DVDFile

Microcinema / 1943-1959 / 75 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: July 26, 2007

Avant-garde is always a mixed bag, but for me, that’s what makes it such an exciting diversion from the mainstream film appreciation experience. Major urban movie theatres showcase movies like Mulholland Drive that are considered “weird,” but even with that film’s brilliantly atypical approach, it still has a distinctly digestible narrative.

The best works by Maya Deren don’t offer such normality. Deren attempts to utilize cinematic technology to create not just an engaging story-based experience but to really liberate film as a medium. She creates a rhetorical syntax that makes film more of a “moving painting” than an “illustrated novel.” Her inimitable classics rank next to Dali/Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou and Rene Clair’s Entr’acte as some of the most intriguing precedents of modern avant-garde film chic.

As predictable as it might be, the best place to start with Deren is with her masterpiece, Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). Like any self-respecting avant-garde film, it’s fruitless to synopsize the work. It involves a woman with a mirror for a face, her evil twin, and a potentially threatening stranger; but, what really makes the film soar is its almost tectonic smoothness. The film progresses from shot to shot in wholly atypical manners, continuity and shot-reverse-shot ethos be damned. But for some reason it unfolds perfectly, like a formless wave heading toward the shore. And with Tenji Ito’s 1959 soundtrack, it takes on an even more ethereal layer. Exceptional.

At Land (1944) is similarly beautiful – but somewhat less symbolically cumulative – if for the sole reason that it takes Deren outside (Meshes of the Afternoon takes place mostly in the confines of a labyrinthine chiaroscuro-lit house). This is the story of a mermaid-like woman who washes up on a seashore only to crawl up some rocks and bring her smooth, swimming sensibilities to a faceless corporate boardroom (?). It has some stunning photography, but is less experientially overwhelming than Meshes of the Afternoon.

A Study in Choreography for the Camera (1945) is more a study than a film, per se. Basically, it just follows a dancer’s fluid movements without the juxtaposition and cinematic geography of a film cut together from a tapestry of takes; it’s pretty much one shot.

Another dance-oriented film follows, Ritual in Transfigured Time (1945). And again, while it’s gorgeous in its execution, it doesn’t really have the punch of her more complex works, although it does feature a creepy performance from legendary diarist Anais Nin.

Meditation on Violence (1948) is a misfire. This study of a man who simply stands before the camera to do some impressive martial arts moves neither informs nor inspires.  Neither does The Very Eye of Night (1952), another bizarre dance-film experiment.

But even if all the shorts aren’t stellar, it goes without saying that Maya Deren Experimental Films is a must-see disc, even if only for Meshes of the Afternoon. A thousand years from now, that film will be looked at as a true and unique expression of art at its most sublime and impressive.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

Things aren’t great on this DVD. Each of the shorts is presented in its original format, and while that’s nice, very little restoration has been afforded these irreplaceable works. There are scratches and bits of dirt and grime all over the place; that can’t help but disappoint. Grain is a massive problem, imparting there’s a gauze-like haze over every frame. And although black levels are sometimes solid, they fluctuate wildly in saturation. These are low-rent transfers of high-importance films.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The mono sound mixes are equally sub-standard, not that there’s much to recapture. With the exception of cleaning up the tracks and giving them a little bit more finesse, there’s very little that can be done with these aging mono tracks to make them shine. It seems like little to nothing has even been attempted. Luckily, much of the sound mix is dedicated to music and effects rather than dialogue, so the films still work. But these shorts deserve so very much more.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

We get two bonus films. One is an excerpt from Deren and Teiji Ito’s Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, focusing on Deren’s longtime curiosity about voodoo. The other is Private Life of a Cat by Meshes of the Afternoon co-director Alexander Hammid. You’ll also find a stills gallery, a text biography of Deren, and some text writings about the filmmaker and her influence.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts

If you’re an avant-garde film lover, this one’s a gimme – you must have it. But even for those without much experience or interest in the form, I’d heartily recommend this single-disc edition. It may not have definitive audio and video qualities, but at least a few of the works will blow your mind. Recommended.