Films by Harry Smith

Duration: 22

Year Published: 1939

Creator: [filmmaker, Harry Smith]

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Credits: Smith, Harry.; Beatles.

Description: Contains numbers 1-5, 7, and 10 from Smith's One-man show.; Title on film: Films by Harry Smith. Title Early abstractions supplied from can, leader, and Filmmakers' Coop catalog.; Music track added later (1965?).; The following title appears for 20 frames at the end of the sixth film: The investigations on which this film is based were made possible by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 1950-51.; Preserved by Anthology Film Archives.; Also released as numbers 1-5, 7, and 10 of One-man show. No. 10 was also released with no. 11 as: Mirror animations.; No. 5 has title at beginning: III. Circular tensions.; Running time: 22:26.; No dates on film; dates supplied from film descriptions in Visionary film and other research.; [No. 1] (84 ft.) -- [No. 2] (79 ft.) -- [No. 3] (120 ft.) -- [No. 4] (79 ft.) -- [No. 5] (92 ft.) -- [No. 7] (199 ft.) -- [No. 10] (126 ft.).; Pacific Film Archive collection; non-circulating. CBPF.; Sitney, P. Adams. Visionary film. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1978, p. 232-248; Russett, Robert and Cecile Starr. Experimental animation. Rev. ed. New York: Da Capo Press, 1988, p. 137-138; Sitney, P. Adams. "Harry Smith interview," Film culture reader. New York: Praeger, 1970, p. 260-261; [No. 1] Circles and anamorphic figures painted on film. [No. 2] Squares and orbs float across the screen. [No. 3] Rectangles form tic-tac-toe grids, then checkerboards, then become squares. [No. 4] This film is not animated, but is footage of real objects. The camera moves across lights, shot through a grid made by a window. [No. 5] Abstract forms reappear: a green square, red triangle and circle. Hollow circles move inside each other. [No. 7] Squares and circles float inside each other. A spiral appears inside a circle. In an instance of cel animation, stars explode. Circles eat themselves. Triangles attack the orbs, disappearing inside them. [No. 10] Smith switches to collage animation in this film. Objects that go in and out of the frame, at times dancing with each other, include skeletons, a magus, football, snake, sun, dolls, books, and magic symbols.; Originally hand-painted on 35 mm. stock. No. 1 used corks, erasers, and other objects to make the circular images. No. 2 included the use of Kum Kleen gum dots.; Version with Beatles soundtrack.; PFA 1612-01-2787. CONDITION NOTE: Inspected: 07 Oct 1998; pink; leader; scratches; warped; Fair condition: color has turned pink; many scratches, especially noticable during light sections; slightly warped as comes off reel; sound level fluctuates; lacks head and tail leader; no splices (this is a continuous print); picture seems to be still quite solid CONDITION NOTE: Last inspected: 2007/11/28; Very good condition; color has faded to pink with some green visible; very light scratches; slightly warped

Metadata Source:BERKELEY ART MUSEUM AND PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE