Stan Brakhage

Regissör, Skådespelare, Editor, Författare, Producent

14 januari 1933 — 9 mars 2003 (70 år)
Stan Brakhage is one of the most influential filmmakers in American avant-garde cinema, noted for his unflinching social commentaries and technical innovations. Over his nearly 40-year career, he has made over 200 films of varying length. He made his first film, Interim (1952) at age 18 after dropping out of college. Brakhage films seek to change the way we see. They encourage viewers to eschew traditional narrative structure in favor of pure visual perception that is not reliant on naming what is seen; rather his goal is to create a more visceral visual experience, for he believes that a "stream-of visual-consciousness could be nothing less than the pathway of the soul." To this end, his films are shot in highly sensual colors and utilize minimal soundtracks.

His work can be divided into distinct periods. His first short films explored the properties and possibilities of light. In many of his experimental ventures, Brakhage has forgone traditional cinematography in favor of working directly with the film stock itself. He has occasionally painted, inked, scratched and dyed images onto it; he has also tried pasting organic objects on the film. His most famous example is the 1963 short Mothlight in which he glued moth wings onto the stock. Some of his early films were based on his most intimate experiences that included making love to his new bride--depicted on negative film--in Wedlock House: An Intercourse (1959), and an attempt to bring his dead dog back to life with a camera in Sirius Remembered (1959). During the 1960s, Brakhage's iconoclastic views were celebrated for their poetry, but during the '70s, his focus changed to social issues and he alienated many supporters with such disturbing film series as the "Pittsburgh documents" in which he presented many gruesome views of inner city life with films such as Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (1971) which was shot in a morgue. He also continued with autobiographical material with the "Sincerity/Duplicity series. During the 1980s, Brakhage's focus again changed--this time he became intrigued with creating truly "abstract" films such as Arabics (1982) which consists of brilliant bursts of colored light which he claims, represent "envisioned music." In addition to filmmaking, Brakhage also wrote books about films and filmmaking and also served as a teacher.

Filmer och Serier på Plex

  • Cannibal! The Musical
    Cannibal! The Musical1993

Känd för

  • Mothlight
    Mothlight1963
  • Window Water Baby Moving
    Window Water Baby Moving1959
  • The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes
    The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes1971
  • Dog Star Man: Part I
    Dog Star Man: Part I1962
  • Prelude: Dog Star Man
    Prelude: Dog Star Man1962
  • Dog Star Man
    Dog Star Man1964
  • Cannibal! The Musical
    Cannibal! The Musical1993
  • The Dante Quartet
    The Dante Quartet1987
  • Dog Star Man: Part II
    Dog Star Man: Part II1963
  • Dog Star Man: Part IV
    Dog Star Man: Part IV1964
  • Dog Star Man: Part III
    Dog Star Man: Part III1964
  • Eye Myth
    Eye Myth1967
  • Black Ice
    Black Ice1994
  • Cat's Cradle
    Cat's Cradle1959
  • Desistfilm
    Desistfilm1954
  • Stellar
    Stellar1993
  • The Garden of Earthly Delights
    The Garden of Earthly Delights1981

Filmography

Take Plex everywhere

Watch free anytime, anywhere, on almost any device.
See the full list of supported devices