From: Gene Youngblood (email suppressed)
Date: Fri Mar 26 2004 - 06:57:12 PST
Thanks, Marilyn, for pointing out that I overlooked Dorsky's introductory
comments on a-g film. I read the book a couple of months ago and did not
have it in front of me when I posted my earlier comments. What he says there
is typically eloquent and perceptive. It beautifully articulates my own
attraction to certain kinds of experimental film. And my characterization of
his second reference as "negative" was unfair. He is trying to illuminate
(and thus honor) the power and value of, again, a certain kind of a-g
practice (albeit the most p;revalent) by noting "how often" the "view of the
filmmaker" eclipses the materiality or structure of the film. This is a keen
observation of how a film's power can be compromised. But does it really
occur that "often" within the tradition he's referring to? I think perhaps
not quite, so that his choice of that word seems less careful than the rest
of this impeccably articulated essay. It could even be interpreted as
verging on self-aggrandizement, since we know, through his own practice,
what he considers to be the opposite of this mistake. All this may be
nit-picking, but my respect for Dorsky and this book is such that I feel he
deserves the most thoughtful response we can offer. Konrad observes that
Dorsky "does not distinguish avant garde as more 'devotional' than
narrative, as if these could be opposed to each other." I not only agree but
would add that to imagine otherwise (about cinema in general) is so
simple-minded as to be beneath discussion.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marilyn Brakhage" <email suppressed>
To: <email suppressed>
Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 11:09 PM
Subject: Re: A book by Nathaniel Dorsky
> I agree, except with your last sentence. On the first page of the
> book, he refers to the time when he first encountered avant-garde film,
> how he "began to observe that there was a concordance between film and
> human metabolism . . ." This is the opening to the whole of the long
> essay that follows, though for the purposes of the lecture that
> occasioned this book, my understanding is that he was asked to
> reference some better known films as his examples, which he did. (I
> think it is Dorsky's second reference to avant-garde film that you are
> referring to here, when he discusses a manner in which such films
> sometimes fail.)
>
> Marilyn
>
> On Thursday, March 25, 2004, at 08:48 PM, Gene Youngblood wrote:
>
> > It's an exquisite book. The language is sublime. I rank it with
> > Bresson's
> > "Notes on Cinematography" as one of the transcendent meditations on
> > the art
> > of film, an instant classic.The word Buddhism is never mentioned, but
> > that
> > mode of devotion suffuses every sentence. His observations on certain
> > moments in films by Dreyer, Ozu and Antonioni are stunning. The single
> > reference to experimental cinema by this master of that tradition is a
> > general one, and it is negative.
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "D" <email suppressed>
> > To: <email suppressed>
> > Sent: Thursday, March 25, 2004 7:25 PM
> > Subject: A book by Nathaniel Dorsky
> >
> >
> > Hi all this is book written by Nathaniel Dorsky that many on the list
> > may find interesting...thanks
> >
> > Dominic Angerame
> >
> > Tuumba Press announces the publication on December 31, 2003 of
> > Devotional Cinema,by Nathaniel Dorsky
> >
> > In Devotional Cinema,filmmaker Nathaniel Dorsky discusses the
> > conjunction of religion and film from the vantage of a
> > devotee. Devotion, for Dorsky, is not an experience specific to
> > religion, but is an “interruption that allows us to experience what is
> > hidden and accept with our hearts our given situation.” When film is
> > true to its unique and inherent language, Dorsky argues, its genius and
> > wisdom can offer a “sublime mirror to ourselves” and open us to the
> > possibility of devotion.
> >
> > By examining important moments in the works of certain key filmmakers
> > (Carl Theodor Dreyer, Yasujiro Ozu, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Roberto
> > Rossellini), Devotional Cinemaillustrates the profundity of film that
> > manifests as devotion. More than an invaluable aide in appreciating
> > great film—Devotional Cinema, in its compelling style somewhere between
> > a Zen koan and a Victorian love story, makes the case for mindful
> > viewing as a transcendent experience. This lovely little masterpiece is
> > about the medium of experience, the projection of devotion, the making
> > of art.
> >
> >
> >
> > About the author:
> >
> > Nathaniel Dorsky has been making and exhibiting avant-garde films since
> > the early 60s. In recent years his films have shown at numerous museums
> > and festivals in the United States and Europe, including the Louvre,
> > the Whitney Biennial, the Pacific Film Archive, and the Lincoln Center.
> > In 2001 the Museum of Modern Art dedicated a weekend to a twelve-film
> > retrospective of his work. Dorsky currently lives in San Francisco,
> > where he makes a living as a film editor. He is the recent recipient of
> > fellowships from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations.
> >
> > Devotional Cinema Nathaniel Dorsky $10
> >
> > Lyn Hejinian Tuumba Press 2639 Russell Street Berkeley, CA 94705-2131
> > (510) 548-1817 (510) 704-8350
> >
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________________________
> > For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> > -----
> > ----
> >
> >
> >> Devotional Cinema may be ordered from Small Press Distribution
> >> (800-869-7553; email suppressed).
> >>
> >>
> >> __________________________________________________________________
> >> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> > __________________________________________________________________
> > For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
> >
>
>
> __________________________________________________________________
> For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.
>
__________________________________________________________________
For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.