Shirley Clarke

Lions Love

Three actors in Hollywood live and love together. A director comes from New York to make a movie about actors and Hollywood.

Love Nest

Jim and Connie's postwar New York building troubles keep Jim from working on his novel. Ex-WAC from Jim's army days Roberta moves in, further upsetting Connie but pleasing Jim's friend Ed. Tenant Charley, who marries tenant Eadie, loans money to Jim to help him keep the building, money which this Casanova obtains from rich widows.

The Connection

Eight drug addicts are waiting for their connection in a New York apartment while a two-man documentary team films the proceedings. Things go out of control as the men grow increasingly nervous and the cameraman keeps recording.

The Cool World

A fifteen-year-old boy wants to buy a gun from an adult racketeer named Priest, in order to become president of the gang to which he belongs, and to return them to active "bopping" (gang fighting) which has declined in Harlem.

Alien Blood

Spoof science fiction. An alien mother and her child are pursued across England by a bunch of incompetent government agents and take refuge in a house full of vampires. Homage back to the camp tone of British directors of the 1970's such as Ken Russell, (The Lair Of The White Worm), Robert Fuest, (Dr Phibes Rises Again), and Joe McGrath, (The Magic Christian). Distributed by Troma in the U.S., it contains violence, nudity and exploding bagpipes.

Ornette: Made in America

Shirley Clarke's frenetic documentary about multi-talented musician Ornette Coleman.

Bridges-Go-Round 1

New York City’s bridges dissolve into shifting abstractions through montage, superimposition, and color. Set to an electronic score by Louis and Bebe Barron, the film transforms familiar urban structures into an uncanny, alien landscape (an alternate version of the film features a jazz score by Teo Macero).

Savage/Love

A prelude to Tongues (1982) which languishes over love and its effect on people.

As Kineastas

Based on interviews with 15 women, including directors, producers and film actresses, a journey around the world is made, seeing the wars waged by each one against economic and political repression, bombs, police dogs, censors, etc. Images from England, New York, Brazil, South Africa.

Skyscraper

Nominated for an Academy Award, this live-action short film playfully chronicles the construction of the Tishman Building at 666 Fifth Avenue in New York City.

For Life, Against the War

First shown on January 30, 1967, FOR LIFE AGAINST THE WAR was an open-call, collective statement from American independent filmmakers disparate in style and sensibility but united by their opposition to the Vietnam War. Part of the protest festival Week of the Angry Arts, the epic compilation film incorporated minute-long segments which were sent from many corners of the country, spliced together and projected. The original presentation of the works was more of an open forum with no curation or selection, and in 2000 Anthology Film Archives preserved a print featuring around 40 films from over 60 submissions.

Home Movies #20: Dance Tests

Home Movies #20: Dance Tests dates from 1953 and shows Shirley Clarke working on her film technique before she shot her first "official" film later that year--'Dance in the Sun' starring the dancer Daniel Nagrin.

Portrait of Jason

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

Bullfight

Anna Sokolow’s choreographed reinterpretation of a bullfight. Sokolow plays the matador, an audience member, and the doomed animal.

Rome Is Burning: Portrait of Shirley Clarke

Documentary about filmmaker Shirley Clarke which originally aired on the French television series “Cinéastes de notre temps”.

A Moment in Love

A couple in love interacts across a multitude of environments.

A Scary Time

Intended as a call to action, this UNICEF-sponsored film juxtaposes the fears experienced by children around the world as a means of awakening audiences to the struggles seen abroad.

Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World

The acclaimed poet is examined in this film completed just prior to his death at age 88, with his speaking engagements at Amherst and Sarah Lawrence Colleges intercut with studies of his work, as well as with scenes of his life in rural Vermont and personal reminiscences about his career. He is also seen receiving an award from President Kennedy and touring an aircraft carrier. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with UCLA Film & Television Archive in 2006.

Bill's Hat

"The whole film are non-art portraits of people in which they do what they want with this hat – and therefore, act or stand in front of my camera. It’s only love: therefore it can’t harm you". Joyce Wieland.

Four Journeys Into Mystic Time: Trans

Part of the larger filmic Four Journeys Into Mystic Time, in this work director Shirley Clarke makes use of a dancer’s body not only as the primary performer, but also as a canvas on which to paint projected images. Further enhanced by editing and effective use of shadows, the film is a transformative experience.

Brussels Loops

A collection of twenty short films, averaging 2-3 minutes, by various filmmakers depicting American life, intended to be shown in a continuous loop at the American Pavilion of the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Some releases of the film include ten extra minutes of rough cuts.

Four Journeys Into Mystic Time: One Two Three

An abstract work featuring three dancers, the performers interact with large screens as well as each other. Included in Shirley Clarke’s Four Journeys Into Mystic Time, costuming and color play an integral role in this piece.

Bridges-Go-Round 2

New York City’s bridges are reimagined through montage, superimposition, and vivid color, transforming industrial architecture into rhythmic visual abstraction. Accompanied by a jazz score by Teo Macero, the film renders the urban landscape musical, kinetic, and alive (an alternate version of the film features an electronic score by Louis and Bebe Barron).

Dance in the Sun

Choreographer Daniel Nagrin performs in a studio and in the sun.