ERNST SCHMIDT JR.: VIENNAFILM 1896 - 1976 (WIENFILM 1896-1976)
2016 IL CINEMA RITROVATO DVD JURY AWARD
Personal choice of Alexander Horwath
"in honor of all the poets who practice an anarchist historiography"
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"If I had to name a single Austrian filmmaker who to this day has not received the international recognition he deserves for the artistic level his work attended, I would unhesitatingly name Ernst Schmidt Jr. When he died in 1988 at the early age of 50, Ernst Schmidt Jr. left behind a body of work that could hardly be more multifaceted… Up until the early 1970s, Schmidt Jr. realized expanded cinema Actions, created conceptual films, shot several lettrist text films, and began work on his wonderful WIENFILM 1896-1976, a two hour documentary Schmidt Jr. called 'a kind of anthology about Vienna, from the discovery of film up until the present time'.' The list of participants reads like a who's who of the avant-garde and underground scene in Austria of its day."
– Peter Tscherkassky
"The aim is to break down the usual clichéd "image of Vienna" such as that found in the traditional "Vienna Film" by juxtaposing documentary footage, newly shot material and subjective sequences created by various artists. Individual, self-contained sections of the film gain new meaning within the context of historical material. Familiar sites appear estranged when edited together with historical scenes. Other scenes appear like a persiflage or satirical. The film does not incorporate any commentary whatsoever. It is a collage of diverse materials aimed at conveying a distanced image of Vienna to the viewer."
– Ernst Schmidt Jr.
Contents
Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code); DVD/DSL Bundle
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VIENNAFILM 1896 - 1976 (WIENFILM 1896-1976)
(Austria, 1976-77)
Director: Ernst Schmidt Jr.
Cinematographer: Ernst Schmidt Jr., Walter Fund, Günter Pollak & Günter Janicek
Featuring: J. Poselski, Hermann Schürrer, Kurt Schuschnigg, Peter Weibel, Karl von Zieglmayer, Friedrich Achleitner, Marc Adrian, H.C. Artmann, Helmut Benedict, Joe Berger, Moucle Blackout, Charles Chaplin, Irina David, Engelbert Dollfuss, Wolfgang Ernst, VALIE EXPORT, Franz Josef I., Padhi Freeberger, Sigmund Freud, Walter Funda, Hermann Göring, Adolf Hitler, Ernst Jandl, Günter Janicek, Bernd Klamer, Werner Kofler, Theodor Körner, Brenda & Sheila Kronheim, Ernst J. Lauscher, Louis & Auguste Lumière, Friedericke Mayröcker, Otto Mühl, Cora Pongracz, Arnulf Rainer, Karl Renner, Dieter Rot & Gerhard Rühm
Music: Alexander Giradi & Armin Berg
Art Director: Joseph Joyce
Assistant Director: Günter Janicek
• 117 minutes
• 16mm
• B&W, color
• Sound
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Total Running Time: 01:57:00
Language: German with optional English subtitles.
Booklet Text: Isabella Reicher, Elisabeth Büttner, Kart Baratte-Dragano, Siegmar Gassert & Ernst Schmidt Jr. (Bilingual German & English)
Published By: Index Edition
Institutional Price: $$250 (DVD only); $500 DVD/DSL bundle (plus shipping)
To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.