FRIENDLY WITNESS (US, 1989, Warren Sonbert)

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FRIENDLY WITNESS (US, 1989, Warren Sonbert)

Curator Jon Gartenberg writes: “In FRIENDLY WITNESS, Sonbert returned, after 20 years, to sound. In the first section of the film, he deftly edits a swirling montage of images — suggestive of loves gained and love lost — to the tunes of four rock songs. “At times the words of the songs seem to relate directly to the images we see... at other times words and images seem to be working almost at cross-purposes or relating only ironically. Similarly, at times the image rhythm and music rhythm appear to dance together, while at others they go their separate ways.” (Fred Camper).”

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THE CUP AND THE LIP (US, 1986, Warren Sonbert)

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THE CUP AND THE LIP (US, 1986, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert’s THE CUP AND THE LIP screened in the 1987 Whitney Biennalie, where it was described as “continu[ing] his series of cinematic diaries, composed of sequences and shots recorded during his travels. One of his most striking color films, THE CUP AND THE LIP portrays people at ease as private individuals and at attention as representatives of state. Although personal in tone, it is a political text with mediates on the nature of authority.”

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HONOR AND OBEY (US, 1988, Warren Sonbert)

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HONOR AND OBEY (US, 1988, Warren Sonbert)

In Warren Sonbert's HONOR AND OBEY, soldiers march in formation, a tiger stalks through the snow, religious processions wind through the streets, and palm trees wave in a tropical breeze. As brightly colored images of authority figures blend into scenes of cocktail parties, this 21-minute silent film flows along with the grace of a musical score built on complex tensions hidden among notes.

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WHIPLASH (US, 1995—97, Warren Sonbert)

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WHIPLASH (US, 1995—97, Warren Sonbert)

WHIPLASH is the final film by Warren Sonbert, a globe-spanning collage haunted by themes of mortality. Sonbert made WHIPLASH in the years following his HIV diagnosis; his vision and motor skills impaired, he gave his companion, Ascension Serrano, detailed instructions about the assembly of specific shots and the music to be used as a counterpoint to the images. Before his death in 1995, he asked filmmaker Jeff Scher (a former student of Sonbert's at Bard) to complete the film. WHIPLASH was also completed with assistance from the Film Preservation Project of the Estate Project for Artists with AIDS, of which GME President Jon Gartenberg was Program Director. The film premiered posthumously at the New York Film Festival in 1997.

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SHORT FUSE (US, 1992, Warren Sonbert)

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SHORT FUSE (US, 1992, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert described DIVIDED LOYALTIES as a film “about art versus industry and their various crossovers.” According to film critic Amy Taubin, “there is a clear analogy between the filmmaker and the dancers, acrobats and skilled workers who make up so much of his subject matter.”

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A WOMAN'S TOUCH (US, 1983, Warren Sonbert)

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A WOMAN'S TOUCH (US, 1983, Warren Sonbert)

A WOMAN’S TOUCH demonstrates the evolution of Sonbert's work from an in-camera editing style to the perfection of a montage strategy. The film is also inspired by Alfred Hitchcock’s MARNIE (1964), which features a number of motifs; most notably, the color red. In A WOMAN’S TOUCH, the color red is seen throughout much of the film.

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NOBLESSE OBLIGE (US, 1981, Warren Sonbert)

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NOBLESSE OBLIGE (US, 1981, Warren Sonbert)

NOBLESSE OBLIGE is masterfully edited work featuring imagery Sonbert filmed of protests in San Francisco following the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Councilman Harvey Milk at the hands of Dan White. Sonbert modeled the structure of this film on Douglas Sirk’s TARNISHED ANGELS (1957). Sirk himself appears at the end of the film, engaging in conversation, over coffee, with filmmakers Nathaniel Dorsky and Jerome Hiler.

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DIVIDED LOYALTIES (US, 1978, Warren Sonbert)

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DIVIDED LOYALTIES (US, 1978, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert described DIVIDED LOYALTIES as a film “about art versus industry and their various crossovers.” According to film critic Amy Taubin, “there is a clear analogy between the filmmaker and the dancers, acrobats and skilled workers who make up so much of his subject matter.”

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RUDE AWAKENING (US, 1976, Warren Sonbert)

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RUDE AWAKENING (US, 1976, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert described his 1976 polyvalent montage film RUDE AWAKENING as being “about Western civilization and its work; activity ethic and the viability of performing functions and activities.”

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THE TUXEDO THEATRE (US, 1968, Warren Sonbert)

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THE TUXEDO THEATRE (US, 1968, Warren Sonbert)

Filmed in 1968, Warren Sonbert considered THE TUXEDO THEATRE an early version of — or “dress rehearsal” for — the film he would ultimately regard as his magnum opus, 1973’s CARRIAGE TRADE. As in CARRIAGE TRADE, Sonbert traveled around the world to create a tightly-edited work of polyvalent montage in THE TUXEDO THEATRE. It was his first foray into this style of filmmaking following a series of short films, set to the popular music of the time, that documented his contemporaries (including Andy Warhol’s Factory scene) in mid-1960s New York.

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CARRIAGE TRADE (US, 1973, Warren Sonbert)

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CARRIAGE TRADE (US, 1973, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert considered CARRIAGE TRADE (1973) his “magnum opus.” In this film, Sonbert interweaves footage taken from his journeys throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States, together with shots he removed from the camera originals of a number of his earlier films.

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THE TENTH LEGION (US, 1967, Warren Sonbert)

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THE TENTH LEGION (US, 1967, Warren Sonbert)

In THE TENTH LEGION, Sonbert presents his college age friends at work and play, wandering the streets of NYC, lounging, shopping, and posing for the camera. The film stylistically exemplifies Sonbert’s masterful use of a constantly moving hand-held camera as it trails the teenage protagonists in choreographed fashion, and of chiaroscuro lighting effects in interior scenes.

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THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (US, 1967, Warren Sonbert)

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THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL (US, 1967, Warren Sonbert)

One of the most profound themes coursing through Sonbert’s work is that of love between couples in all its pitfalls and perfect moments. To express this theme, Sonbert employed diverse cinematic strategies. These include in-camera editing (in THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL,1967), twin-screen effects (in two “lost” films -- CONNECTION and TED AND JESSICA -- also both from 1967), and montage sequences (beginning with TUXEDO THEATRE, 1969).

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AMPHETAMINE (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert and Wendy Appel)

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AMPHETAMINE (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert and Wendy Appel)

“Sonbert began making films in 1966, as a student at New York University's film school in New York. In his first films, he uniquely captured the spirit of his generation, and was inspired both by his university milieu and by the denizens of the Warhol art scene. In both provocative and playful fashion, AMPHETAMINE depicts young men shooting amphetamines and making love in the era of sex, drugs and rock and roll.” - Jon Gartenberg

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WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO? (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert)

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WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO? (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert)

WHERE DID OUR LOVE GO? is an homage to the artistic and social milieu of New York City in the 1960s, as portrayed by the youthful protagonists in the film. Sonbert chronicles his friends and colleagues at the Janis and Castelli galleries, MOMA, Warhol’s Factory, the Bleecker Street Cinema, a rock concert, shopping, dancing, partying, and simply hanging out.

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HALL OF MIRRORS (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert)

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HALL OF MIRRORS (US, 1966, Warren Sonbert)

“This film is an outgrowth of one of Sonbert's film classes at NYU, in which he was given outtakes from a Hollywood film photographed by Hal Mohr to re-edit into a narrative sequence. Adding to this found footage, Sonbert filmed Warhol's superstars Rene Ricard and Gerard Malanga in more private and reflective moments.” - Jon Gartenberg

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