Bill
Morrison: Collected Works - 1996 To 2013
(Icarus Blu-ray/DVD Set)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: B- Films: B
Boasting
some interesting works over the years, even when they are culled from
previously shot footage, Bill
Morrison: Collected Works - 1996 To 2013
is the first time his separately issued films on DVD have been issued
in one convenient set. This includes four DVDs, two of which we
actually have reviewed over the years, plus the Decasia Blu-ray.
Those three, with links to our previous coverage, include:
Decasia:
The State Of Decay
Blu-ray (2002)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11950/Decasia+(2002/Icarus+Blu-ray)/Hard+Core+Logo
The
Great Flood
DVD (2013)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12798/The+First+World+War:+The+Complete+Series+(2
The
Miner's Hymn
DVD (2011)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11894/Hungarian+Rhapsody:+Queen+Live+In+Budapest
Those
are the only discs with any extras here in the form of addition bonus
short films, leaving the new booklet covering all five discs the only
new extra, but it is well illustrated, has several essays, an
interview and information on all the films in the set. The new-to-us
entries include two discs which are compilations of more of
Morrison's short films.
Tales
features The
Mesmerist
(16 minutes, derived from shot footage of a Boris Karloff/Lionel
Barrymore silent film called The
Bells
(1926) assembled in 2013), Ghost
Trip
(2000, 26 minutes) continues the death-like themes as we travel in a
hearse in a twist on road trip movies and Spark
Of Being
(2000, 68 minutes) uses a variety of old film and industrial footage
to do an abstract-but-interesting retelling of Shelley's Frankenstein
with its own unique points.
Finally
we have the Travels
set that includes City
Walk
(1999, 6 minutes of sped-up old footage of Flatbush Avenue in
Manhattan that works), Porch
(2005, 8 minutes of how open and happy neighborhoods used to be (even
suburbs to some extent) before they started to slowly close off and
ruin sociability), Highwater
Trilogy
(2006, 31 minutes of how the global warming ad flood disasters go
back to the early results of the Industrial Revolution in the 1920s,
in 3 parts), Who
By Water
(2007, 18 minutes shows a variety of persons about to sail on a ship
that seems somehow doomed and not just because it might sink. Very
thoughtful and haunting), Just
Ancient Loops
(2012, 26 minutes combines new CGI with nitrate really going bad for
unusual effects) and RE:
Awakenings
(2013, 18 minutes. This offers real life footage of the patients Dr.
Oliver Sacks treated with L-Dopa in 1969 after they suffered from a
catatonic illness (specifically, a rare form of encephalitis
lethargica that struck worldwide in the early 1920s that has never
been explained, lasting until 1935!!!) as portrayed in by the late
Robin Williams in Penny Marshall's 1990 film Awakenings
from black and white TV-shot footage and fill color Super 8mm footage
Sacks shot himself.
To
talk of image quality with Morrison's work since it features
distressed, problematic, fading, decaying film stocks may seem odd,
but you still have to be able to see clearly even what is falling
apart. The discs offer 1.33 X 1 black & white, tinted, toned and
full color footage throughout with image quality as good as it is
going to get for DVD, with the previously reviewed Decasia
Blu-ray looking the best. Sound is musical accompaniment all the way
in either lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 or lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
sound depending on the short. The Decasia Blu-ray has losses
DTS-MA 5.1 sound.
All
that makes Bill
Morrison: Collected Works - 1996 To 2013
a serious compilation all serious film lovers (and filmmakers) should
see. Highly recommended!
-
Nicholas Sheffo
