In James Benning's Grand Opera (1979) the static landscapes and cityscapes that made his name by the late 1970s are augmented with a number of experiments with established forms and conventions anda brief homage to four icons of the avant-garde: Hollis Frampton, George Landow, Yvonne Rainer, and Michael Snow. What distinguishes Grand Opera and sets it apart from Benning's previous work is thefilm's engagement with history both the filmmaker's personal biography as well as that of cinema. O Panama (1985, in collaboration with Burt Barr) is Benning's only film based on fictional material (a collage of three short stories written by Burt Barr). The film resembles a sick man's (Willem Dafoe) fever dream, deftly blurring the lines between reality and fantasy.
Edition Filmmuseum 122
Language English - No dialogue Subtitles deutsch
Length 81 min. - 27 min. Screen format 1:1.33 - 4/3 (PAL) Sound DD 2.0 Age 14 Region code All regions
Bonus Booklet with an interview by Neil Young with James Benning and an essay by Barbara Pichler
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DVD Edition Filmmuseum
Two of Benning's seminal works from the mid-1980s for the first time ever on DVD
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DVD Edition Filmmuseum
Zwei Klassiker der DEFA-Produktion aus den frühen 1950er Jahren
