Subversive films and Cinema 16

Have been away for the weekend. It was brilliant getting away from politics and to have a bit of a family weekend. My partners family is incredibly nice and friendly and very warm. We also went out of our way to adapt and get some Christmas presents.

Looking around, in the shops “Outfoxed” is sold as a mainstream film and video, which is astonishing me, because documentaries rarely make their way into the mainstream, and though “Outfoxed” is a good political documentary, it is also very dry, lots of talking heads and interviews, and not much action at all.

To my total astonishment “The Battle of Algiers” is sold even cheaper than “Amelie”, and “The Bee Hive” is also up for grap, as well as some other old revolutionary, communist subversive films (as defined in Amos Vogel: “Film as subversive Art” book – except Amelie, of course).

Will try to list the films in the body of text tomorrow as recommended by him in the book, and then will try to organise public screenings of these.
Also have watched in the meantime biographic films about “Che”, “Michael Collins” and “Gerard Winstanley” as well as “Young Adam”, based on a novel by a Scottish situationist. Over the weekend we watched a rather disappointing documentary about the Poll Tax, disappointing, because there was hardly any riot in there, but mostly politicians who seemed to diminish the people’s resistance by focussing on then made political mistakes, out of the perspective of 25 years later though.

Subversive films, international left and communist cinema:

as described in “Amos Vogel: Film as subversive Art”, first edition 1974, London. Today limited availability, on amazon cheapest priced as 76.95 english pounds! Luckily enough I got it in Germany for only 5 Euros.
But anyway, for left purposes, only one chapter is interesting anyway, the one about political cinema, rest is stuff like various forms of sex, birth, death, use of language, time and space, surrealism, DADA, expressionism, truth and illusion,….

FILM AS SUBVERSIVE ART

International left and revolutionary cinema

a) western cinema
b) third world cinema
c) eastern europe
d) GDR

a) western cinema

1. Das Unheil
   Peter Fleischmann, BRD, 1972

2. Black Panthers
   Agnès Varda, USA, 1969

3. The Cry of Jazz
   Edward Bland, USA, 1959

4. Deadline for Action
   Union Films, USA, 1948

5. Delaware
   Newsreel film collective, USA, 1968/69

6. An Evil Hour
   Peter Wolff, USA, 1970

7. The Battle of Algiers
   Gillo Pontecorvo, Italy, 1965

8. Stadtfhrer fuer Bonn und Umgebung
   Manfred Vosz, BRD, 1969

9. Hail
   Fred Levinson, USA, 1971

10. Der Hamburger Aufstand
    Rainer Etz, Gisela Tuchtenhagen, Klaus Wildenhahn BRD, 1972

11. Hog Calling Blues
    Neal Pace, USA, 1969

12. The Murder of Fred Hampton
    Mike Gray, USA, 1971

13. The Great Society
    Fred Mogubgub, USA, 1967

14. Las Hurdes
    Luis Buñuel, Spain, 1932

15. Ice
    Robert Kramer, USA, 1970

16. I’m a Man
    Peter Rosen, USA, 1969

17. I’m going to give you all my love
    Jerrold Peil, USA, 1971

18. O Dreamland
    Lindsay Anderson, England, 1953

19. Mickey Mouse in Vietnam
    Lee Savage, USA, 1968

20. Palestine
    Nick Macdonald, USA 1971

21. Le Peuple et ses Fusils (Das Volk und seine Gewehre)
    Joris Ivens and film collective, France, 1967

22. Pravda
    Jean-Luc Godard and Dsiga-Wertow-group, France, 1969

23. Punishment Park
    Peter Watkins, England, 1971

24. The Revolutionary was a cop
    Marc Weiss, USA, 1971

25. Robert Walle, Ex-FBI-Agent
    Michael Anderson, Paul Jacobs, Saul Landau, Bill Yahrans, USA, 1972

26. Pioniere in Ingolstadt
    Rainer Werner Fassbinder, BRD, 1971

27. The Spanish Earth
    Joris Ivens, USA, 1937

28. British Sounds
    Jean-Luc Godard and Dsiga-Wertow-Group, France/England, 1969

29. Wholly Communion
    Peter Whitehead, England, 1965

30. Yippie
    Yippie Film Collective, USA, 1968

31. 12-12-46
    Bernard Stone, USA, 1966

32. San Michele aveva un Gallo (San Michele hat einen Hahn)
    Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Italy, 1971

33. Der plötzliche Reichtum der armen Leute von Kombach
    Volker Schlöndorff, BRD, 1971

34. The Woman´s Film
    Judy Smith, Louise Alaimo, Ellen Sorrin (San Fransisco Newsreel Film Collective), USA, 1971

35. Sunday
    Dan Drasin, USA, 1961

36. Susan After the Sugar Harvest
    Peter Robinson, USA, 1971,

37. Three Lives
    Kate Millett, USA, 1971

38. Troublemakers
    Robert Machover, Norman Fruchter, USA, 1966

39. Lovejoy’s Nuclear War
    Dan Keller, USA, 1976,

40. The California Reich
    Walter Parkes, Keith Critchlow, USA 1976

41. More Nuclear Stations
    Per Mannstadt, Denmark, 1976,

42. The Battle of Chile,
    Patricio Guzmán, Chile (exile), 1977

43. Zero de conduite (Betragen ungenuegend)
    Jean Vigo, France, 1933,

44. Modern Times,
    Charlie Chaplin, USA, 1936,

45. Misère au Borinage.
    Joris Ivens, Henri Storck, Belgium, 1933,

46. Los Olvidados (Die Vergessenen)
    Luis Buñuel, Mexico, 1950,

47. Roma, Cittae  aperta (Rom, offene Stadt)
    Roberto Rosselini, Italy, 1945,

48. Ladri di Bicicletta (Fahrraddiebe)
    Vittorio de Sica, Italy, 1948,

49. Le Mani sulla Cittae  (Hande uber der Stadt)
    Francesco Rosi, Italy, 1963,

50. Le Chagrin et la Pitié (Das Haus nebenan)
    Marcel Ophuls, France, Switzerland, 1971,

51. It happened here
    Kevin Brownlow, Andrew Mollo, Great Britain, 1964,

52. Mr Freedom
    William Klein, France, 1970

53. La Chinoise (Die Chinesin)
    Jean-Luc Godard, France, 1967,

54. Loin du Vietnam (Fern von Vietnam)
    Godard, Lelouch, Resnais, France, 1967,

55. Winter Soldier Winter Film Collective, USA, 1972,

56. The Brig
    Jonas Mekas, USA, 1964,

57. L’Idée (Der Einfall)
    Berthold Bartosch, France, 1934

58. Red Squad
    Howard Blatt, Steve Fishler, USA, 1972,

59. propos de Nice (Apropos Nizza)
    Jean Vigo, France, 1930,

b) third world cinema

1. O Alienista (Das Irrenhaus)
   Nelson Pereira Dos Santos, Brasil, 1970

2. Antonio das Mortes
   Glauber Rocha, Brasil, 1969

3. Yawar Mallku (Das Blut des Kondors)
   Jorge Sanjines, Bolivia, 1969

4. Acerca de un Personaje que unos llaman San Lázaro y otros llaman Babalu (In Sachen einer gewissen Person, von den einen Lazarus, von den anderen Babalu genannt)
   Octavio Cortázar, Cuba, 1968

5. Desnutrición infantil (Unterernährung bei Kindern)
   Alvaro Ram­i?rez, Chile, 1969

6. Culebra
   Diego de la Texera, Puerto Rico, 1971

7. Emitai (Gott des Donners)
   Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 1972

8. La Primera Carga al Machete (Die erste Schlacht mit der Machete)
   Manuel Octavio Gómez, Cuba, 1969

9. Os Herdeiros (Die Erben der Macht)
   Carlos Diegues, Brasil, 1968/69

10. La Formula secreta (Die Geheimformel)
    Ruben Gómez, Mexico, 1966

11. 79 Primaveras (79 Frühlinge)
    Santiago Alvárez, Cuba, 1969

12. La Hora de los Hornos (Die Stunde der Hochöfen)
    Fernando Solanas, Argentina, 1969

13. Tiempo de Violencia (Zeit der Gewalt)
    Anonym, Argentina, 1970

14, Os Deuses e os Mortos (Die Götter und die Toten)
Ruy Guerra, Brasil, 1970

15. Macunaima
    Pedro de Andrade, Brasil, 1969

16. Mandabi
    Ousmane Sembene, Senegal, 1968

17. Prato Palomares
    André Faria, Brasil, 1970

18. ¡Qué hacer? (Was tun?)
    Saul Landau, James Becket, Raul Ruiz, Nina Serrano, Chile/USA, 1970

19. Reed: Mexico Insurgente (Mexico in Aufruhr)
    Paul Leduc, Mexico, 1971

20. La Muerte de un Burocrata (Der Tod eines Bürokraten)
    Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1966

21. Now
    Santiago Alvárez, Cuba, 1965

22. A report on torture
    Saul Landau, Haskell Wexler, Brazil, 1971

23. LBJ (Lyndon B. Johnson)
    Santiago Alvárez, Cuba, 1968

24. Memorias del Subdesarrollo (Erinnerungen an die Unterentwicklung)
    Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuba, 1968

25. L’Aube des Damnés (Die Morgendämmerung der Verdammten)
    Ahmed Rachedi, Algeria, 1970

c)Eastern European

1.) Ljubavni slucajili tragedija sluzbenice PTT (Ein Liebesfall)
Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1967

2. Magany (Allein)
   Vince Lakatos, Hungary, 1969

3. Wuearod Ludzi (Unter Menschen)
   Wladyslaw Slesicki, Poland, 1962

4. a pátý jezdec je strach (Der fünfte Reiter ist die Angst)
   Zbynek Brynych, Czechoslovakia

5. Byt (Die Wohnung)
   Jan Svankmajer, Czechoslovakia, 1968,

6. Vtáckovia, siroty a blázni (Birds, Orphans and Fools – Vogel, Waisen und Narren)
   Juraj Jakubisko, France, 1969

7. Sedmikrásky (Tausendschoenchen-kein Maerchen/Kleine Margeriten)
   Vera Chytilová, Czechoslovakia, 1966,

8. Fotel (Der Sitz)
   Daniel Szechura, Poland, 1963,

9. Rani Radovi (Frühe Werke)
   Zelimir Zilnik, Yugoslavia, 1969

10. Ho?í, má panenko (Anuschka – es brennt, mein Schatz/ Der Feuerwehrball)
    Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia, 1967,

11. Muha (Die Fliege)
    Aleksandar Marks, Vladimir Jutrisa, Yugoslavia, 1967

12. Rysopis (Besondere Kennzeichen: keine)
    Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland, 1964,

13. Zbehovia a p?tnici (Deserteure und Nomaden)
    Juraj Jakubisko, Czechoslovakia, 1968,

14. Dom (Das Haus)
    Walerian Borowczyk, Jan Lenica, Poland, 1958,

15. Maszyna (Die Maschine)
    Daniel Szczechura, Poland, 1963,

16. Nejvetsí prání (Mein innigster Wunsch)
    Jan Spata, Czechoslovakia, 1965,

17. Per aspera ad astra (Durch die Nacht zum Licht)
    Nedelko Dragic, Yugoslavia, 1969,

18. Strahov (Demonstrationen)
    Anonym, Czechoslovakia, 1967,

19. Labirynt (Labyrinth)
    Jan Lenica, Poland, 1962,

20. Don Kihote (Don Quijote)
    Vlado Kristl, Yugoslavia, 1961,

21. Nije ptica sve sto leti (Der Mensch ist kein Vogel)
    Borislav Sajtinac, Yugoslavia, 1970,

22. Lipanjska gibanja (Streiks der Studenten)
    Zelimir Zilnik, Yugoslavia, 1968,

23. Jan Palach
    Anonymous, Czechoslovakia, 1969,

24. La Tecnica e il Rito (Die Technik und der Ritus)
    Miklós Jancsó, Italy, 1971,

25. Bez naslova (ohne Titel)
    Borivoj Dovnikovic, Yugoslavia, 1965,

26. Zid (Die Mauer)
    Ante Zaninovic, Yugoslavia, 1966,

27. Každý den odvahu (Mut fuer den Alltag)
    Ewald Schorm, Czechoslovakia, 1964,

28. Andrej Rubljow (Andrej Rublev)
    Andrej Tarkowskij, UdSSR, 1962 – 67,

29. O slavnosti a hostech (A Report on the Party and the Guests – Vom Fest und den Gaesten)
    Jan Nemec, Czechoslovakia, 1966,

30. Bloudení­ (Searching – Irrwege)
    Jan Curik, Antonín Mása, Czechoslovakia, 1966,

31. WR- Misterije organizma (WR – Die Mysterien des Organismus)
    Dusan Makavejev, Yugoslavia, 1971,

32. Szegénylegények (Die Hoffnungslosen)
    Miklos Jancso, Hungary, 1965,

33. Dwaj ludzie z szafa (Zwei Mann und ein Schrank)
    Roman Polanski, Poland, 1958

34. Teni zabytech predkov (Feuerpferde)
    Sergej Paradschanow, UdSSR, 1965,

35. Warzawa 1956 (Warschau 1965)
    Jerzy Bossak, Waclaw Kazimierczak, Poland, 1956,

36. Zezowate szczescie (Das schielende Glueck)
    Andrzej Munk, Poland, 1960,

37. Josef Killian,
    Pavel Juracek, Jan Schmidt, Czechoslovakia, 1963

38. Kristove roky (Die Christus Jahre)
    Juraj Jakubisko, Czechoslovakia, 1967

39. Die Tage gehen vorueber
    Nedelko Dragic, Yugoslavia, 1969,

40. Uloga moje porodice u svetskoj revolucii (Die Rolle meiner Familie in der Weltrevolution)
    Bata Cengic, Yugoslavia, 1971,

41. Walkover
    Jerzy Skolimowski, Poland, 1965,

42. Alles ist eine Zahl
    Stefan Schabeneck, Poland, 1960

43. Die Hand
    Jiri Trnka, Czechoslovakia, 1966

44. Niewinni czarodzieje (Die unschuldigen Zauberer)
    Andrzej Wajda, Poland, 1960,

d) GDR

1. Urlaub auf Sylt
   Annelie und Andrew Thorndike, GDR, 1959

2. O.K.
   Walter Heynowski, GDR, 1964

3. Der lachende Mann
   Walter Heynowski, GDR, 1967

4. Piloten in Pyjama
   Walter Heynowski, Gerhard Scheumann, GDR, 1968

5. Feine Speilwaren – made in USA
   Günter Rätz, GDR, 1969

6.Aktion J.
Walter Heynowski, GDR, 1961

anyway, will continue tomorrow and in the following days, as too tired and there are still a lot of pages to go as well as the content to translate.

Now, later on, the good thing about the english edition is, that there is no need for translation into english. But the price! Will try to find it in a library, as especially when it comes to films of the global south, the Czechoslowakia and other foreign language films, it would be good to get the exact english title.

Also have found on Amazon another book about “cinema 16”:
Anyway here is the review:
As the most successful and influential film society in American history, Cinema 16 was a crucial organization for the creation of a public space for the full range of cinema achievement in the years following World War II. A precursor of the New York Film Festival, Cinema 16 screenings became a gathering place for New Yorkers interested not only in cinema, but in the use of media in the development of a more complete, effective democracy. For 17 years, many of the leading intellectuals and artists of the time came together as part of a membership society of thousands to experience the creative programming of Cinema 16 director, Amos Vogel. What audiences saw at Cinema 16 changed their lives and had an enduring impact not only on the New York City cultural scene, but nationwide. Vogel’s distribution of landmark documentary and avant-garde films helped make a place for many films that could never have had commercial release, given the pressures of commercialism and censorship during the postwar era. Vogel’s commitment to the broadest range of cinema practice led him to develop a programming strategy, inherited from the European cine-club movement, that involved confronting audiences with such a wide range of cinematic forms that viewers left the theatre considering not only the often remarkable films Vogel showed, but the place of cinema itself in modern life. “Cinema 16: Documents Towards a History of the Film Society” is the first book on Cinema 16. Scott MacDonald provides a sense of the life and work of the society, using the complete Cinema 16 programme announcements; selected letters between Vogel and the filmmakers whose films he showed; selections from the programme notes that accompanied Cinema 16 screenings, including theoretical essays by Vogel on curating independent cinema; conversations between MacDonald and Cinema 16 members; photographs and stills; and a variety of other documents.