Youtube Rabbit Hole Vol. 1
YouTube is the first place any legal team spams for copyright infringement, yet somehow, an occasional film makes its way past the hammers of justice for our viewing pleasure. I’ve compiled a short list of these films well outside the Criterion and TCM canons that can serve as a nice change of pace while introducing concepts deemed “unprofitable” by just about any corporation. From what I’ve researched, there isn’t another method of viewing most of these movies that also support the filmmakers, so feel free to clear your conscience and stream away!
The links to these films will almost certainly break at some point in the future, in which case many can be found by doing some digging. If you like the concept, Hyperreal pal Matthew Hodges also put together a list of movies hosted on YouTube that can be found here.
Society of the Spectacle (1973)
For those who particularly enjoy the recent works of Godard (i.e. Goodbye to Language and The Image Book), Debord’s Society of the Spectacle is an obvious watch. The essay film uses existing footage (détournement) with an underlying voiceover of Debord reading from his Situationist manifesto of the same name. At a beautiful 240p and with subtitles that are often too hard to read, this is perhaps the ideal viewing experience, though there are other sources around the net that host higher-quality streams. It’s a fantastic introduction to anti-cinema, essay films, and the Situationist International, whose ideology holds up extremely well to this day.
Debord made a myriad of other films similar in nature with a career-objective of demoralizing the audience (consumer?) if you’re into that sorta thing, and his non-film works are also worth a look, as they were particular favorites of the French New Wave auteurs and played a large role in the May ‘68 riots.
Can Dialectics Break Bricks? (1973)
The only other situationist film I’ll push right now was technically considered the first. Can Dialectics Break Bricks from René Viénet is situationist in practice, consisting of a completely re-dubbed yet largely un-edited kung-fu flick (Kuang-chi Tu’s Crush for those interested) that rewrites the story as a class-struggle comedy. Yes, it’s similar in concept to Woody Allen’s What’s Up, Tiger Lily?, though the humor ages remarkably better (who doesn’t hate the bourgeoisie?).
Note that Kanopy is also streaming this one, though if you do not have a library card nor have access to one given the current epidemic, YouTube is here to save the day. The quality is worse, but that may be spiritually closer to the situationist’s intention.
Ah yes, Armenian filmmakers: Paradjanov and no one else, the general sentiment held by world cinema. It took me years to even hear about another Armenian filmmaker, until AFS Head Programmer Lars Nilsen turned me onto Stephen Sayadian (Dr. Caligari) and Drafthouse/AFS Programmer Jazmyne Moreno recommended Don Askarian, who is responsible for this wonderment.
Avetik is quite difficult to describe and anyone who tries ends up throwing auteurs in a blender to make a pretentious milkshake of vibes. I’ll say this: it is depressing, it is radical, and it is completely unique. Armenia’s identity is predominantly formed by (actual) Christian oppression and tragedy, though it was a troubled region even before the genocide. It’s very common to find the cinema in existentialist mourning, flooded with christian symbolism and poetic depression. I wouldn’t say it’s a good time, but it is a necessary catharsis and a full-on work of art.
If you want a look at the weirder side of Armenia (and missed the Weird Wednesday screening years back), rarefilmm.com has a great stream of Sayadian’s Dr. Caligari (1989), a schizophrenic sequel to the original Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
I hesitate to mention this one because it isn’t particularly enjoyable. I adore the concept of ghosts, especially in how it coincides with film as a medium, so I found Ken McMullen’s Ghost Dance interesting. Be forewarned, Jacques Derrida gets plenty of screentime. It’s a Channel Four production, so expect a pseudo-experimental/impressionistic essay film that occasionally makes an interesting point every few cringe-worthy scenes. If anything, come for the intriguing discourse on ghosts and stay for the weird involvement of Dominique Pinon and Robbie Coltrane.
Rectangle – Deux chansons de Jacno (1980)
Finally, It isn’t a movie, but rather a pair of early promotional videos (music videos) directed by Olivier Assayas. The first is fine - full stop. The second, Jacno’s hit Rectangle, is quite good with a video to match, and if anything, it makes for a quality add for that Spotify playlist you’re working on.