Warren Sonbert’s Propulsive Cinema in Art in America Magazine
/“Sonbert’s films consist of relentless montage. Scenes burst forth and quickly give way to the next. They inhabit the fringe of narrative, almost telling a story but never conveying character, conflict, or plot. Sonbert drew inspiration from his favorite Hollywood directors (Alfred Hitchcock and Douglas Sirk) and translated their languages of suspense and melodrama into the grammar of avant-garde American cinema.”
Warhol star Gerard Malanga in WARREN SONBERTS HALL OF MIRRORS (1966)
“Warren Sonbert’s last 16mm film, Short Fuse (1992), was finished just three years before his death, of AIDS, at forty-seven. Like his other titles—such as The Bad and the Beautiful, Rude Awakening, Noblesse Oblige—this one evokes Hollywood action, gangster, and noir pictures. But the exact image it conjures—a bomb’s wick shedding sparks—is an apt icon for Sonbert’s explosive style.”
WARREN SONBERT’S SHORT FUSE (1992)
Gartenberg Media has devised and executed a comprehensive plan for furthering this artist’s legacy. See our WARREN SONBERT RETROSPECTIVE page for more information about his films.