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Three films by Nathaniel Dorsky screened in London earlier today: Hours for Jerome I & II (1966-70/1982), Compline (2009) and Aubade (2010), three of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. Dorsky is understandably reluctant to distribute his work on anything other than 16mm, yet part of me wishes he would relent. These are images I'd like to screen every night to remind me why there might be a point to the next day's business of living; how to look in order to live. The prints were pristine, the colour and tone of the images overwhelming. Memory is resistant already, and once will have to do.
6 comments:
Teasing, really !
IMO no better argument can be made for owning a personal 16mm projector than a few Dorsky stills...
Yes, I've known Nathaniel since 1985 or so. I used to be a kind of dealer for him - reels of various old film stocks. He's in my own Rembrandt Laughing, along with some sand and bathtub developed film he did. I do wish he'd relent and let a good DVD done of his work. It is really lovely and he just keeps getting better and better. Trying to get him to Korea.
jon jost
Jon -- I remember Dorsky saying in a Q&A two years ago that he might consider Blu-ray, but of course even if the resolution's high enough, the light's still electronic... I'd be willing to accept the compromise, though. Better and better indeed.
Hmmmm, isn't the light in most projectors electronic? I haven't seen too many candle-lit ones....
My, and I suspect Nathaniel's, basic concern is with the frame-rate and whether a DVD is capable of emulating his 18fps rate. And of course in electronic modes there is no black out between frames, which is really the fundamental difference between video generated images which are constant and traditional filmic projection in which half the time the screen is black.
jon
Jon -- thanks. I guess we can say, at least, that with 16mm projection light must pass through the filmstrip, rather than be generated by the screen itself. I'm glad you pointed out the other problems too.
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