From: Tom B Whiteside (email suppressed)
Date: Mon Jul 28 2008 - 16:51:57 PDT
Jeanne Liotta's post helped me to remember, gee whiz, I have a perfect
film too. Years ago someone gave me some odd reels in a box, mostly early
1970's television commercials. I put this one short reel on the projector
tails out (didn't know that until it started) and it was a station
sign-off national anthem. It looked and sounded terrific, upside down and
backwards, lots of fighter jets flying backwards eating their own trails,
the sky below. There is one notable shot of jets flying over (under?) a
pagoda. Anyway, I've always shown it this way, never even looked at it
"the right way." It's had a few public screenings, it's a good program
closer. It is called FLAG.
Some people might not know that television broadcasts used to end at a
certain point late at night; usually the last thing shown was a station
sign-off. There was something patriotic about the end of a broadcast day?
I dunno, just always took it for granted.
This has been a good thread. My vote for the most perfect perfect film
goes to the eponymous, "Perfect Film" by Ken Jacobs. It is truly amazing -
not only for the story of its existence (cool enough), but what it is on
screen. Unsettling, profound, real.
I've got 150 cable channels of crap. Who's going to put up the money for a
24-hour Perfect Film Channel?
- Whiteside
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