn Ford), and Martha (Phyllis Thaxter), Clark later discovers he has immense superhuman powers and becomes the savior of the city of Metropolis. As well as battling the notorious villain, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), Clark also moonlights as a news reporter and falls in love with a co-worker, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder).

Imbued with a contagious feeling of fun and adventure, "Superman: The Movie" is one of the most unabashedly entertaining offerings of this decade, and — while the effects may be dated compared to today's plethora of superhero movies — it remains one of the most enjoyable in the genre. As Superman/Clark Kent, Reeve is perfectly cast, with the chiseled good looks and the charismatic qualities needed to embody this iconic comic book character. In a decade that saw John Williams compose some of his most memorable themes — including "Jaws" and "Star Wars" — his music for "Superman: The Movie" is easily one of the most triumphant, and synonymous with the character to this day, despite the subsequent iterations.  

59. Blue Collar

Proved two years earlier with Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver," few people write world-wearied, brooding outcasts as well as Paul Schrader, and "Blue Collar" is another excellent example that also sees the acclaimed writer make his directorial debut. The film focuses on assembly line workers Zeke Brown (Richard Pryor), Jerry Bartowski (Harvey Keitel), and Smokey James (Yaphet Kotto), who become fed up with the daily grind and decide to rob their own union. As they are not professional thieves, they're initially disappointed with their spoils, however, they soon discover they've potentially uncovered some union corruption and possible links they may have to organized crime. 

Receiving high praise from critics , "Blue Collar" succeeds at being both a scathing attack on greedy and corrupt businesses and an exploration of the plight of those lower down the chain. Throughout the film, there is a highly effective and palpable feeling of broiling tension — something that was also reflected behind the scenes where the actors and director frequently clashed, resulting in Schrader having a nervous breakdown ( via The Back Row ). With outstanding performances from the cast, "Blue Collar" is at times darkly comedic and has lost none of its potency over the years. 

58. Eraserhead

If you want to make an impression with your feature directorial effort, then 1977's "Eraserhead" is certainly one way to do it. From the twisted mind of David Lynch, "Eraserhead" is a singularly unique and strange film about a man called Henry (John Nance), who is left alone to care for the hideously deformed, reptilian baby that was the result of a fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart), who is driven hysterical by the child's cries. With other characters such as the Man in the Planet (Jack Fisk) and the disfigured Lady in the Radiator (Laurel Near) also tormenting Henry, his existence quickly becomes a living nightmare.

"Eraserhead" is undeniably a hard movie to describe, and an equally hard move to like — something that was echoed in the mixed critical response, with Variety calling it "a sickening bad-taste exercise." Following a successful stint as a midnight movie, "Eraserhead" gathered a more favorable response over the years, as audiences came to appreciate it for all its, weird, wonderful, surreal, and disturbing qualities.

57. The Wicker Man

Tasked with investigating a missing child, Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) arrives on the remote Scottish island, Summerisle. As a conservative, religious man, Howie is disturbed to find the residents have abandoned Christianity in favor of bizarre pagan rituals, and the children are being brought up in a place where promiscuity is encouraged and people cavort naked in the fields. As Howie learns more about the strange community, he becomes closer to finding the missing child but potentially this comes at a great personal cost. 

With an unforgettable performance from Christopher Lee as Lord Summerisle, "The Wicker Man" is an atmospheric classic of the folk horror subgenre with a memorable final scene that will linger long after the credits roll. With its influence seen clearly in 2019's "Midsommar," "The Wicker Man" succeeds in creating a tangible presence of evil, even without the usual scare tactics employed by most horrors — instead eliciting fear in the sense that something is deeply unsettling about this place. 

56. Cabaret

Set in 1930s Berlin against the rise of the Nazi party, "Caberet" follows singer Sally Bowles (Liza Minnelli) as she meets British student Brian (Michael York), and they become lovers — despite Brian's questions about his sexuality following previous failed relationships with women. When wealthy playboy Maximilian von Heune (Helmut Griem) arrives, a complicated love triangle between the three begins. 

With electrifying choreography and direction from Bob Fosse, the musical sequences in "Cabaret" are an assault on the senses in the best possible way, and the film makes a star of Minnelli with her instantly recognizable bowler hat and an immaculate cropped haircut. In its handling of sexuality and the way it approaches difficult subjects such as abortion, "Cabaret" is incredibly progressive and forward-thinking — for the '70s when it was released, let alone the '30s in which it is set. A hit with both critics and audiences, "Cabaret" also enjoyed immense awards success, winning eight Oscars including best actress for Liza Minnelli, best supporting actor for Joel Grey, and best director.

55. Paper Moon

Starring real-life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, "Paper Moon," a charming comedy from 1973, sees the pair play traveling Bible salesman Moses Pray and orphaned Addie Loggins. When Addie is left in Moses' care, the duo team up as con artists, encountering exotic dancer Trixie Delight (Madeline Kahn), and an irate bootlegger (John Hillerman) on their travels.

Shot in gorgeous black and white, there is a real throwback feel to Peter Bogdanovich's "Paper Moon," with its caper qualities feeling reminiscent of a bygone era. There is a genuine warmth and honesty to this film, and Ryan and Tatum O'Neal shine as the unlikely pair of swindler pals. As well as receiving high praise from critics , "Paper Moon" was also hit at the Oscars, receiving four nominations and one win for best supporting actress for Tatum O'Neal — becoming the youngest winner in a competitive category.

54. Girlfriends

In Claudia Weill's intimate indie film "Girlfriends," we meet Susan Weinblatt (Melanie Mayron) and her best friend Anne Munroe (Anita Skinner) who live together in a New York apartment. Susan is an aspiring photographer while Anne longs to be a writer, but these two seemingly kindred spirits face a new challenge when Anne marries her boyfriend Martin (Bob Balaban) and moves out. As they drift apart, they start to long for elements of each other's lives — Susan craving the stability Anne has while Anne misses the freedom of single life. 

With her background in documentary filmmaking, Weill's lens feels like it is capturing not just real people, but real emotions, and the tangible feeling of loneliness and longing is exquisitely conveyed. It isn't a showy film at all, but through the natural performances, well-rounded characters, and beautifully observed humor, it is one that radiates warmth and is one of the true hidden gems of the decade.

53. Grey Gardens

This strange but captivating documentary charts the lives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis' eccentric relatives, cousin Edie Bouvier Beale and her mother, Edith. Living together in a dilapidated estate surrounded by cats, the two former socialite women reveal their quirky habits and reflect on their past lives now that they are largely recluses.

Offering a fascinating insight into the lives of these two misfits, "Grey Gardens" not only became something of a cult classic but cemented "Little Edie" as something of a fashion icon — later memorably immortalized by Jinkx Monsoon on an episode of "RuPaul's Drag Race," bringing Edie back into the public conscious. Adapted into a musical in 2006, and a television film starring Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange in 2009, "Grey Gardens" continues to be a compelling story, but it is the original 1975 documentary that is the best record of these loveable oddballs. 

Based on the first published novel by legendary chiller author, Stephen King, "Carrie" also marked the first of many film adaptations of the writer's work, setting the bar high for the ones that would follow. The titular character (Sissy Spacek) is an outcast at school and equally tormented by her religious mother (Piper Laurie) at home. Following her first period, Carrie is punished by her mother who tells her this was caused by her sin — meanwhile, Carrie's classmates hatch a devious plot to humiliate her at the school prom, blissfully unaware that Carrie's strange, growing telekinesis powers that may just prove to be their undoing.

While the sight of a blood-drenched Sissy Spacek may be the image that lives on in "Carrie," the whole film is a masterclass in slow-burning tension, tinged with sadistic satisfaction as we see the troubled teen get her revenge in the best way possible. Notoriously quite scathing of some of the adaptations of his work, "Carrie" is one that King approves of, saying in a 2018 interview , "I liked De Palma's film of Carrie quite a bit."

51. Dirty Harry

Notable for giving us the iconic quote, "You've got to ask yourself a question: 'do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?" "1971's "Dirty Harry" saw Clint Eastwood as cop Harry Callahan, who is tasked with catching the psychotic killer Scorpio (Andy Robinson) after he kidnaps a teenage girl. Punished for his heavy-handed approach — something that results in Scorpio frequently evading capture — Callahan is racing against the clock to track him down before it is too late.

After appearing in a slew of Westerns, by the '70s, Clint Eastwood was the perfect choice to play the complicated antihero Harry Callahan — executing the dark, mean streak that the character has while also being a charismatic screen presence. In its depiction of a hard-boiled and tough cop, "Dirty Harry" was subject to some controversy when it was released, with some upset by the way it showed the actions of the law enforcement as heroic, despite using racial profiling, and unnecessarily violent methods in the name of supposed "justice."

50. Life of Brian

Following the success of their anarchic, surreal television series, British comedy troupe Monty Python expanded into the world of cinema in the '70s. Following their first proper narrative feature film, "The Holy Grail," in 1975 — which saw them deliver their version of the Arthurian legend — they turned their attention to the Biblical, with their own unique take on a parallel story to the life of Jesus. "Life of Brian" centers around Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a young Jewish man who is mistaken for the Messiah and has to try desperately to convince people that he isn't.

With the Pythons playing multiple characters, "Life Of Brian" is filled with their trademark absurdity and silliness — there is a character called "Biggus Dickus," of course — and it takes a shrewd swipe at religious fanaticism and the danger of blindly following someone or something without proof. While the film is evidently a satire, many religious groups believed it to be blasphemous , resulting in several countries banning it. However, this became almost a badge of honor for the Pythons, as they decided to capitalize on its notoriety to promote the film.

49. The Passenger

Michelangelo Antonioni's beguiling exploration of identity and purpose sees Jack Nicholson in a similarly nuanced role to 1970s "Five Easy Pieces." In "The Passenger," he plays David Locke, an American journalist sent to Africa to cover the civil war in Chad. Frustrated at the lack of leads and interviews, Locke arrives back at his hotel following a long, reflective walk through the desert. When he learns one of the hotel's other residents has died overnight, Locke makes the decision to assume the man's identity, reporting his own "death" and leaving for Munich with his new name. However, he later discovers the dead man wasn't necessarily on the right side of the law.

The exceptional camerawork of cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, and Antonioni's patience in telling the story perfectly emulates the feelings of loneliness — the vast landscapes, empty spaces, and sparse dialogue all capture Locke's disillusionment with himself and his purpose. With an intriguing ambiguity to it, "The Passenger" is a quiet, reflective, and thoughtful film about estranged characters wrestling with a sense of self that once again proves Nicholson's talents as one of the best actors of this decade.

48. McCabe and Mrs. Miller

Described by director Robert Altman as an "anti-Western film," "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" sees Warren Beatty as the charismatic gambler, John McCabe. After he impresses the residents of a mining community with tales of his skills as a gunfighter, McCabe decides to open a brothel in town, going into business with local madam, Constance Miller (Julie Christie). 

Altman's provocative film is evidently made by someone who understands the Western genre — something that is essential in order to subvert the audience's expectations in the way he does with "McCabe and Mrs. Miller." There is a sense of the familiar but different about this film, and rather than the one-dimensional characters are often seen in this genre, the characters here feel well-developed and considered, giving the story a surprising emotional depth. Altman's craft and attention to detail are also one of the standouts here, with the characters and places having a gritty and lived-in quality that really cements that feeling of authenticity.

47. The Bad News Bears

One of the surprise hits of the decade , "The Bad News Bears" is a classic underdog sports comedy about hard-drinking ex-baseball player Morris Buttermaker (Walter Matthau) who begrudgingly agrees to coach a little league team. As he realizes he has taken on a bunch of largely talentless misfits, Buttermaker brings in the feisty pitcher Amanda Whurlitzer (Tatum O'Neal) and troublemaker Kelly Leak (Jackie Earle Haley) to try and change the team's fortunes.

While it never completely avoids cliché, "The Bad News Bears" has a crude and cynical edge to it, with the potty-mouthed kids and Matthau's performance as the cantankerous coach giving it a refreshingly scathing tone. The sweetness comes through the father-daughter-like relationship that develops between Buttermaker and Amanda with the coach — having previously dated Amanda's mother — feeling the need to both protect and push her to succeed. As well as being uplifting and hilarious, "The Bad News Bears" feels like a wonderfully honest depiction of America's pastime that is hard not to like.

46. Enter the Dragon

Perhaps the most well-known film from Bruce Lee, "Enter the Dragon" proved to be his swan song following his untimely death in 1973 — the same year the film was released. In the film, he plays Lee, a martial-arts expert trying to capture the drug kingpin, Han (Shih Kien) whose cohorts were responsible for the death of Lee's family. Persuaded to participate in a high-stakes tournament, Lee must fight his way out while also trying to find evidence of Han's crimes and avenge his murdered loved ones. 

With perhaps some of the best martial-arts sequences on film, "Enter the Dragon" is a spectacular and thrilling film that combines Lee's fighting talents with a gripping espionage plot. It was hugely profitable at the box office — something that only seemed to grow following Lee's death — with estimates that by the 2010s it had made more than $350 million worldwide (via The New York Times ) off a budget of just $850,000.

45. Young Frankenstein

With his wild unkempt hair, Gene Wilder is perfectly cast as the mad scientist and medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein who inherits the Transylvanian estate of his infamous grandfather. While there, he unwisely attempts to recreate the monstrous experiments of his grandfather and chaos ensues. Having successfully lampooned the western genre in "Blazing Saddles," director Mel Brooks turns his attention to the Universal monster movies in this hilarious horror parody.

Brooks and Wilder continued to be an unstoppable duo with their eccentric blend of off-color humor, and "Young Frankenstein" is perhaps the best film the pair were involved in. The film was a big hit at the box office , making over $86 million off a budget of just under $3 million. As well as being nominated for two Academy Awards, the legacy and longevity of the film have seen it frequently listed as one of the best comedies of all time, placing 13th on the American Film Institute's "100 Funniest American Movies Of All Time."

44. Serpico

In a decade dominated by films about corrupt cops and government agents, Sidney Lumet's "Serpico" explores a slightly different angle, focusing on an idealistic cop from New York who — despite his best efforts to keep his nose clean — ends up with a target on his back when he decides to blow the whistle on his unscrupulous colleagues. Based on a true story , Al Pacino delivers an Oscar-nominated performance as Frank Serpico, the man shunned and placed in danger just for trying to do the right thing.

Also nominated for best adapted screenplay, "Serpico" was a hit with audiences and the majority of critics, including Kim Newman for Empire Magazine who wrote, "Al Pacino delivers a powerful performance in this compelling biopic of a cop and a city's police force." Whether directly or indirectly, the Watergate scandal proved to be hugely influential on the films in this decade, and "Serpico" taps into the feeling of societal frustration at high-level corruption that was so prevalent in the '70s. 

43. Network

Just three years after "Serpico," director Sidney Lumet turned his attention away from police corruption to instead hold a scathing lens up to television, in his brilliantly written satire "Network." When veteran newsman Howard Beale (Peter Finch) is unceremoniously sacked, he decides against leaving quietly and instead launches into an angry on-air tirade about the state of the world, in turn becoming a ratings hit — something that ambitious producer Diana Christensen (Faye Dunaway) decides to capitalize on. 

The notion of someone with controversial opinions being afforded a huge platform on which to air them is something that is horrifyingly relevant today and means "Network" has barely aged a day since its release in 1976. With some elements that feel almost prophetic, there is the sense that "Network" was a film boldly ahead of its time , with the power to still provoke and surprise new audiences many decades later. 

42. Assault on Precinct 13

When the cops kill several Los Angeles gang members in "Assault on Precinct 13," those left vow to avenge their fallen friends, leading them to declare war on an isolated police station. Meanwhile, inside the prison, a small team of government employees — led by Lieutenant Ethan Bishop (Austin Stoker) — are forced into an alliance with some of the prisoners they've been holding captive if they are to make it out of the prison alive. 

While it was a certain slasher film two years later that director John Carpenter became best known for, with 1976's "Assault On Precinct 13" he also demonstrated his ability to create a gritty and refreshingly efficient action thriller. With a runtime of just over 90 minutes, it is a film that packs a punch and makes an impact in a relatively short space of time, rarely wasting a moment. With much of the action taking place in the singular location of the police precinct, there is a joyous, low-budget aesthetic to the film, and as the violence escalates the confined space only ups the tension. 

41. The Long Goodbye

After helping out his friend Terry Lennox (Jim Bouton) by driving him to Mexico, private detective Philip Marlowe (Elliott Gould) becomes implicated in the death of Terry's wife, Sylvia, in "The Long Goodbye." Even when it appears the case is closed — that Terry killed his wife before killing himself — Marlowe continues to investigate, believing there is more to it than that. When he takes a new case to find the missing husband of Eileen Wade (Nina Van Pallandt), he uncovers a connection to the Lennoxes that changes everything. 

An adaptation of Raymond Chandler's novel of the same name, "The Long Goodbye" is a neo-noir with a satirical edge that nods to the classics of the genre while also adding some of that '70s grit and realism. Many critics at the time didn't appreciate the film, however, with Jay Cocks for Time saying, "It is a curious spectacle to see Altman mocking a level of achievement to which, at his best, he could only aspire." Later reappraised, the film's subversion of the noir genre and detective movies was recognized by Roger Ebert who included it in his Great Movies collection and said, "Most of its effect comes from the way it pushes against the genre, and the way Altman undermines the premise of all private eye movies."

40. 3 Women

Set in a dusty Californian town, Robert Altman's dreamy and strange film "3 Women" focuses on the relationship between Millie Lammoreaux (Shelley Duvall) and her new roommate Pinky Rose (Sissy Spacek), who work together at a spa for the elderly. Millie is undeniably self-absorbed and incessantly spouts the vapid advice she picks up from lifestyle magazines. However, while many of Millie's acquaintances consider her strange and keep their distance from her, the impressionable Pinky idolizes Millie, and things take a darker turn when Pinky starts to assume more of her roommate's identity.

Altman claimed the idea for the film came to him in a dream ( via Criterion ), so it is perhaps fitting that this unique film about the blurring of lines between personalities and identities feels like a fever dream in places. There is a wonderfully meandering quality to it, and it is a film that is wide open to interpretation, made to be pondered and dissected, with its true meaning kept mysteriously veiled. Following its theatrical release, "3 Women" wasn't readily available on home media for almost 30 years — finally receiving a Criterion Collection release in 2004.

39. All the President's Men

The Watergate Scandal was an event that sent shockwaves throughout the rest of the decade and set the scene for many of the '70s films that subsequently focused on high-level corruption within government and law enforcement. Addressing the events directly, "All the President's Men" was based on the book of the same name by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein — portrayed in the film by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, respectively.

Investigating the attempted burglary of the Democrat party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top with the help of the enigmatic code-named source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook). While two journalists investigating a story might not seem like the most thrilling subject matter, there is a satisfying procedural nature to "All the President's Men" that only becomes more exciting as the pieces of the puzzle start to slot together. Nominated for eight Oscars — and winning four including best adapted screenplay and best supporting actor for Jason Robards — "All the President's Men" may have been depicting very recent events when it was released, but its power has resonated, and remained timely, ever since.

38. Being There

In his last role, Peter Sellers has his swansong in the charming dramedy, "Being There." Sellers plays Chance the gardener, who lives a simple existence tending the gardens of a Washington townhouse owned by his wealthy employer. When his boss dies, Chance is forced to leave, but a random encounter with businessman Ben Rand (Melvyn Douglas) sees Chance ushered up the societal ladder when he assumes he is a wealthy gentleman also.

With little exposure to the outside world, Chance has mostly been educated by television but he seems to charm everyone around him, with his words of wisdom about gardening inspiring many — including the president (Jack Warden) — to do and be better. Sellers is on exceptional form as the naïve Chance, and his affable performance earned him an Oscar nomination, while Melvyn Douglas won for his supporting role as Ben Rand. Perfectly balancing the comedy, poignancy, and satire, "Being There" is a fable about happenstance that served as a fitting farewell to Sellers.

With two of the best actors in the game — Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine — squaring off against each other, the stage is set for a deadly game of one-upmanship. Based on the play by Anthony Shaffer, "Sleuth" sees wealthy detective novel author and game aficionado, Andrew Wyke (Olivier), inviting his wife's lover, Milo Tindle (Caine), to his house with an intriguing proposition that sets the high-stakes mind games in motion.

Full of deceit, double-crossing, and showcasing a remarkable double-header performance from Laurence Olivier and Michael Caine, "Sleuth" is a throwback mystery full of cunning and intrigue from director Joseph L. Mankiewicz. The film's origins as a stage play ensure the verbal sparring between the pair is as thrilling as the rest of the action, and it is a film that keeps you guessing right up to the thrilling conclusion. In addition to both Olivier and Caine being recognized with Oscar nominations, "Sleuth" also received nominations for Mankiewicz's direction, and the score from John Addison.

36. The Deer Hunter

The controversial war in Vietnam continued to dominate cinema in the '70s, and "The Deer Hunter" brings up the harrowing realities. In 1968, Michael (Robert De Niro), Nick (Christopher Walken), and Steven (John Savage) are friends from working-class Pennsylvania, about to ship overseas to Vietnam. Before they go, they attend Steven's wedding to Angela (Rutanya Alda) and go on one last hunting trip together, however, the realities of war quickly shatter them, leaving them irrevocably damaged by their experiences.

In one of the first films to be openly critical of America's involvement in Vietnam, the legacy of "The Deer Hunter" saw a wave of similar films follow, including 1979's "Apocalypse Now" and 1986's "Platoon." It certainly didn't pull any punches when it came to showing the horrifying realities of the war — the random and directionless nature of the violence demonstrated through the infamous "Russian Roulette" sequences . These moments were criticized in the lead-up to the 51st Academy Awards, the film still went away with five awards including best picture. While the film may be a difficult watch for obvious reasons, in its depiction of the lasting impacts of war and the shockwaves of trauma that would ripple through generations, "The Deer Hunter" is rarely bettered.

35. Barry Lyndon

From the sword-and-sandal epic "Spartacus" to the brain-melting sci-fi "2001: A Space Odyssey," director Stanley Kubrick had already proved he could turn his hand to any genre and make the very best version of it. In 1975, he tackled an 18th-century historical drama with "Barry Lyndon," focusing on the titular character's (Ryan O'Neal) attempt to climb the social ladder into aristocracy when he marries the widowed Countess of Lyndon (Marisa Berenson). 

With sumptuous attention to detail, and ground-breaking cinematography from John Alcott, "Barry Lyndon" is a visual feast for the eyes, and proof that Kubrick's finesse could be applied to any type of film with resounding success. While the weighty runtime is in excess of three hours, the film's slow-burn sensibilities and emotional restraint are amongst its best qualities, giving it a respectful elegance that is difficult not to be succumbed by. The initial mixed critical response to the film didn't hurt its award prospects, with "Barry Lyndon" winning awards for the score, cinematography, art direction, and costume design. 

Anchored by the Oscar-winning performance from Jane Fonda, "Klute" centers around call girl Bree Daniels, who finds herself involved in the investigation into the disappearance of one of her clients. Heading up the search is Detective John Klute (Donald Sutherland) who later recognizes Daniels is innocent and instead switches to protecting her when it seems her life may be in danger. 

Heavy with paranoia, suspicion, and atmosphere, "Klute" succeeds in the two incredible performances from Fonda and Sutherland, and their surprisingly believable and natural chemistry. Their characters are worlds apart — Klute being the square small-town cop and Daniels the confident city girl — and yet they seem to bring out the best in each other. This is a film that thrives on its character development, placing far more importance on this than it does on the plot, so this is an essential part of making the film work.   

33. A Woman Under the Influence

With its occasionally emotionally exhausting depiction of mental illness, "A Woman Under the Influence" is a stark drama with two unforgettable performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk. When Mabel (Rowlands) begins to exhibit strange behavior, her husband Nick (Falk) grows increasingly concerned for her welfare. Particularly unstable around others, Mabel's declining mental state sees her placed into an institution, leaving Nick to care for their three children.

In addition to Mabel's battle against her own mind, "A Woman Under the Influence" doesn't neglect the struggle of Nick and the emotional toll the relationship takes on him sees him act questionably also. The film struck a chord with critics, including Nora Sayre for the New York Times who called praised Rowland's performance saying she, "unleashes an extraordinary characterization." Her performance was also recognized by the Academy with a nomination for lead actress, along with a nomination for director John Cassavetes.

32. The Mirror

Andrei Tarkovsky's semi-autobiographical film sees the director using events from his personal life to reflect on war and memory. Using a nonlinear structure, Tarkovsky's film is an affecting, dream-like meditation that is quite unlike any other film from this decade. Standing in for Tarkovsky, the film focuses on Alexei (Ignat Daniltsev) whose conversations with his wife and children cause him to ponder and revisit earlier events in his life. 

"The Mirror" understandably polarized critics when it was first released, with many unable to make sense of the film's complex structure, dream sequences, and unconventional storytelling. Flitting between time, visual styles, and characters, "The Mirror" is an enigmatic, intriguing, and ambitiously artistic piece of filmmaking from the Russian director. Perhaps ahead of its time, it is now considered one of the greatest films ever made, and it's one of the few films to earn the elusive 100% rating from Rotten Tomatoes .

31. Halloween

Now considered a classic of the slasher movie genre, 1978's "Halloween" introduced the world to the mysterious Michael Myers (Nick Castle). At just six years old, Myers was committed to an asylum after he murdered his teenage sister. 15 years later, Myers' psychiatrist Dr. Sam Loomis (Donald Pleasence) arrives to transport him to his hearing. However, when Myers escapes, he heads back to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois where he seeks to continue his murderous rampage. 

The fact that Myers targets a group of teens — primarily babysitter Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis — and that he seems to be unkillable, are just some of the elements that make "Halloween" so terrifying, underpinned by John Carpenter's iconic and chilling score. "Halloween" was not only a massive box office success , but a film that has continued to be hugely influential, and in a decade that also saw horror greats such as "The Exorcist" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," it drew the decade to a close in suitably strong fashion. 

30. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Two years after working together on the grueling shoot for "Jaws," director Steven Spielberg and star Richard Dreyfuss teamed up once again for "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." Richard Dreyfuss plays Roy Neary, an everyman whose encounter with a UFO leads to an obsession that sees him willing to risk it all to pursue what he saw and make contact with the alien beings. Fascinated with worlds beyond our own from a young age, Spielberg spoke in a 2005 interview about how his father showing him a meteor shower "unlocked my imagination" (via The Spokesman-Review ) — and it is this childlike sense of wonder that makes "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" so special. 

With Spielberg working with composer John Williams once again — just as the score for "Jaws" had played an intrinsic part in creating fear — the score for this film plays an even more important part, becoming part of the narrative itself during the memorable sequence when the aliens communicate with the humans through light and sound. In Neary's fascination with the cosmos, there is perhaps some of Spielberg himself in there, and the result is a film that is as optimistic as it is awe-inspiring.

29. The Sting

With an all-star cast of some of the finest actors of the decade, "The Sting" is an entertaining heist movie and one of the best examples of the genre. The mark is Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), a notorious racketeer and gambler who is targeted by con artists Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) and Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman).

While the plan is elaborate and multi-layered, "The Sting" is interesting in the sense that the con is focused on taking down one person, as opposed to the multi-million dollar, casino-swindling, or big business takedown antics often seen. Having this singular focus not only keeps the film flowing but ensures we stay aligned with the charming con artists, and the exceptional script by David S. Ward keeps things light — even as the plot becomes more complex — as it barrels towards its hugely satisfying conclusion. "The Sting" was overwhelmingly popular with audiences and critics when it was released and was also nominated for 10 Academy Awards, winning seven, including best picture, best director, best film editing, and best music.

28. The Conversation

Sitting between the first two "Godfather" movies, Francis Ford Coppola delivered "The Conversation," a prickly, slow-burning, and highly effective thriller. While the deliberately mundane-sounding title may not appear to be the most enthralling on the surface, this film about paranoid surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) forces you to tune all your senses into picking up the smallest of details that may prove significant later on.

Along with starring in some of the best films of the decade, Gene Hackman  as Harry Caul is unnervingly restrained — a man who keeps his own cards deliberately close to his chest — resulting in a captivating protagonist. It is a film that not only speaks directly to the distrust that was prevalent during this decade but is a gripping thriller that pulls you in and keeps you hooked without even realizing it's happening, delivering an effective exploration of paranoia and loneliness with an ever-present, quiet sense of foreboding.

27. Dog Day Afternoon

Based on a fascinating true story detailed in a Life magazine article , "Dog Day Afternoon" takes advantage of the almost unbelievable nature of this curious true-crime tale with manic energy and riveting execution. Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) is an amateur criminal who, along with accomplice Sal Naturile (John Cazale), decides to rob a bank in Brooklyn. However, things quickly go awry and the robbery evolves into a tense hostage situation that captures the attention of the media.

The notion of all eyes being on the unfolding hostage situation — with both us as the audience and the people in the film gripped by the media circus they're seeing on their screens — only adds to the tension, as the inexperienced duo struggles to cope with the pressure as things escalate. Al Pacino is in excellent form in "Dog Day Afternoon," with frenzied, electric energy that perfectly matches the film's tone — acknowledging the absurdity and comedy of the situation which spirals out of control as the film progresses.

26. Don't Look Now

Adapted from Daphne du Maurier's short story, "Don't Look Now" is a psychological horror with an undeniable power to get under your skin. Grieving the death of their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), John (Donald Sutherland), and Laura (Julie Christie) travel to Venice where John will be working to restore a church. While there, Laura meets two clairvoyant sisters (Hilary Mason and Clelia Matania) who say they are in touch with the spirit of the couple's daughter. John and Laura differ in their opinions on the validity of the sisters' claim, but when John appears to see an apparition of his daughter, the sense of what is real and what is imagined becomes harder to determine.

Succeeding both as an underrated chiller and a fascinating exploration of how grief can twist and warp someone's mind, "Don't Look Now" uses the unique visual style of director Nicolas Roeg to dazzling effect — the stark flashes of Christine's red coat providing an unnerving, recurring visual motif. While well-received by critics when it was released, over the years it has become even more appreciated with the British Film Institute placing it eighth on their list of the 100 best British films .

25. Solaris

Remade by Steven Soderbergh in 2002, the 1972 version of "Solaris" remains the superior version and along with "2001: A Space Odyssey," is a benchmark of the sci-fi genre. The film focuses on Kris Kelvin (Donatas Banionis), a psychologist who's tasked with exploring a space station above the planet Solaris and assessing the remaining crew members who've started to display erratic behavior while on board.

While its thematic density results in "Solaris" being frequently compared with "2001: A Space Odyssey," there are vast differences between them, with "Solaris" favoring a more emotional and human approach and the film expertly tackles themes such as grief, loss, memory, and the nature of what it means to exist. This thematic existentialism, set against the vast, quiet backdrop of space, is somehow even more potent, and Tarkovsky masterfully directs his film with ample time set aside to contemplate its weighty themes. The pace is slow, and while this may prove frustrating for some, if you have the patience for "Solaris," it's an incredibly rewarding experience.

24. Aguirre: The Wrath of God

Despite the vast scale and breathtaking ambition of Werner Herzog's historical epic, "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" utilizes a fascinating, minimalist approach, allowing the gaps in the dialogue and narrative to speak volumes. Klaus Kinski stars as Don Lope de Aguirre, a Spanish conquistador who leads an expedition to find El Dorado, the mythical city of gold. As they venture deeper into the unforgiving jungle, the madness begins to take hold and threatens the lives of all those on the quest.

With a legendarily grueling shoot, "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" benefits from a sense of genuine danger, with the cast and crew themselves subject to the treacherous conditions that resulted from Herzog's insistence on shooting on location. With the fascinating mythology of the film — both in front of and behind the camera — the film became an instant cult favorite. In his book "Cult Movies," author Danny Peary said of the film, "To see Aguirre for the first time is to discover a genuine masterpiece. It is overwhelming, spellbinding; at first dreamlike, and then hallucinatory."

23. Days of Heaven

Frequently beautiful, Terence Malick's poetic period love story in "Days of Heaven" tells the story of two men — Bill (Richard Gere), a fugitive from Chicago, and "The Farmer" (Sam Shepard), a shy, rich Texan — who love the same woman, Abby (Brooke Adams). After Bill persuades Abby to marry the Farmer to inherit his money, she begins to fall for the Texan's charms, leading the two men to become jealous of each other while Abby is caught in the middle.

Showcasing the beautiful landscapes, "Days of Heaven" — like many of Malick's films — is one that requires patience, and this resulted in a mixed critical response. Monica Eng for Chicago Tribune commented that, "the story is secondary to the visuals" but that "you don't think about it while the movie is playing." While the story is slight, there is no denying the visual power of "Days Of Heaven," something that resulted in the film winning an Oscar for Néstor Almendros' beautiful cinematography.

22. Scenes from a Marriage

Another popular genre in the '70s was relationship dramas, particularly focusing on troubled relationships, extra-marital affairs, and divorce. Ingmar Bergman's captivating "Scenes from a Marriage" is another great example of this, looking at the ups and downs of the relationship between Johan (Erland Josephson) and Marianne (Liv Ullmann). While this married couple appears to be happy on the outside, this façade soon crumbles, revealing the troubles underneath.

While initially released as a miniseries for Swedish television, "Scenes from a Marriage" was recut into a 167-minute theatrical version, released in US cinemas. Despite its origins on television, there is a distinctly theatrical quality to Bergman's work with the condensed runtime giving it an added tension and potency. Unfortunately, despite campaigns from filmmakers including Frank Capra and Federico Fellini, "Scenes from a Marriage" was ineligible for the Academy Awards, however, it did succeed in winning a BAFTA for Liv Ullmann's exceptional performance.

21. Mean Streets

This early film from Martin Scorsese about the low-rung gangsters living in Little Italy proved to be hugely influential for the young director and established him as a master of crime dramas. In "Mean Streets," Harvey Keitel and Robert DeNiro star as Charlie and Johnny Boy respectively, two friends who become involved in the dealings of Charlie's Mafia-connected Uncle Giovanni (Cesare Danova). Facing personal torment between his faith and criminal activities, Charlie also struggles to keep the hot-headed, younger Johnny Boy in line.

According to a 2010 interview , director John Cassavetes had been particularly scathing of Scorsese's previous film, "Boxcar Bertha," and this had persuaded Scorsese to go on to make "Mean Streets," a film closer to his personal experiences. This was a move that paid off as the film received a positive critical response , including Vincent Canby for the New York Times who said, "'Mean Streets' is a decidedly first‐rate film, a film that continually reinforces its various themes with gestures taken from life rather than cinema."

20. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest

Somehow finding lightness in even the bleakest of circumstances, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is at times tragic and unsettling but also laced with liberating comedy. Randle Patrick McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) is a criminal transferred from prison to a mental institution after he pleads insanity. McMurphy's rebellious spirit whips up the fellow inmates, however, he meets his match in the formidable, tyrannical Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).

The cold-blooded actions of Nurse Ratched — including abuse of the patients and subjecting them to sessions of electroconvulsive therapy — bring the darkness to the film, yet it has a deliberate ambiguity to it, prompting the audience to question who the sane ones really are. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was a huge commercial success, becoming the second highest-grossing movie of the year , behind "Jaws," and received awards recognition with nine Oscar nominations and wins for best picture, best actor, best actress, best director, and best adapted screenplay.

Detailing the life of controversial World War II figure General George S. Patton, the extensive biographical film "Patton" largely covers his wartime achievements, concluding with his removal from his position when his outspoken comments on America's allies, and apparent admiration for the Germans — despite having just faced them in combat — landed him in trouble.

Depicting a divisive figure in real life requires a special performance and George C. Scott's incredible turn as the general is one of the film's biggest strengths. Able to replicate the many facets of Patton's personality with military precision, Scott's performance saw him awarded the Oscar for lead actor, although he famously refused to accept the award, citing his dislike of the voting process and placing actors in competition with each other as his reason ( via Entertainment Weekly ). "Patton" received 10 nominations in total and went away with seven wins including best picture and best director.

18. Nashville

As an effective snapshot of a specific time and place in America, "Nashville" is hard to beat. Director Robert Altman weaves together a huge ensemble cast to explore the ways their lives overlap, including lawyer Delbert Reese (Ned Beatty) and the failing marriage with gospel vocalist Linnea (Lily Tomlin), and two rival singers in the city's renowned music scene, Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) and Connie White (Karen Black).

With so many intersecting plot threads and Altman's trademark overlapping dialogue, there is the danger of things feeling muddled, however, "Nashville" maintains a sense of purpose thanks to the director's skillful hand. Encompassing comedy, drama, music, and everything in between, Altman's film feels like a quintessential "slice-of-life" piece of cinema with a surprising universality. Considered one of the all-time great American movies, "Nashville" received five Oscar nominations including best picture and best director, however, it only succeeded in taking home one prize, winning for best original song.

17. Love and Death

Away from his beloved New York, Woody Allen instead turns his attention to this razor-sharp satire of Russian literature, starring alongside his frequent muse, Diane Keaton, in "Love and Death." In the film, Allen plays Boris, a Russian villager who, along with his distant cousin Sonja (Keaton), hatches a scheme to assassinate Napoleon. Even in a very different landscape to his other '70s hits, "Annie Hall" and "Manhattan," Allen's trademark neurosis is perfectly utilized to bring to life the cowardly, reluctant war hero.

Perhaps Allen's most overtly comedic film, "Love and Death" has a stronger focus on gags and slapstick over the story, but the ridiculous nature of the plot and the way it successfully offers a pastiche of the genre is enough to make this one of the director's most enduring pictures. The film was both a critical and commercial success, making just over $20 million at the box office .

Changing the face of cinema as we know it, "Jaws" became the highest-grossing film of 1975 and created the benchmark for all blockbusters that would follow. Previously regarded as the off-season for the movie industry, the summer slot has now become the peak time for the biggest blockbuster releases — and it is all thanks to "Jaws." Following a series of shark attacks on the waters surrounding Amity Island, Chief of Police Martin Brody (Roy Scheider) struggles to convince the incredulous mayor, Larry Vaughn (Murray Hamilton) that the beaches should be closed. Following a very public appearance from the shark on the Fourth of July, Brody enlists the help of shark expert Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and fisherman Quint (Robert Shaw) to track down the killer beast.

More than just a shark film, "Jaws" is a thrilling and layered character study, and with the events set around the time of the Independence Day holiday, "Jaws" is also a distinctly American film — the shark not only threatening Amity's tourist trade but also endangering the sense of freedom and liberty represented by the holiday. With the help of the score, the ambitious direction from the young Steven Spielberg, and the incredible performances from Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, and Robert Shaw, "Jaws" succeeds in being both a crowd-pleasing blockbuster and a masterful thriller.

15. Day for Night

Taking its name from the filmmaking technique — where night-time scenes are shot during daylight but with a special camera filter to make them appear darker — "Day for Night" is François Truffaut's tribute to the art of making a movie. Truffaut stars in the film as Director Ferrand, struggling to get his film made amid the real-life drama involving stars Severine (Valentina Cortese), Alexandre (Jean-Pierre Aumonth), Alphonse (Jean-Pierre Léaud), and Julie (Jacqueline Bisset). With the actors appearing to play deliberate archetypes, and the film within the film almost hilariously cliche, "Day for Night" gives the impression of Truffaut holding up a wry lens to the industry that made him famous.

Along with "Singin' in the Rain," "Day for Night" is often cited as one of the best films about the art of making movies, managing to be both incredibly entertaining as well as a loving tribute to the artform that Truffaut loved so much. Unsurprisingly, critics loved it , including Justin Chang for the Los Angeles Times who called it, "A glorious ode to the fleeting, addictive and irreplaceable joys of cinematic collaboration."

14. American Graffiti

Starring fresh-faced Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford, "American Graffiti" marks the second feature film for George Lucas — just four years before he became a household name with "Star Wars." Set on the last day of summer vacation in 1962, friends Curt (Dreyfuss), Steve (Howard), Terry (Charles Martin Smith), and John (Paul Le Mat) drive around town listening to the radio, chatting up girls, and engaging in drag races to make the most of their last day of freedom.

With the film taking place over the course of one evening, there is the sense of how fleeting the freedom of youth can be — encompassed in the brief conversations seized upon as the cars pass each other. "American Graffiti" feels like a snapshot in time, with added significance given that it was released in the '70s but is very deeply rooted in its '60s setting. Just as the '70s saw a big transitionary moment from the previous decade, this film conveys the remaining pieces of '50s-inspired culture, on the verge of being phased out. A hugely enjoyable coming-of-age film, "American Graffiti" established Lucas as a formidable talent and remains one of the very best films about youth culture.

13. The French Connection

If you're looking for a film that perfectly epitomizes the gritty realism of many of the '70s best films, you needn't look much further than "The French Connection." The decade saw a big transition from films that depicted law enforcement as the heroic "good guys" to ones that honed in on the shades of grey within the force, and that is certainly the case with William Friedkin's 1971 film. Most of the characters are morally ambiguous, but none more so than Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman), who has a violent mean streak that ensures he isn't always the clear-cut hero. Alongside his partner, Buddy Russo (Roy Scheider), Popeye is tasked with stopping a European drug-smuggling ring who've brought their narcotics into America.

Friedkin's documentary-like directorial style adds a palpable sense of authenticity to the film, and not a single moment is wasted. The legendary chase scene is as gripping now as it was then, and knowing it was all filmed for real on the streets of Brooklyn makes it even more thrilling. That element of danger — both in front of and behind the camera — is all part of what makes this film so special. "The French Connection's" qualities were recognized by the Academy, picking up a total of eight nominations and winning five for best picture, best lead actor, best director, best adapted screenplay, and best editing.

12. Badlands

Perhaps one of the most accessible examples of Terence Malick's work , "Badlands" benefits from a scaled-back runtime and is a powerful directorial debut that exudes remarkable confidence. Based on a real-life crime story, "Badlands" sees teenager Holly (Sissy Spacek) and the older Kit (Martin Sheen) embarking on a crime spree through the American Midwest, when a tense altercation with Holly's father (Warren Oates) ends in murder.

While elements of "Badlands" are in the vein of similar movies such as 1967's "Bonnie And Clyde," Malick juxtaposes the moments of brutal, stylistic violence with exquisitely detailed shots of nature and landscapes — something that would become one of his trademarks. Establishing Malick as a talent to watch, "Badlands" may have struggled at the box office but it has continued to be a favorite of critics, with the consensus on Rotten Tomatoes reading, "Terrence Malick's debut is a masterful slice of American cinema, rife with the visual poetry and measured performances that would characterize his work."

11. Annie Hall

In a decade where Woody Allen's directorial output was pretty faultless, "Annie Hall" still manages to stand above them all. The film charts the ups and downs of comedian Alvy Singer's (Allen) relationship with the titular club singer (Diane Keaton). Narrating his own bittersweet love story, Singer reflects on his life before, during, and after Annie.

One of the best romantic comedies of all time, "Annie Hall" has everything that makes the genre work — characters with believable chemistry and a warmth that radiates throughout. Having made several films together, the rapport between Allen and Keaton is unparalleled, and there is an honesty to their relationship that makes the film feel very personal. A box office success and critical darling , "Annie Hall" also shone in awards season, winning four Oscars for best picture, best director, lead actress, and best screenplay, only narrowly missing a sweep when Woody Allen was beaten to best actor by Richard Dreyfuss in "The Goodbye Girl."

10. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope

Beginning an epic space saga that would span generations, George Lucas' opus was a big risk but one that paid off. With "Star Wars" riding on the back of "Jaws" blockbuster success, it went on to obliterate the records, grossing more than $307 million on initial release. As our first experience of "a galaxy far, far away," "Star Wars" is pretty much unbeatable, introducing us to plucky hero Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and his quest to save the galaxy from the formidable Darth Vader (voiced by James Earl Jones).

It's easy to forget given how huge the "Star Wars" universe now is, but this film operates effectively as a standalone space romp, wrapping things up neatly enough that it could've easily been the beginning and the end of the story. Of course, that wasn't to be the case, and while Luke's story is told across the nine-film "Skywalker Saga," the "Star Wars" universe stretches far beyond this. "Star Wars" as an entity is a genuine pop culture phenomenon — one that shows absolutely no signs of stopping anytime soon, and it all started here.

9. Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Who better than the Pythons — a troupe of surreal British comics — to bring their unique touch to the Arthurian legend in this outrageously silly comedy. While they had previously ventured into the world of cinema with their first film, "And Now for Something Completely Different," it had comprised of their sketches from their television show, and so "The Holy Grail" marked their first foray into narrative features. Graham Chapman stars as the mythical King Arthur, who leads his band of witless knights to find the coveted Holy Grail. On the way, they encounter a killer rabbit, a three-headed giant, and the tenacious Black Knight who refuses to die quietly... or die at all really.

If you're looking for historical accuracy, you're in the wrong place. Instead, the Pythons bring their unique blend of the sublime and the ridiculous with a quest that only seems to get sillier as it progresses. The multi-talented Pythons play multiple roles and it is always tremendous fun seeing a group of comedians who work so well together and are exceptionally good at what they do. While subject to a mixed critical reaction initially, "The Holy Grail" has become a cult classic over the years and frequently appears in polls of the greatest comedies, placing second in ABC's televised special , "Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time," and eighth in Empire Magazine's 50 Best Comedy Movies list.

As typically oblique as you would expect from director Andrei Tarkovsky, "Stalker" is a strange parable with science fiction inflections. With the film withholding the location and time period in which it is set, there is a disquieting ambiguity that lingers throughout. In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a man known as the "Stalker" (Alexander Kaidanovsky) takes two men — a writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn) and a scientist (Nikolay Grinko) — on a journey to find "The Room," a place where purportedly all of their desires will be fulfilled.

Rich in allegory and symbolism, "Stalker" is largely about the fallibility of humanity and the unquenchable desire for answers and trying to find meaning and purpose, yet with numerous interpretations and no clear answers offered by Tarkovsky. "Stalker's" slow pacing and complex theme meant it received a mixed reaction when it was first released, however, over time its reputation has grown, leading publications such as Sight and Sound Magazine to place it 29th on their list of the 50 greatest films of all time.

Boasting one of the greatest movie taglines, with this ominous warning: "In space, no one can hear you scream," to this day, "Alien" remains one of the best examples of movie genre hybrids with its pitch-perfect blend of horror and science fiction. Set on board the space tug Nostromo, a small crew faces unimaginable horror when an alien lifeform begins to attack, leaving them fighting for survival.

Along with boasting one of the most memorably stomach-churning moments — when an alien bursts out of the chest of Kane (John Hurt) — "Alien" also gave us one of the greatest screen heroines in the iconic Ripley, (Sigourney Weaver). Surprisingly, when "Alien" was first released, the critical reception was a little mixed, with legendary critic Roger Ebert calling it one of the few "real disappointments" of the genre on a 1980 episode of "Sneak Previews." However, Ebert was one of the many who reassessed the film decades later , calling it one of "the most influential of modern action pictures" and saying it "still vibrates with a dark and frightening intensity."

6. The Last Picture Show

Tinged with sadness and melancholy, Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" pays homage to a bygone era with this '50s set coming-of-age drama. In the film, Sonny (Timothy Bottoms) and Duane (Jeff Bridges) are high school seniors who live in a dead-end Texas town. As they approach their graduation, the friends contemplate their next steps and whether they'll be able to make a better life for themselves outside of the town they perceive as holding them back.

This idea of being on the cusp of adulthood with potentially big decisions to make is often seen in films of this ilk, but rarely is it as beautifully depicted as it is in "The Last Picture Show." Bogdanovich's film is evocative of that feeling of restlessness and the deep desire to grow up while lacking the maturity to make such big decisions. Named by Roger Ebert as the best film of 1971, "The Last Picture Show" was awarded eight Oscar nominations — predominantly for its acting performances — winning best supporting actor and best supporting actress on the night.

5. Chinatown

Roman Polanski's thrilling take on a film noir, "Chinatown," sees Jack Nicholson as private eye Jake Gittes, hired by socialite Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband's extra-marital activities. What unfolds is a murky tale of double-crossing, deceit, and murder that feels like it's paying tribute to the classic film noirs of the 1930s or 1940s while also offering some of the grittiness and cynicism that ran through so many films of this decade.

The exceptional screenplay — which won "Chinatown" its only Oscar out of 11 nominations — is one that constantly surprises, and just as you think the film is going in one direction, a new layer is uncovered. The more complicated things get, the more the suspense builds, and as the film spirals, there's the crushing feeling that the corruption is too great and too vast to resolve. Its lack of resolution is bitter, melancholic, and undeniably bleak — something that epitomized much of '70s cinema — and is perfectly summed up in one of the all-time great closing lines .

4. Taxi Driver

As thematically rich as it is violent and twisted, Martin Scorsese's "Taxi" is a portrait of a man pushed to the very edge, anchored by an electric performance from Robert De Niro. Travis Bickle is an insomniac cab driver, working the late-night shift in New York while ruminating on the state of the world. Taking the chilling thought that somebody ought to clean up the streets of low lives and criminals as something of a personal vendetta, Travis spirals down a path of violence and destruction that is difficult to crawl back from.

Scored by frequent Alfred Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann, the music provides an uneasy and eerie feel to "Taxi Driver" — something that becomes more apparent as Travis grows even more detached from reality. Scorsese's film not only places us in uncomfortably close proximity to Travis' fractured psyche, but it also urges us to hold up a lens to ourselves and the world we see around us, and the result is completely gripping.

3. The Godfather Part II

While he had set an unreasonably high bar for himself with "The Godfather," Francis Ford Coppola's sequel managed to live up to the first film and delivered an effective continuation of the Corleone crime family's story. Shifting the focus onto the new Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) as he takes care of the family business, a prequel story runs parallel to this showing the young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) as he moves from Sicily to establish his family empire.

Due to the success of the first film, Coppola was given free reign to tell the story in the way that he wanted, charting the next steps of the Corleone family while also exploring how they rose to their prestigious position as a formidable crime syndicate. While it didn't perform as well at the box office as "The Godfather," "Part II" was still a resounding success, with some contemporary critics — such as The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw — even going as far to call it the superior film.

2. Apocalypse Now

Closing out a hugely successful decade for director Francis Ford Coppola was his take on the Vietnam war, "Apocalypse Now," which explores the harrowing psychological impacts the conflict had. After learning that Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) has gone mad in the jungle, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) leads a group of men to find and kill him before he becomes a danger to himself and others.

While not particularly subtle in its critique of the madness and folly of war, "Apocalypse Now" is nonetheless one of the greatest war movies — not just those that focus on Vietnam specifically but in the genre as a whole. With its warts and all approach to depicting the horrors of war, it is not always the easiest film to watch, however, Coppola's film is rich in stark, hallucinatory imagery that makes it endlessly riveting. While nominated for eight Oscars, "Apocalypse Now" only picked up two, winning for cinematography and sound, however, it was also the recipient of the prestigious Palme d'Or from Cannes Film Festival.

1. The Godfather

In a decade packed with some of the greatest films of all time, there can be only one that sits above them all and that is Francis Ford Coppola's crime epic, "The Godfather." The film charts the powerful mob family, the Corleones, focusing on the head of the clan, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) and his reluctant son Michael (Al Pacino). Introducing his son to the complex web of deceit, violence, and betrayal, Vito draws Michael deeper into their Mafia activities.

There's not much that can be written about "The Godfather" that hasn't been said already, but its reputation as one of the most influential gangster movies and one of the greatest films ever made is earned. With the magic formula of perfect casting, a purposeful script, and masterful direction along with the exquisite score, production design, and editing. Simply put, it is hard to find fault in this film, and this is one of the many reasons why it has endured for so many years. A massive box office success at the time and amassing even more revenue due to subsequent re-releases, "The Godfather" has made more than $250 million worldwide, placing it in the all-time highest-grossing films when adjusted for inflation.

How to Talk Experimental Film: A User’s Guide

As a medium, film is unique because it captures life in a way that cannot be captured through other forms of art, like painting or photography. Film is able to represent time, its duration, and motion, which brings it the closest to capturing life itself. Even the most conventional, mainstream film or video is able to accomplish this captivating feat. (If you beg to differ, notice what happens when there’s only one moving image in the room.) Experimental films not only capture or represent life, but also challenge the form and content of filmmaking and its conventional patterns, in order to provoke and, at its best, transcend how we compose our lives on and off-screen.

So what qualifies as experimental ?

A video opens with a unique score of digitally-manipulated industrial sounds mixed with a distorted version of a familiar pop tune, the 1997 teenage anthem, “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. A jaundiced character with glowing cat eyes giggles in the pitch of a crazed raccoon. She drives happily through cyberspace, looking in wonder at the digital snowflakes floating across the screen. That’s the opening of Ryan Trecartin’s 2007 “ I-Be Area (Pasta and Wendy M-PEGgy)” . Or how about the genre-bending and taboo-ignoring film “ Palindromes” by Todd Solondz? The conceptual film centers on a 13-year-old protagonist named Aviva (notice, her name is a palindrome), who is played by eight different actors of varying races, ages, and genders. The film is a dark, fearless, and unblinking look at teenage sexuality through multiple voices and vantage points: a fragmented look at a modern-age identity crisis.

Within the broad genre of experimental film, there emerge at least two different types of players: filmmakers who experiment with form and narrative content, and artists who use film or video as a medium through which to express their vision. This distinction between filmmakers and artists is not to say that filmmakers can’t be considered artists, or that artists can’t be considered filmmakers. In fact, the lines are not always clearly defined. I myself struggle with how to identify myself: filmmaker or artist (or both)? And in reality, my primary mode of identification varies depending on the particular context.

However, it’s important to understand that experimental film isn’t a simple or singular catchall. There’s a spectrum of people who create experimental films for different reasons. The results are excitingly diverse and varied and for that, The Independent thought it would be helpful to check in with someone working in the medium, me, for an introductory grasp on terms and definitions:

EXPERIMENTAL FILM

For me, experimental film is essentially a broad stroke or umbrella term for moving images that explore the human condition, nature, or fantasy in ways that haven’t been traditionally explored before. “Experimental film” includes a wide range of works, from a video performance of a heavily made-up woman smearing her face on a pane of glass (Pipilotti Rist, “ Be Nice to Me “) to Wes Anderson’s “ Moonrise Kingdom “. These are films in which filmmakers and artists are experimenting with the form (think jump cuts, overlays, the use of text on screen, films that use both animation and live-action) or content. Let’s keep in mind that most filmmakers aren’t experimenting the way scientists are, with the use of the scientific method that we all learned back in our middle school days. But we do know that they’re playing with (some quite methodically and others more freely) and therefore expanding the genre. Their intent isn’t to continue in the way mainstream films have been made. Instead, they want to challenge it.

Of course, the scope of experimental film is quite broad. Some films dabble in experimentation, with one camera angle or a topic that’s taboo or unconventional. Other films really push the boundaries, so much sometimes that we can’t even really decide if it is a film or not.

AVANT-GARDE FILM

I’m probably not alone in thinking of art critics in a gallery with affected intonations when I think of the term “avant-garde.” The term itself, before it was applied to art, was a military term that literally means “forward guard.” It described the soldiers on horseback that led troops into battle. They were on the front line of troops to go out and face the enemy.

Forgive the metaphor, but avant-garde filmmakers are those original soldiers on horseback. They’re first. They’re fearless. And their films usually aren’t well received by the general public. Avant-garde films are wholly experimental, pioneering films: films that after you’ve seen, you turn to friends and ask with wide eyes, “What was THAT?” These are the types of experimental films that a lot of people have a hard time digesting. They can be confusing, strange, grotesque, and purposefully disjunctive. And that’s okay. Because avant-garde films aren’t crowd-pleasers. The filmmakers creating those works know that.

It is important to note that “avant-garde film” was a term first used to describe Dadaist and surrealist films of the 1920s. A film that’s still widely regarded as one of the most avant-garde films in history is Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí’s 1929 film, “ Un Chien Andalou “. The film opens with a man causally sharpening a straight razor on a piece of wood. Wagner’s powerful, imposing score drives the action forward. Cigarette smoke unfurls as he concentrates on his task, glancing at the moon. The man opens the eyelid of a calm woman and slices her eyeball in half with the straight razor. The moon is temporarily spliced in half by the horizontal movement of a stray cloud. The woman’s eye spits out a gelatinous substance.

In the 21st century, we hear all the time that in art, “nothing is new.” As an artist, I can’t (and won’t) wholeheartedly agree with that statement. However, I will acknowledge that as modern filmmakers or film viewers, we have a relatively long history. If I were writing this article in the 1920s, I could give you tons of examples of what’s called “avant-garde film,” and every film would be shockingly novel. It’s a little harder now: as a society, we have seen more films, we reference more films, we pay homage to more films, and we borrow from more films. So, it’s important to also consider that avant-garde is a term steeped in chronology. What was once avant-garde may now be the most popular film type.

Take for example the most commonly cited “influential film” for filmmakers: “ Citizen Kane ” by Orson Welles. When this film first came out, it was monumentally innovative for its time: the use of the newsreel, the death of the protagonist in the first scene, the unreliable narrator, the signifiers, the ambiguous sound, the deep focus…and the list goes on. The thing is, today’s unguided audiences probably wouldn’t be able to distinguish Citizen Kane as an innovative, avant-garde film, which it was for its time.

So I suppose that begs the question, what is avant-garde film today? Funny enough, it’s mostly likely seen in museums and galleries…yes, the beacons of affected intonations. But it’s true. Current avant-garde films are less likely to be exhibited in a movie theater because the form does not prioritize the viewing experience of the audience in the way that commercial films do. Museums and galleries (sometimes) allow for flexibility: artists and filmmakers can make space another dimension that the viewer must experience, which is why avant-garde often intersects with the realm of video installation.

UNDERGROUND FILM

“Underground film” is a term that was coined in the 1960s and is still used today, though certainly without the same connotation. You can see the term in the film festival circuit: the Boston Underground Film Festival, New York Underground Film Festival, Chicago Underground Film Festival…and so on.

While budget constraints are still a very real challenge for modern filmmakers, having a film be seen is not as problematic. The Internet and all the available viewing channels, even specific channels made for people who appreciate experimental film, eliminate the barriers filmmakers faced a few decades ago. The Internet, after all, in most nations anyway, is public. So in an era when we as a society can’t (or perhaps won’t) hide anymore or operate in true secrecy, underground film doesn’t carry the same bite.

Of course…unless we’re talking about banned films, like Todd Haynes’ “ Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story “. The 43-minute film re-enacts the story of musician Karen Carpenter, who tragically died of anorexia, with a cast made up entirely of Barbie dolls. It was released in 1987 in film festivals, but was recalled when Haynes lost a lawsuit regarding the music licensure in the film. As a result of the lawsuit, the Carpenter estate has required that all copies of the film have been recalled or destroyed. So, if you happen to find a copy of the film and share it with someone else, that would certainly be an experience in the vein of underground film. (I dare you.)

While instances like Superstar are rare in the United States, the spirit of underground film is still alive because of the money issue. Funding is little and budgets are tight for filmmakers (and the arts in general), so many still carry on that attitude, or even write into grant proposals, “this film will be made no matter what.” Lots of filmmakers are putting together crews that work for free, working long and impossible production hours, and doing everything and anything to get a film made, even if it means bankruptcy or begging for money. Scrappy, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, DIY-style filmmaking is actually more popular than not. In fact, some might argue that the underground film attitude of the 1960s is perhaps the spirit of independent film today.

As a term and a medium, “video” tends to be more elastic and flexible than “film.” Videos can range from recorded performances (also known as video performance), to short movies (which can also be referred to as “short films”), to sculptural works that include moving images (also known as “video installation” or “new media installation”) to moving images that are digitally recorded as opposed to chemically processed. Video can challenge conventions of exhibition as well. For example, movies or “films” are conventionally made to be watched in theaters. (Whether or not they are being watched in theaters nowadays is another topic). Videos, on the other hand, can demand to be exhibited in alternative ways, such as in video or new media installations, where the display space is an important part of the experience.

“Video art” is a really flexible genre, and its ambiguity is a gift for experimental artists. It’s an art that uses the moving image as its medium. Instead of paint, video artists use the camera and the technology’s unique qualities. The canvas is the screen. The term is broad and can reference anything from a tightly edited short film with a beginning, middle, and end, to one that has none of those typical narrative guideposts (or even end credits for that matter) to a filmed performance in which an artist walks around a square in an exaggerated manner (a Bruce Nauman piece, aptly titled “ Walking in an Exaggerated Manner around the Perimeter of a Square “). And of course, video art catches all other video pieces that lie between the spectrum of a short film and video performance, such as music videos.

I personally love video art as a genre because it allows me to do things that films can’t do, like experiment with the idea of modularity and singularity. Last year, my creative partner Danny Roth and I produced an experimental video project, titled “ 7 d.a.y.s. “, in which we conceived, produced, and edited one video a day for seven days. The project grew out of a fascination with the ephemeral and the fleeting beauty of the creative idea. Each video was themed and named for the day on which we created it. Themes included memory, art&madness, city, trance, spinning, senses, and nature. The intention of the project wasn’t to create seven perfect, whole films, but to capture a week’s worth of creativity on video. The videos are meant to be impulsive, visceral, fleeting. In addition, we also wrote poetry and text for each of the videos because, for me, words and the act of writing are as integral to my life as visuality. One interesting thing to add here is how I term my work. The title is 7 d.a.y.s. , but what I use as the subtitle varies from time to time. Sometimes I call it “an experimental film project,” other times I call it “an experimental video series,” and others, I call it “a conceptual film project.” This just goes to show the elasticity of these genres and how they can overlap and intersect with each other.

VIDEO INSTALLATION

The term “installation” is another flexible term. It’s a word used to describe works that use space as an additional dimension in a work of art. Installation pieces are often sculptural in that they activate and consider space. “Video installation,” then, describes works that activate space with video. A prime example of a video installation is American artist Tony Oursler’s work, where video projection is a key element. Oursler innovatively moves the viewing space away from the big screen, or little screen, and onto unconventional surfaces. He might project video of faces engaged in monologue or dialogue with the audience onto stuffed bodies, or bedroom scenarios (the space under a bed), for example. I’d say that it’s the moving image in his works that shocks, awes, and inspires audiences. “ Little Worlds “, a collection of Oursler’s work is currently exhibiting at the Honolulu Museum of Art until June 23, 2013.

Despite the device on which a moving image was created and what term is used for it, what makes a film (or video) experimental is the unconventionality of its form or content. These kinds of films allow the audience to see and experience the world in a way that they’ve never seen or experienced before, through uniquely calibrated eyes. The process may shock us, amaze us, or disturb us. Most experimental filmmakers and artists I know are shooting for all three, plus a quality or two that defies articulation.

Minhae Shim contributes to The Independent from the vantage point of a filmmaker, interdisciplinary artist, and writer. She is an active blogger , and is particularly interested in exploring and extending the traditions of avant-garde cinema and conceptual art. She recently completed and exhibited a video installation, Video Sassoon . She’s currently helping to edit The Independent’s Guide to Film Distribution, Second Edition . She can be reached at [email protected].

Experimental film

• 2 Resources
• 3.1 Journals, magazines
• 3.2 Exhibition catalogues and brochures
• 3.3 Anthologies
• 3.4.1 1940s-1960s
• 3.4.2 1970s
• 3.4.3 1980s
• 3.4.4 1990s
• 3.4.5 2000s
• 3.4.6 2010s
• 3.4.7 2020s
• 3.5 Journal issues
• 3.6 Selected essays, theses
• 3.7 Encyclopedic entries
• 3.8 Mailing lists
• 3.9 Documentary films
• 3.10 Bibliographies

Pages [ edit ]

• 25 FPS Festival
• L'Abominable
• Academic Film Center Belgrade
• Academic Photo Cinema Club Sarajevo
• Albert Alcoz
• Alternative Film & Video Festival Belgrade
• Amateur cinema clubs in Yugoslavia
• Kenneth Anger
• April Meetings
• Martin Arnold
• Avant-Garde Film Festival
• Avantgarde ist keine Strömung
• Jeffrey Babcock
• Balázs Béla Studio
• Belgrade Cinema Club
• Mirna Belina
• Martin Blažíček
• Jerzy Bossak
• Martijn van Boven
• Stan Brakhage
• Michał Brzeziński
• Luis Buñuel
• Eugeniusz Cękalski
• Pip Chodorov
• Radúz Činčera
• Bruce Conner
• Florian Cramer
• Vivienne Dick
• Vukica Đilas
• Irena and Karel Dodal
• Germaine Dulac
• Ľubomír Ďurček
• Viking Eggeling
• Miklós Erdély
• Birgit and Wilhelm Hein
• Film Authors Studio
• Film Form Workshop
• Film Video Informació
• Coleen Fitzgibbon
• Aleksander Ford
• Péter Forgács
• Hollis Frampton
• Ivan Ladislav Galeta
• György Gerő
• Peter Gidal
• Karpo Godina
• Tomislav Gotovac
• Ion Grigorescu
• Alexandr Hackenschmied
• Nicky Hamlyn
• Dušan Hanák
• Vladimír Havrilla
• Stanislav Hora
• Tatjana Ivančić
• Leandro Katz
• Kinema Ikon
• Kinoautomat
• Vladimír Kordoš
• Peter Kubelka
• LaborBerlin
• Wolfgang Lehmann
• Jiří Lehovec
• Maurice Lemaître
• Lichtblick-Kino
• Rose Lowder
• London Film-Makers' Co-op
• Claus Löser
• Sergiu Lupse
• Irene Lusztig
• Jaroslav Mackerle
• Dušan Marek
• Gregory Markopoulos
• Ivan Martinac
• Ivica Matić
• Dóra Maurer
• Martin Mazanec
• Anthony McCall
• Jonas Mekas
• Mikhail Kaufman
• András Monory-Mész
• Mostra del Cinema di Genova
• Werner Nekes
• Doireann O'Malley
• Mihovil Pansini
• Parallel Cinema
• Paul Sharits
• Živojin Pavlović
• Andrzej Pawlowski
• Jacques Perconte
• Vladimir Petek
• Sylva Poláková
• William Raban
• Yvonne Rainer
• Margaret Raspé
• Jürgen Reble
• Hans Richter
• Mirosław Rogala
• Barbara Rubin
• Walter Ruttmann
• Zbigniew Rybczyński
• Sarajevo Cinema Club
• Sylvia Schedelbauer
• Carolee Schneemann
• Scratch Expanded
• Michael Snow
• Split Cinema Club
• Super 8 Picnic in a Hand
• Elizaveta Svilova
• Daniela Swarowsky
• Gyula Száva
• András Szirtes
• Ivan Tatíček
• The Word of the Young Cinema Club
• Franciszka and Stefan Themerson
• This Is All Film! Experimental Film in Yugoslavia 1951-1991
• Teresa Tyszkiewicz
• Stan VanDerBeek
• Otakar Vávra
• Dziga Vertov
• Andy Warhol
• Ryszard Waśko
• Peter Weibel
• František Wirth
• WORM.Filmwerkplaats
• Lordan Zafranović
• Zagreb Cinema Club
• Jerzy Zarzynski

Resources [ edit ]

• UbuWeb: Film & Video , an excellent archive of experimental film and video.
• Electronic Arts Intermix , a resource for video and media art, founded in 1971.
• The Luxonline Histories lists key events, places, people and exhibitions which have contextualised and contributed to the development of artists' film and video from the past century to the current day.
• Avant-Garde Film Index lists films, archival collections and references for selected filmmakers.
• Visionary Film: Avant-Garde Cinema / Experimental Film , a web resource founded in 2006.
• The iotaCenter , a resource on visual music, founded in 1994.
• Center for Visual Music .
• Moving Image Source's Research Guide on Experimental and Avant-garde
• Experimental Cinema , a news and resources on experimental film.
• Artists, Amateurs, Alternative Spaces: Experimental Cinema in Eastern Europe, 1960–1990 , eds. Joanna Raczynska and Ksenya Gurshtein, Washington, DC: National Gallery of Art, 2014.
• Flicker provides links to sites about contemporary and historical experimental cinema.
• cinovid , database for experimental film and video art. Discontinued in 2014.
• No Wave and Independent Film , An Exhibition of Photographs and Ephemera , by Marc H. Miller, 2013. [1]

Publications [ edit ]

Publications by & about individual filmmakers are listed on their respective pages .

Journals, magazines [ edit ]

• Kinofon: revija za filmsku kulturu , 12 numbers, eds. Branko Ve Poljanski and Dragan Aleksić , Zagreb, 1921-1922. (Croatian)
• Kino-fot: zhurnal kinematografii i fotografii , 6 numbers, ed. Aleksei Gan , Moscow: Aleksei Gan, 1922-1923. (Russian)
• L'Art cinématographique , 8 numbers, Paris: Félix Alcan, 1926-1931. (French)
• Close Up , ed. Kenneth Macpherson, Territet/CH (1927-30) and London (1928-33): Pool, 1927-1933. Monthly (1927-30), quarterly (1931-33). (English)
• Experimental Cinema , Philadelphia, PA: Cinema Crafters of America, 1930-34. Monthly.
• Mouvement: cinématographie, littérature, musique, publicité , 3 numbers, ed. Maurice Aubergé, 1933. (French)
• Ekran: měsíčník pro moderní film a fotografii , 1 issue, ed. František Kalivoda, Brno: Vladislav Binder, 1934. (Czech) , (German)
• f.a. [Art Film], eds. Franciszka and Stefan Themerson , 1937-?. Journal of the SAF co-operative.
• Film Culture Reader , ed. P. Adams Sitney, New York: Praeger, 1970, viii+438 pp; repr., New York: Cooper Square Press, 2000.
• UbuWeb, Anthology Film Archives (eds.), "Selections from Film Culture Magazine, 1955-1996" , n.d.
• Cinim , 3 issues, 1967-1969.
• Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media , 56+ issues, eds. John Hess, Chuck Kleinhans and Julia Lesage, since 1974.
• Millennium Film Journal , eds. Grahame Weinbren and Kenneth White, since 1978. Published biannually.
• Underground Film Journal .
• L'ébouillanté , 15 numbers, 1995-1999. Zine published by artist-run film labs. (French)
• Found Footage Magazine , since 2015. [2] (Spanish) , (English)
• Los Experimentos , Buenos Aires, since 2022. Web magazine devoted to Latin American cinema, and experimental cinema from Latin America. (Spanish)
• more , more .

Anthologies [ edit ]

• Peter Gidal (ed.), Structural Film Anthology , London: British Film Institute, 1976.
• P. Adams Sitney (ed.), The Avant-garde Film: A Reader of Theory and Criticism , New York: New York University Press, 1978. Contains the often-hard-to-find theoretical writings of experimental filmmakers, beginning in France in the 1920s and continuing internationally through the 1970s.
• Raffaele Milani (ed.), Il cinema underground americano , Messina Firenze: D'Anna, 1978, 190 pp. (Italian)
• Paul Hammond (ed.), The Shadow and Its Shadow: Surrealist Writings on the Cinema , trans. & intro. Paul Hammond, London: British Film Institute, 1978; 2nd ed., Edinburgh: Polygon, 1991; 3rd ed., rev. & exp. , San Francisco: City Lights, 2000, 225 pp. (English)
• Norio Nishijima (ed.), Firumu wākushoppu [フィルム ワークショップ], Tokyo: Dagereo Shuppan, 1983, 222 pp. (Japanese)
• Jaroslav Andjel, Ljubica Stanivuk (eds.), Teorija česke avangarde 1908-1937 , Belgrade: Institut za film , 1987, 86 pp. (Serbo-Croatian)
• Miklós Peternák (ed.), F.I.L.M. A magyar avant-garde film története és dokumentumai , Budapest: Képzőművészeti Kiadó, 1991, 351 pp. (Hungarian)
• Wheeler Winston-Dixon, Gwendolyn Audrey Foster (eds.), Experimental Cinema: The Film Reader , London and New York: Routledge, 2002, 356 pp. Covers the field of experimental and avant-garde cinema from the 1920s onward, concentrating on movements and varied key figures, with a concentration on issues such as gender, sexuality, and race, as well as the impact of technological innovation. Review: Rees (Screen).
• Ulrich Wegenast (ed.), Kunst und Film. Texte zum künstlerischen Film , Dresden: PHILO Fine Arts, 2002, 288 pp. (German)
• Jackie Hatfield (ed.), Experimental Film and Video: An Anthology , forew. Sean Cubitt and Al Rees, Eastleigh: John Libbey, 2006, 302 pp. Forty artists have contributed images, and 25 artists reflect on the diverse critical agendas, contexts, and communities that have affected their practice across the period from the late 1960s to date. [15] [16]
• Patrícia Mourão, Theo Duarte (eds.), Cinema estrutural , Rio de Janeiro: Aroeira, 2015, 228 pp. (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Ann Adachi-Tasch, Go Hirasawa, Julian Ross (eds.), Japanese Expanded Cinema and Intermedia: Critical Texts of the 1960s , intro. Julian Ross, Berlin: Archive Books, 2020, 222 pp. Introduction . Publisher . Editors . Reviews: Pires (CAA), Gómez (Hyperallergic), Macfarlane (Brooklyn Rail).

Monographs, edited books [ edit ]

1940s-1960s [ edit ].

• trans., in Deren, Écrits sur l'art et le cinéma , trans. Éric Alloi and Julie Beaulieu, Paris: Paris expérimental, 2004, 120 pp. Also contains a translation of "The Creative Use of Cinematography as the Reality" (1960). [17] [18] (French)
• trans., in Deren, Choregraphie für eine Kamera. Schriften zum Film , eds. Jutta Hercher, Ute Holl, Kathrin Reichel, Kira Stein and Petra Wolff, trans. Susanne Amatosero, Ute Holl and Christine Noll-Brinckmann, Hamburg: Material-Verlag, 1995. (German)
• trans., in Deren, El universo dereniano: textos fundamentales de la cineasta Maya Deren , intro., ed. & trans. Carolina Martínez López, Cuenca: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, 2015. (Spanish)
• trans., in Deren, Ma ya.de lun lun dian ying [玛雅.德伦论电影], Chang chun: Ji lin chu ban ji tuan, 2015. (Chinese)
• Frank Stauffacher (ed.), Art in Cinema: A Symposium on the Avantgarde Film, Together with Program Notes and References for Series One of Art in Cinema , San Francisco: Art in Cinema Society: San Francisco Museum of Art, 1947, 104 pp; repr., New York: Arno Press, 1968, 104 pp. [19]
• Roger Manvell (ed.), Experiment in the Film , London: Grey Walls Press, 1949, 285 pp.
• Avantgarde Film , trans. Beat Mazenauer, Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1995, 207 pp. (German)
• Stan Brakhage, Metaphors on Vision , ed. & intro. P. Adams Sitney, Film Culture, 1963.
• Sheldon Renan, An Introduction to the American Underground Film , New York: Dutton, 1967, 318 pp; 2nd ed. as The Underground Film: an Introduction to Its Development in America , London: Studio Vista, 1967, 318 pp.
• Cinema Now: Stan Brakhage, John Cage, Jonas Mekas, Stan Vanderbeek , eds. Hector Currie and Michael Porte, University of Cincinnati Press, 1968, 28 pp. Transcript of a discussion among filmmakers and members of the Film as Art and Communication class at the University of Cincinnati, which took place in April 1967.
• Parker Tyler, Underground Film: A Critical History , New York: Grove Press, 1969, 249+[32] pp; London: Secker & Warburg, 1969, 249+[32] pp; Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974, 240+[16] pp; repr., intro. J. Hoberman, afterw. Charles Boultenhouse, New York: Da Capo Press, 1995, 265+[16] pp.

1970s [ edit ]

• Cine expandido , Buenos Aires: Eduntref, 2012, 456 pp. [21] (Spanish)
• Expanded cinema , trans. Pier Luigi Capucci and Simonetta Fadda, Bologna: CLUEB, 2013, xvi+388 pp. (Italian)
• Birgit Hein, Film im Underground. Von seinen Anfangen bis zum Unabhangigen Kino , Frankfurt/Berlin/Vienna: Ullstein, 1971. (German)
• David Curtis, Experimental Cinema: A Fifty Year Evolution , London, Studio Vista, 1971. [22]
• Ciné-Journal: Un nouveau cinéma américain (1959-1971) , trans. Dominique Noguez, Paris: Paris expérimental, 1992, 400 pp. [23] (French)
• Gottfried Schlemmer (ed.), Avantgardistischer Film 1951-1971, Theorie , Munich: Hanser, 1973. (German)
• Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art , C. T. Editions, 1974. [24] [25]
• Le cinéma visionnaire: l'Avant-garde américaine 1943-2000 , trans. Pip Chodorov and Christian Lebrat, Paris: Paris expérimental, 2002, 448 pp. [26] (French)
• Sigak yonghwa: 20-segi Miguk abanggarudo yonghwa , trans. Tong-hyon Pak, Seoul: Pyongsari, 2005, 560 pp. (Korean)
• Hans Scheugl, Ernst Schmidt jr., Eine Subgeschichte des Films. Lexikon des Avantgarde-, Experimental- und Undergroundfilms, Band 1 und 2 , Frankurt am Main: Suhrkamp, 1974. (German)
• Storia del cinema sperimentale , trans. Giulio Stocchi and Carole Aghion, Milan: Mazzotta, 1971; 2nd ed., 1977; repr. , Bologna: CLUEB, 2006, vi+217 pp. (Italian)
• Il cinema cubista , Costa & Nolan, 1996. (Italian)
• Stephen Dwoskin, Film is ...: The International Free Cinema , London: Owen, 1975.
• P. Adams Sitney (ed.), The Essential Cinema: Essays on the Films in the Collection of Anthology Film Archives , New York: Anthology Film Archives, 1975. Essays by filmmakers and scholars of the avant-garde, written with a wide range of approaches ranging from the theoretical to the purely personal, intended to reinforce appreciation of the films chosen by the archive for inclusion in its Essential Cinema Collection.
• Viktoria Hradská, Česká avantgarda a film , Prague: Čs. filmový ústav, 1976. (Czech)
• Malcolm Le Grice, Abstract Film and Beyond , MIT Press, 1977.
• Thanasis Rentzis (Θανάσης Ρεντζής), Οι Πρωτοπορίες στον κινηματογράφο , Athens: Kastaniotis [Καστανιώτης], 1978, 31 pp. (Greek)
• Dominique Noguez, Éloge du cinéma expérimental: Definitions, Jalons, Perspectives , Paris: Paris expérimental and Centre Georges Pompidou, 1979; 3rd ed., 2010. (French) [27]

1980s [ edit ]

• Ulrich Gregor (ed.), The German Experimental Film of the Seventies , Munich: Goethe-Institut, 1980.
• Martin Walsh, The Brechtian Aspect of Radical Cinema , London: BFI Publishing, 1981, 136 pp.
• Hollis Frampton, Circles of Confusion: Film/Photography/Video Texts 1968-1981 , forew. Annette Michelson, Visual Studies Workshop Press, 1983, 200 pp.
• Inez Hedges, Languages of Revolt: Dada and Surrealist Literature and Film , Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press, 1983.
• Andere Avant Garde , Linz: Gutenberg, 1984. (German)
• Branko Vučićević, Avangardni film 1895-1939 , vol. 2 , 2 vols., Belgrade: Radionica SIC, 1984 & 1990, 159 & 63 pp. (Serbo-Croatian)
• Maureen Cheryn Turim, Abstraction in Avant-garde Films , Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, 1985.
• Jairo Ferreira, Cinema de Invenção , Sao Paulo: Editora Max Limonad, 1986. [28] (Brazilian Portuguese)
• Helge Krarup, Carl Norrested, Eksperimentalfilm i Danmark , Copenhagen: Borgen, 1986. (Danish)
• Fernao Ramos, Cinema Marginal, 1968-1973: A Representacao em seu Limite , Sao Paulo: Editora Brasiliense, 1987. (Portuguese)
• Stan Brakhage, Film at Wit's End: Eight Avant-garde Filmmakers , Kingston, N.Y.: Documentext, 1989.
• Ingo Petzke (ed.), Das Experimentalfilm-Handbuch , Frankfurt am Main: Deutsches Filminstitut, 1989, 385 pp. (German) [29]
• Peter Gidal, Materialist Film , London and New York: Routledge, 1989.
• Marcin Giżycki, Walka o film artystyczny w mie̜dzywojennej Polsce , Warsaw: Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1989, 262+[32] pp. (Polish)
• Eduard Ditschek, Politisches Engagement und Medienexperiment: Theater und Film der Russischen und Deutschen Avantgarde der Zwanziger Jahre , Tübingen: Narr, 1989, 306 pp. TOC . (German)
• David E. James, Allegories of Cinema: American Film in the Sixties , Princeton University Press, 1989, xiii+388 pp. Review: Dessser (Film Q).

1990s [ edit ]

• P. Adams Sitney, Modernist Montage: The Obscurity of Vision in Cinema and Literature , New York: Columbia University Press, 1990, x+250+[16] pp.
• Ryszard Kluszczyński, Film: sztuka Wielkiej Awangardy , Warsaw/Łódź: PWN, 1990, 183 pp. [30] (Polish)
• Patricia Mellencamp, Indiscretions: Avant-garde Film, Video & Feminism , Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1990, xix+234 pp.
• Lauren Rabinovitz, Points of Resistance: Women, Power & Politics in the New York Avant-garde Cinema, 1943-71 , Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1991, xi+250 pp; 2nd ed., 2003, xviii+252 pp. [31]
• Stanislav Ulver, Západní filmová avantgarda , Prague: ČFÚ, 1991. (Czech)
• William C. Wees, Light Moving in Time: Studies in the Visual Aesthetics of Avant-Garde Film , University of California Press, 1992, PDF .
• Frederique Devaux, Le cinéma Lettriste: 1951-1991 , Paris: Paris expérimental, 1992. (French) Publisher .
• David E. James (ed.), To Free the Cinema: Jonas Mekas and the New York Underground , University of Princeton Press, 1992, 352 pp. Publisher .
• Scott MacDonald, Avant-garde Film: Motion Studies , Cambridge University Press, 1993.
• William C. Wees, Recycled Images: The Art and Politics of Found Footage Films , New York: Anthology Film Archives, 1993, 117 pp.
• Germaine Dulac, Écrits sur le cinéma, 1919-1937 , ed. Prosper Hillairet, Paris: Paris expérimental, 1994, 225 pp. Anthology of Dulac's writings with contextual essay. [32] (French)
• Edward S. Small, Direct Theory: Experimental Film/Video as Major Genre , SIU Press, 1994, 122 pp.
• James Peterson, Dreams of Chaos, Visions of Order: Understanding the American Avante-garde Cinema , Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1994.
• Holger Wilmesmeier, Deutsche Avantgarde und Film: Die Filmmatinee "Der absolute film" (3. und 10. Mai 1925) , 1994, 220 pp. (German)
• Jan-Christopher Horak (ed.), Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-garde, 1919-1945 , Madison, Wis.: University of Wisconsin Press, 1995. [33]
• Rudolf E. Kuenzli (ed.), Dada and Surrealist Film , MIT Press, 1996.
• Marcin Giżycki, Awangarda wobec kina: film w kręgu polskiej awangardy artystycznej dwudziestolecia międzywojennego , Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Małe, 1996, 142 pp. [34] [35] (Polish)
• Karin Fritsche, Claus Löser (eds.), Gegenbilder - Filmische Subversion in der DDR 1976-1989 , Berlin: Janus Press, 1996. [36] , Review . (German)
• Bruno Fischli, Carola Ferber (eds.), Der Deutsche experimentalfilm der 90er Jahre / The German Experimental Film of the 1990s , Munich: Goethe Institut, 1996, 101 pp. (German) / (English)
• Michael O'Pray (ed.), The British Avant-Garde Film, 1926-1995: An Anthology of Writings , Luton: John Libbey Media, 1996, 332 pp.
• Christian Lebrat, Entre les images , Paris: Paris expérimental, 1997, 100 pp. (French) [37]
• Il cinema d'avanguardia: 1910-1930 , Venezia: Marsilio, 1997. (Italian)
• Jack Sargeant, Naked Lens: Beat Cinema , London: Creation Books, 1997; repr., Berkeley, CA: Soft Skull Press, 2008.
• Wheeler W. Dixon, The Exploding Eye: A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema , Albany: State University of New York Press, 1998.
• Jacqueline Bobo (ed.), Black Women Film and Video Artists , Routledge, 1998, 288 pp. Publisher .
• Robert A. Haller (ed.), First Light , New York: Anthology Film Archives, 1998, 108 pp.
• Beatriz Sarlo Sabajanes, La maquina cultural: maestras, traductores y vanguardistas , Buenos Aires: Ariel, 1998. (Spanish)
• Scott MacDonald, A Critical Cinema: Interviews with Independent Filmmakers , 5 vols, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988–2005. Five volumes of in-depth, perceptive, enlightening interviews with a multitude of filmmakers offer a veritable history of the field. The author’s overriding concern is with experimental cinema as a form of critique of conventional media.
• Jikken eizō no rekishi eiga to bideo: kihanteki abangyarudo kara gendai eikoku deno eizō jissen [実験映像の歴史:映画とビデオ : 規範的アヴァンギャルドから現代英国での映像実践], Kyoto: Kōyōshobō, 2010. (Japanese)
• Shi yan dian ying shi yu lu xiang shi [实验电影史与录像史], Changchun: Ji lin chu ban ji tuan you xian ze ren gong si, 2011, 210 pp. (Chinese)
• 험영화와 비디오의 역사 : 정통 아방가르드부터 현대 영국 예술의 실천까지, 2014. (Korean)
• Emanuel Levy, Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film , New York: New York University Press, 1999.
• Bruno Di Marino, Sguardo inconscio azione: cinema sperimentale e underground a Roma: 1965-1975 , Rome: Lithos, 1999. (Italian)

2000s [ edit ]

• Joan M Minguet Batllori, Cinema, modernitat i avantguarda (1920-1936) , Valencia: E. Climent, 2000. (Spanish)
• Laura U. Marks, The Skin of the Film: Intercultural Cinema, Embodiment, and the Senses , Duke University Press, 2000, 320 pp. Excerpt , [38] .
• Bill Nichols (ed.), Maya Deren and the American Avant-garde , University of California Press, 2001, xi+331 pp.
• Scott MacDonald, The Garden in the Machine: A Field Guide to Independent Films about Place , University of California Press, 2001, 487 pp. Publisher .
• Barbara Wilinsky, Sure Seaters: The Emergence of Art House Cinema , Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2001.
• Bruce Posner (ed.), Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film 1893-1941 , New York: Black Thistle Press, and New York: Anthology Film Archives, 2001.
• Malcolm Le Grice, Experimental Cinema in the Digital Age , London: BFI Publishing, 2001, 484 pp.
• Hans Scheugl, Erweitertes Kino. Die Wiener Filme der 60er Jahre , Vienna: Triton, 2002. (German)
• Nina Danino, Michael Maziere (eds.), The Undercut reader: critical writings on artists' film and video , London/New York: Wallflower, 2003.
• Maurice Lemaitre, 1967-1969, le cafe-cinema Lemaitre : suivi de Huit filmes lettristes , Paris: Paris expérimental, 2003. (French)
• Nicky Hamlyn, Film Art Phenomena , London: British Film Institute, 2003, viii+200 pp. Ch 4 . Reviews: Rees (Screen), Conomos (Screening the Past).
• Michael O'Pray, Avant-Garde Film: Forms, Themes and Passions , London/New York: Wallflower, 2003.
• Anna Abrahams, Mariska Graveland, Erwin van 't Hart, Peter van Hoof, MM2. Experimental film in the Netherlands since 1960 , Amsterdam: Filmbank & De Balie, 2004, 286 pp. [39]
• Jeffrey Skoller, Shadows, Specters, Shards. Making History in Avant-Garde Film , University of Minnesota Press, 2005, 233 pp.
• Haidee Wasson, Museum Movies: The Museum of Modern Art and the Birth of Art Cinema , University of California Press, 2005.
• David E. James, The Most Typical Avant-garde: History and Geography of Minor Cinemas in Los Angeles , University of California Press, 2005, 548 pp. Review .
• Clayton Patterson (ed.), Captured: A Film & Video History of the Lower East Side , New York: Seven Stories Press, 2005, 554 pp. [40]
• Paul Arthur, A Line of Sight: American Avant-Garde Film Since 1965 , University of Minnesota Press, 2005. [41]
• Jean Petrolle, Virginia Wright Wexman (eds.), Women and Experimental Filmmaking , Urbana: University of Illinois, 2005, 300 pp. Review: Hutchison (Signs). [42]
• François Albera, L’Avant-garde au cinéma , Paris: Armand Colin, 2005. (French)
• Scott MacDonald, Art in Cinema: Documents Toward a History of the Film Society , Temple University Press, 2006, 307 pp.
• Paul G. Pickowicz, Yingjin Zhang (eds.), From Underground to Independent: Alternative Film Culture in Contemporary China , Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
• Nicole Brenez, Cinémas d'avant-garde , Paris: Cahiers du cinéma, 2006, 95 pp. (French)
• Nicole Brenez, Traitement du lumpenproletariat par le cinéma d'avant-garde , Biarritz: Séguier, and Paris: Archimbaud, 2006, 97 pp. (French)
• Robin Blaetz (ed.), Women's Experimental Cinema: Critical Frameworks , Durham: Duke University Press, 2007, viii+421 pp. Publisher . OAPEN .
• David Curtis, A History of Artists' Film and Video in Britain , London: BFI Publishing, 2007, 320 pp. Publisher .
• Jacques Aumont, Moderne? Comment le cinéma est devenu le plus singulier des arts , Paris: Cahiers du Cinéma, 2007. (French)
• Noël Burch, De la Beauté des latrines: pour réhabiliter le sens au cinéma et ailleurs , Paris: L’Harmattan, 2007. (French)
• Malte Hagener, Moving Forward, Looking Back: The European Avant-garde and the Invention of Film Culture, 1919-1939 , Amsterdam University Press, 2007, 376 pp.
• Alexander Graf, Dietrich Scheunemann (eds.), Avant-garde Film , Rodopi, 2007. Result of a research project at the University of Edinburgh that aims to connect the history of avant-garde film to the wider avant-garde in literature and art. It establishes a continuum between the contemporary moving image and the classical experimental film that preceded it from the 1920s onward.
• Łukasz Ronduda, Florian Zeyfang (eds.), 1,2,3... Avant-Gardes: Film/Art between Experiment and Archive , Warsaw: Centre for Contemporary Art, and Berlin/New York: Sternberg, 2007. [43] (English) / (German)
• Duncan Reekie, Subversion: The Definitive History of Underground Cinema , London: Wallflower Press, 2007. Review: Szczelkun (Variant).
• P. Adams Sitney, Eyes Upside Down: Visionary Filmmakers and the Heritage of Emerson , Oxford University Press, 2008, xiv+417+[32] pp.
• Randall Halle, Reinhild Steingroever (eds.), After the Avant-Garde: German and Austrian Experimental Film , Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2008. [44]
• R. Bruce Elder, Harmony and Dissent: Film and Avant-garde Art Movements in the Early Twentieth Century , Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008.
• Daniel Barnett, Movement as Meaning: In Experimental Film , Rodopi, 2008, 240 pp.
• Radical Cinema , trans. Anna Doyle, et al., Paris: Paris Expérimental, 2020.
• Hollis Frampton, On the Camera Arts and Consecutive Matters: The Writings of Hollis Frampton , ed. Bruce Jenkins, MIT Press, 2009, 360 pp. [45]
• Jean-Paul Aubert, L'école de Barcelone: un cinéma d'avant-garde en Espagne sous le franquisme , Paris: Harmattan, 2009. (French)
• La cinéma expérimental , Taschen, 2009, 192 pp. (French) [47]
• S. Buchmann, H. Draxler, S. Geene (eds.), Film, Avantgarde, Biopolitik , Vienna: Schlebrügge, 2009, 428 pp. [48] (German)
• Od kina absolutnego do filmu przyszłości , Wroclaw: WRO Art Center, 2009. (Polish)

2010s [ edit ]

• Gabriele Jutz, Cinéma brut. Eine alternative Genealogie der Filmavantgarde , Springer, 2010, 295 pp. (German)
• Nicole Brenez, Bidhan Jacobs (eds.), Le Cinéma critique: de l'argentique au numérique, voies et formes de l'objection visuelle , Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 2010, 267 pp. Conference proceedings. [49] (French)
• Steve Anker, Kathy Geritz, Steve Seid (eds.), Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-2000 , University of California Press, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, 2010, 352 pp.
• Lars Gustaf Andersson, John Sundholm, Astrid Söderbergh Widding, A History of Swedish Experimental Film Culture: From Early Animation to Video Art , Stockholm: Mediehistoriskt arkiv, 2010. [50]
• Malcolm Turvey, The Filming of Modern Life: European Avant-Garde Film of the 1920s , MIT Press, 2011. Review: Foltz (LARB).
• Kino drugim sredstvima , trans. Đorđe Tomić, Belgrade: Muzej savremene umetnosti: Filmski centar Srbije, 2013, 249 pp. (Serbian)
• Peter Tscherkassky (ed.), Film Unframed: A History of Austrian Avant-Garde Cinema , Vienna: Synema, 2012, 368 pp. [51]
• William E.B. Verrone, The Avant-Garde Feature Film: A Critical History , Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2012, 222 pp.
• Akira Mizuta Lippit, Ex-Cinema: From a Theory of Experimental Film and Video , University of California Press, 2012, 189 pp, EPUB . Review: Flynn (Alphaville).
• Adriano Aprà (ed.), Fuori norma. La via sperimentale del cinema italiano , Marsilio, 2013, 208 pp. (Italian)
• David Andrews, Theorizing Art Cinemas: Foreign, Cult, Avant-Garde and Beyond , Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013, 304 pp.
• Martin Čihák, Ponorná řeka kinematografie , Prague: NAMU, 2013, 304 pp. Based on dissertation Skladebné postupy filmových avantgard (2004). Excerpt . Publisher . Reviews: Hudec (Kino Ikon), Střeláková (Dokrevue), Blažek (IndieFilm), Meixner (25fps). (Czech)
• Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos , ed. Mark Webber, forew. P. Adams Sitney, The Visible Press, 2014; rev.ed., 2017, 544 pp. [52]
• Arnd Schneider, Caterina Pasqualino (eds.), Experimental Film and Anthropology , Berg/Bloomsbury, 2014, 208 pp. Conference . [53]
• Andrew V. Uroskie, Between the Black Box and the White Cube: Expanded Cinema and Postwar Art , University of Chicago Press, 2014, 288 pp.
• Ara Osterweil, Flesh Cinema: The Corporeal Turn in American Avant-Garde Film , Manchester University Press, 2014, 304 pp. [54]
• Božidar Zečević, Srpska avangarda i film 1920-1932 , Belgrade: Akademski filmski centar/Dom kulture Studentski grad, 2014, 390 pp. (Serbian)
• Albert Alcoz, Alberto Cabrera Bernal (eds.), Angular 1, trans. Mattea Cussel, Angular, 2014, 82 pp. Incl. DVD with 13 films (122 min). [55] [56] (Spanish) / (English)
• Kamila Kuc, Michael O'Pray (eds.), The Struggle for Form: Perspectives on Polish Avant-Garde Film, 1916–1989 , New York: Wallflower Press, 2014. (English)
• P. Adams Sitney, The Cinema of Poetry , Oxford University Press, 2014, 292 pp, ARG . [57] (English)
• David E. James, Adam Hyman (eds.), Alternative Projections: Experimental Film in Los Angeles, 1945-1980 , John Libbey, 2015, viii+335 pp. [58]
• Patti Gaal-Holmes, A History of 1970s Experimental Film: Britain’s Decade of Diversity , Palgrave Macmillan, 2015, 231 pp.
• Jackie Hatfield (ed.), Experimental Film and Video: An Anthology , John Libbey, 2015, 283 pp.
• Alice Lovejoy, Army Film and the Avant Garde: Cinema and Experiment in the Czechoslovak Military , Indiana University Press, 2015, 322 pp. [59]
• François Bovier, Adeena Mey (eds.), Cinéma exposé – Films d'artistes, art vidéo et exposition d’images en mouvement / Exhibited Cinema: Exhibiting Artists' Films, Video Art and Moving Image , Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2015, 224 pp. [60] (French) / (English)
• Jeffrey Babcock, Cecilia Dino, Séances: Re-wiring Images in the Amsterdam Underground , Amsterdam, 2016. [61]
• Buenos Aires Experiment , Prague: AMU – Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, 2017, 162 pp. Excerpt . [63] (English)
• Kamila Kuc, Visions of Avant-Garde Film: Polish Cinematic Experiments from Expressionism to Constructivism , Indiana University Press, 2016. (English)
• Peter Gidal, Flare Out: Aesthetics 1966-2016 , eds. Mark Webber and Peter Gidal, The Visible Press, 2016, 288 pp. A collection of essays by Peter Gidal on film, art and aesthetics. Response: Walley (World Picture). [64]
• Albert Alcoz, Resonancias fílmicas: el sonido en el cine estructural (1960-1981) , Santander: Shangrila Textos Aparte, 2017, 358 pp. Publisher . (Spanish)
• Jesse Lerner, Luciano Piazza (eds.), Ism, Ism, Ism: Experimental Cinema in Latin America / Ismo, Ismo, Ismo: Cine experimental en America Latina , University of California Press, 2017, 400 pp. Publisher . (English) / (Spanish)
• François Bovier (ed.), Early Video and Experimental Film Networks: French-Speaking Switzerland in 1974: A Case for "Minor History" , Lausanne: ECAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, 2017, 252 pp. [65] [66]
• Sue Clayton, Laura Mulvey (eds.), Other Cinemas: Politics, Culture and Experimental Film in the 1970s , I.B. Tauris, 2017.
• Érik Bullot, Le film et son double. Boniment, ventriloquie, performativité , Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2017, 208 pp. Introduction . [67] (French)
• Pavle Levi , Jolted Images: Unbound Analytic , Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, Oct 2017, 216 pp. Publisher .
• Érik Bullot (ed.), Du film performatif , Dijon: Les Presses du réel, 2018, 265 pp. [68] (French)
• Claudia Aravena, Iván Pinto, Visiones laterales: cine y video experimental en Chile 1957-2017 , Santiago de Chile: Metales Pesados, 2018, 271 pp. [69] . Reviews: Moreno (Algarrobo-MEL), Kottow (laFuga). (Spanish)
• Gonzalo de Lucas (ed.), Xcèntric Cinema: Conversations on the Creative Process and the Filmic Vision , Barcelona: CCCB, 2018, 311 pp. With DVD. [70] [71]
• Richard H. Brown, Through The Looking Glass: John Cage and Avant-Garde Film , Oxford University Press, 2019, 256 pp. [72]
• Albert Alcoz, Radicales libres: 50 películas esenciales del cine experimental , Barcelona: Editorial UOC, 2019, 236 pp. Publisher . (Spanish)
• Olga Moskatova, Male am Zelluloid. Zum relationalen Materialismus im kameralosen Film , Bielefeld: transcript, 2019, 390 pp. Based on dissertation from the Berlin Universität der Künste, 2016. [73] (German)
• Scott MacKenzie, Janine Marchessault (eds.), Process Cinema: Handmade Film in the Digital Age , McGill-Queen's University Press, 2019.
• Lucy Reynolds (ed.), Women Artists, Feminism and the Moving Image: Contexts and Practices , Bloomsbury, 2019, 328 pp, EPUB . Publisher .
• Erika Balsom, Lucy Reynolds, Sarah Perks (eds.), Artists' Moving Image in Britain Since 1989 , Yale University Press, 2019, 544 pp. Publisher . [74]
• Seth Howes, Moving Images on the Margins: Experimental Film in Late Socialist East Germany , Rochester, NY: Camden House, 2019, 280 pp. Publisher . Reviews: Ward (Stud Eur Cinema), Smith (German Stud Rev), Heiduschke (German Hist), Fritzsch (ArtMargins). [75] [76]

2020s [ edit ]

• Kim Knowles, Experimental Film and Photochemical Practices , Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, xv+255 pp, EPUB .
• Sarah Durcan, Memory and Intermediality in Artists’ Moving Image , Palgrave Macmillan, 2020, 260 pp.
• Jill Murphy, Laura Rascaroli (eds.), Theorizing Film Through Contemporary Art: Expanding Cinema , Amsterdam University Press, 2020.
• Gregory Zinman, Making Images Move: Handmade Cinema and the Other Arts , University of California Press, 2020, 392 pp. [77]
• Jonathan Walley, Cinema Expanded: Avant-Garde Film in the Age of Intermedia , Oxford University Press, 2020, 432 pp. Publisher .
• Kim Knowles, Marion Schmid (eds.), Cinematic Intermediality: Theory and Practice , Edinburgh University Press, 2021, 224 pp. Publisher .
• Arnd Schneider, Expanded Visions: A New Anthropology of the Moving Image , Routledge, 2021, 212 pp. Publisher .
• David Curtis, Steve McQueen, Artists' Film , London: Thames & Hudson, 2021, 340 pp. Publisher .
• Laura A. Frahm, Design in Motion: Film Experiments at the Bauhaus , MIT Press (Leonardo), 2022, 428 pp. Publisher .
• Federico Windhausen (ed.), A Companion to Experimental Cinema , Wiley-Blackwell, 2022, 480 pp, EPUB . Publisher .
• Ksenya Gurshtein, Sonja Simonyi (eds.), Experimental Cinemas in State-Socialist Eastern Europe , Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2022, 334 pp. Publisher . TOC . Review: Sitek (Artmargins). [78]
• Elio Della Noce, Lucas Murari (eds.), Expanded nature: écologies du cinéma expérimental , Paris: Light Cone, 2022, 336 pp. Publisher . [79] (French)
• Erika Balsom, Hila Peleg (eds.), Feminist Worldmaking and the Moving Image , MIT Press, 2022, 320 pp. Publisher . Exhibition .
• Howard Finn, Cinematic Modernism and Contemporary Film: Aesthetics and Narrative in the International Art Film , Bloomsbury Academic, 2022, 336 pp. Publisher .
• Jennifer DeClue, Visitation: The Conjure Work of Black Feminist Avant-Garde Cinema , Duke University Press, 2022.

Journal issues [ edit ]

• Artforum : "Special Film Issue" , ed. Annette Michelson, Sep 1971.
• Journal of the University Film Association 33(2): "Avant-garde Film/Video", Spring 1981. [80]
• Cinepur 17: "Současný český experimentální film", Prague, Feb 2001. [81] (Czech)
• Kino-Integral 11-12: "Prispevki k zgodovini slovenskega eksperimentalnega filma" , 2011. Issue on the history of Slovenian experimental film. (Slovenian)
• Arte y Políticas de Identidad 8: "La pantalla experimental en el Estado español: Ensayos, estructuras, deconstrucciones, militancias" , 2013. (Spanish)
• Studies in Eastern European Cinema 7(1): "Experimental Cinema in State Socialist Eastern Europe", eds. Ksenya Gurshtein and Sonja Simonyi, 2016. [82] (English)
• Secuencias. Revista de historia del cine 55: "Súper 8 contra el grano" , eds. Miguel Errazu and Alberto Berzosa, UAM, 2022, PDF . (Spanish)

Selected essays, theses [ edit ]

• John G. Hanhardt, "The American Independent Cinema, 1958-1964" , in Blam! The Explosion of Pop, Minimalism, and Performance, 1958-1964 , ed. Barbara Haskell, New York: Whitney Museum of American Art, 1984, pp 117-136.
• Ansje van Beusekom, Film als kunst. Reacties op een nieuw medium in Nederland, 1895-1940 , Vrije Universiteit, 1998, 336 pp. Ph.D. Dissertation. (Dutch)
• Michael Zryd, "A Report on Canadian Experimental Film Institutions, 1980–2000", in North of Everything: English Canadian Cinema Since 1980 , eds. William Beard and Jerry White, Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, 2002, pp 392-401.
• Carlos Kase, A Cinema of Anxiety: American Experimental Film in the Realm of Art (1965-75) , University of Southern California, 2009. PhD dissertation.
• Kathryn Ramey, "Economics and Culture of the Film Avant-Garde: Networks and Strategies in the Circulation of Films, Ideas and People", Jump Cut 52, Summer 2010.
• Julian Ross, Beyond the Frame: Intermedia and Expanded Cinema in 1960s-1970s Japan , Leeds: University of Leeds, 2014, 287 pp. PhD dissertation. (English)
• Ayanna Dozier, Mnemonic Aberrations: Black Feminism and the Emergence of a Counter-Poetics of Rhythm in Experimental Short Films (1968-Present) , Montréal: McGill University, 2020. PhD dissertation.

Encyclopedic entries [ edit ]

Mailing lists [ edit ].

• Frameworks . Started by Pip Chodorov of Re:Voir in Paris; unmoderated. Archives .

Documentary films [ edit ]

• Die kritische Masse – Film im Underground, Hamburg '68 , dir. Christian Bau, 1998, 110 min. [83]
• Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film , dir. Pip Chodorov, 2012, 82 min. [84]

Bibliographies [ edit ]

• UbuWeb: Papers on Film
• Avant-garde, Underground, and Experimental Cinema: A Selected Bibliography/Videography of Materials in the UC Berkeley
• NYU Department of Cinema Studies' Avant-Garde Reading List
• Steven Woloshen's Selected Bibliography: Experimental Sound in Film
• Robin Blaetz, "Avant-Garde and Experimental Film" , Oxford Bibliographies
• Compiled list of books on experimental film from Frameworks mailing list , 2011. Archived discussion .
• Film Aesthetics: Women’s Experimental Cinema course by Ed Halter , 2008.
• Grahame Weinbren, Arlene Zeichner, "A Selected Annotated Bibliography of Writings Connected with Avant-Garde Film" , Journal of the University Film Association 33(2): "Avant-garde Film/Video", Spring 1981, pp 35-56.

See also [ edit ]

• Experimental film in CEE , Hungary , Poland , Czech Republic , Slovakia , Croatia , Serbia , Slovenia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Romania , Estonia , Lithuania .
• Further bibliography .
• Early cinema , Expanded cinema , Film labs , Live cinema

• Featured articles

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• Types of Video

What are experimental films?

Experimental films are also known as avant-garde, which literally means the ‘vanguard’ or ‘advanced guard’—so people ahead of their time! Unlike mainstream cinema, which usually sticks to established structures and techniques, experimental films prioritise expression and innovation. They can vary a lot in style and approach, but they tend to have a few things in common:

• Non-traditional narrative : Experimental films often spurn linear storytelling in favour of more fragmented or abstract narratives.
• Innovative techniques : Filmmakers use unconventional methods in cinematography, editing, and sound design.
• Focus on form and content : The emphasis is often on a visual and auditory experience rather than on plot or character development.
• Personal expression : Many experimental films reflect the unique vision and style of the filmmaker.

Experimental vs. mainstream cinema

One of the biggest differences between experimental and mainstream cinema is the narrative structure. Mainstream films often follow a three-act structure with a beginning, middle, and end. Experimental films usually use non-linear or fragmented narratives, focusing more on mood and atmosphere than on plot.

In production, mainstream movies are normally going for a polished and commercially viable finished product. They might use expensive special effects, well-known actors, and so on. Experimental films are more likely to use things like found footage, hand-painted frames, and weird camera angles.

Audience expectations are generally different for experimental films when compared to mainstream cinema. Avant-garde films are for niche audiences who are used to the unconventional storytelling methods, and they often have a limited release at film festivals, galleries, or independent cinemas. They’re more about artistic expression than being a commercial hit. Mainstream films, though, are designed to attract big audiences and make money at the box office. This means they have to appeal to a wide range of viewers, so they often stick with clear storytelling, relatable characters, and satisfying endings.

A quick history of experimental cinema

The beginning.

In the 1920s, cinema was starting to get into its stride. The resistance it had seen from the upper classes (as a low-brow form of entertainment) was fizzling out, so artists and filmmakers began to explore film as a means of artistic expression.

European avant-garde movements like Dadaism and Surrealism had a big influence on this, and films like Un Chien Andalou (1929) by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dalí (yes the artist!) broke new ground with dreamlike sequences and shocking imagery. Un Chien Andalou is a short film with disjointed imagery, and it opens with a scene where an eye is cut open with a razor. These shocking visuals were meant to evoke emotions and thoughts, rather than get across any kind of narrative.

What are Dadaism and surrealism?

Dadaism embraces chaos and absurdity, with a focus on the unconscious mind and dream logic. It came out of reactions to the First World War and had an anti-bourgeois sentiment. Quite often filmmakers would use collages with found objects and strange materials to make their work.

Surrealism was influenced by Sigmund Freud’s theories and uses techniques like automatism and juxtaposition to create outlandish and illogical scenes that are supposed to unlock deeper parts of our imagination and experience.

Mid-20th century

Experimental cinema had a bit of a boom in the mid-20th century, particularly in the United States and Europe. Maya Deren ’s Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) uses surreal, symbolic imagery and advanced editing techniques to explore themes of identity and perception. Kenneth Anger 's Scorpio Rising (1963) combined pop culture and occult symbolism, using a soundtrack that integrated rock and roll music with provocative visuals—pretty ground-breaking for the time! Anger is quite often credited with laying the groundwork for modern music videos .

S tan Brakhage ’s work, particularly Dog Star Man (1964), pushed the limits of visual abstraction, using techniques like painting directly onto film and using extreme close-ups of natural objects. His films didn’t have traditional narratives, focusing instead on the sensory and emotional impact of the sound and visuals.

F ilm co-operatives and independent cinemas sprung up, which provided platforms for these experimental works to be shown and discussed, helping the genre to grow.

Late 20th century

Digital technology opened up new possibilities for experimental filmmakers in terms of lower production costs, so there was flexibility to experiment, and new voices of the genre started to pop up from around the world.

Directors such as David Lynch , with films like Eraserhead (1977), kept pushing the boundaries of narrative and visual style. He was in his early 30s when the film was released to mixed reviews describing it as "a dream of dark and troubling things".

Contemporary experimental films

In terms of up-to-date experimental films, you might wonder how they can make them stand out or be shocking, when so much has already been done! Well, the likes of Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Lars von Trier are continuing to push those boundaries. Von Trier favours trilogies, either by style or by theme, and is such a fan of avant-garde that he even founded Dogme 95 (along with Thomas Vinterberg) in 1995, his own filmmaking movement that set out ‘purifying’ principles like:

Films must be shot on location, without bringing in props or sets.

Diegetic sound only; music must be part of the scene.

Handheld cameras should be used for all filming.

Colour film must be used without special lighting.

The film must take place in the here and now; no historical or futuristic settings.

Genre movies are not allowed.

The film must be in the Academy 35mm format.

The director must not be credited.

With the evolution of technology, filmmaking has been democratised (to an extent), and this has meant more experimental films from diverse cultural backgrounds. Online platforms and film festivals that centre around avant-garde cinema have also been crucial in bringing experimental works to wider audiences.

Standout experimental films

1. un chien andalou (1929), directed by luis buñuel.

We’ve mentioned this French silent film already, but it’s renowned for its shocking and surreal imagery, including the scene of a razor slicing through an eyeball. These images were inspired by the dreams of the two writers Buñuel and Dali , who we can only assume had been eating a lot of cheese before bedtime. The audience response to the film was surprisingly positive, which upset Dali a bit as he’d wanted to shock and upset them! Un Chien Andalou has since influenced countless filmmakers and artists with its bold and interesting...(!) approach.

2. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), directed by Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenschmied

Deren's short silent film was co-directed by her husband and has since been recognised for its historic and cultural significance by the Library of Congress . This is another film heavily influenced by surrealism and explores a woman’s psyche through symbolic imagery like a silhouette of a woman with a flower on a drive and a phone off the hook. The sequences repeat and the narrative becomes circular, making it hard to understand what is reality and what is a dream.

3. Dog Star Man (1961-1964), directed by Stan Brakhage

Dog Star Man is actually a series of four short films (plus a prelude, so five films in total) that were originally released in instalments but later were regularly shown as one long film, as intended. It’s a sort of abstract visual poem that uses hand-painted frames.

"Brakhage creates a myth of his own personal history from his birth, past relationship to his mother and father, and present relationship to his wife and son. His myth is seen in a cosmic context, earth sun and moon playing a part." — LUX

4. Scorpio Rising (1963), directed by Kenneth Anger

Scorpio Rising combines documentary footage with stylised sequences, exploring themes of rebellion, sexuality, and the occult. It was shot over three months in New York and split into four sections featuring imagery like Christian iconography and even Nazi imagery. Its use of music in particular made it a hit, and it’s since been considered to be the foundation for today’s music videos, particularly during the MTV era.

5. Eraserhead (1977), directed by David Lynch

Written by, directed by, and starring David Lynch, Eraserhead is a nightmarish journey into the subconscious, told in a non-linear way. It’s a low-budget, black-and-white film that didn’t really get much fanfare on release but later would become a cult classic.

6. Tropical Malady (2004), directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul

Tropical Malady is a romantic psychological drama that blends realism with folklore, and explores love and identity in a non-linear narrative. It’s been described as a diptych as it’s essentially a work of two parts. The first half follows the relationship between a soldier (Keng) and a country boy, and the second shows Keng trying to track down a shaman who can turn into a wild beast.

7. La Jetée (1962), directed by Chris Marker

La Jetée is a short French science fiction film in black and white, set in the aftermath of a Third World War. It tells the story of a man who is sent back in time to find a solution for humanity’s survival after the Second World War. The film is made up almost entirely of still photographs, which emphasises the film’s core themes of memory and time.

8. Wavelength (1967), directed by Michael Snow

Wavelength consists of a continuous 45-minute slow zoom across a New York City apartment until it gets to a photograph of the sea stuck to a wall. It’s very minimalistic and has an emphasis on form, all of which make the duration a bit of a challenge to engage with but fit the film’s themes of the passage of time quite well! Events do happen during the slow zoom, just so you know.

9. Blue (1993) by Derek Jarman

Blue is a British avant-garde film that consists of a single static shot of a blue screen with a voice-over, sound effects, and music. In the VO, Jarman talks about his experiences with AIDS, his failing eyesight, and the impact of the disease on his life and work. The blue screen is a metaphor for the emotional and physical pain he’s going through at the time. Blue was the last feature film he released before his death, just four months later.

10. The Holy Mountain (1973) by Alejandro Jodorowsky

Another surreal film, The Holy Mountain involves Alejandro Jodorowsky exploring spirituality, mysticism, and transformation. A Christ-like figure joins a group of characters representing plants in the solar system, and they set off on a quest to reach the Holy Mountain for enlightenment.

Conclusion: Experimental or avant-garde cinema

It’s not always easy to enjoy or understand experimental films, and having added context about the influences or reasons behind the filmmakers’ choices can be really helpful for that. There’s no doubt, though, that over the last 100 and some years, experimental films have continually pushed the boundaries of what cinema can be, getting us to think beyond regular storytelling.

More free film theory articles

About this page

This page was written by  Marie Gardiner . Marie is a writer, author, and photographer. It was edited by  Andrew Blackman . Andrew is a freelance writer and editor, and is a copy editor for Envato Tuts+.

Not Sorry: Feminist Experimental Film from the 1970s to Today

Series site.

What is feminist experimental film? How do we define a work as feminist and what constitutes experimentation? This series explores these questions through four themed programs – Heritage, Vessels, Home, and Consumer – that comprise a survey of short works spanning from the 1970s to today, with the explicit intent of questioning the largely white male canon of experimental film while deliberately positioning different modes of experimentation within both international and contemporary terms. The series is inspired by the new book, “Film Feminisms: A Global Introduction,” co-written by Kristin Lené Hole and Dijana Jelača.

From under-recognized landmarks like L.A. Rebellion filmmaker Barbara McCullough’s WATER RITUAL #1: AN URBAN RITE OF PURIFICATION (1979), to contemporary works such as the hand-manipulated 16mm confessional film HER SILENT SEAMING (2014) from Turkish-born filmmaker Nazli Dinçel, and the documentation of a visceral performance from Greenlandic-Danish artist Pia Arke in ARTIC HYSTERIA (1999), the selections generate new conversations across generations, national borders, and formats.

This program is co-curated by Mia Ferm (Northwest Film Center and Cinema Project) and Kristin Lené Hole, professor in Film Studies at Portland State University, both of whom will be here in person. The co-author of “Film Feminisms: A Global Introduction,” Dijana Jelača, will be joining us as well.

“Not Sorry” is co-presented by Video Data Bank at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

—Anthology Film Archives

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A History of 1970s Experimental Film: Britain's Decade of Diversity 2015th Edition

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• ISBN-10 113736937X
• ISBN-13 978-1137369376
• Edition 2015th
• Publisher Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date March 16, 2015
• Language English
• Dimensions 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
• Print length 249 pages
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Editorial Reviews

“The artist and historian Patti Gaal-Holmes’ book takes this reductive characterisation to task and proposes an alternative reading of the decade. … serves as a valuable overview of a broad and complex topic, and could be extracted by teachers for classroom use. … Holmes’ text is to be commended for paying sustained attention to some neglected works and directors, and for setting in motion an important political debate about the ways in which the history of experimental cinema is written.” (Glyn Davis, BUFVC, Issue 102, March, 2016)

"Patti Gaal-Holmes's book offers a comprehensive, informative and readable survey of the creative innovations of experimental filmmakers working in Britain in the 1970s which places their work in key historical, political and socio-cultural contexts. What is particularly impressive here is the balance between Gaal-Holmes's passionate love of experimental film as an artist/filmmaker and her scholarly attention to detail." - Paul Newland, Aberystwyth University, UK

About the Author

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Palgrave Macmillan; 2015th edition (March 16, 2015)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 249 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 113736937X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1137369376
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches

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