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The Light Fantastic

While most of Ken Russell's documentaries for the BBC's Monitor arts strand focused on a single creative figure, he would also occasionally make more wide-ranging surveys of the state of a particular art. The Light Fantastic (BBC, tx. 18/12/1960) was written and presented by Ron Hitchins, a Cockney barrow boy who has long been interested in a great many dance forms, and who has recently taken up Spanish dancing. Hitchins participates in some of the dance sequences, but his main contribution is an enthusiastic commentary that helps personalise what could have been simply a disparate collection of dance footage. He's not shy about expressing likes and dislikes, being none too keen on ballroom dancing (too choreographed), rock'n'roll (too monotonous) and Morris dancing (just doesn't like it), though anything genuinely spontaneous gets a thumbs up, even if it's a room full of people dressed in black swaying to the sound of a gong.

The Light Fantastic

6.0 1960
Tonite Let's All Make Love in London

Peter Whitehead’s disjointed Swinging London documentary, subtitled “A Pop Concerto,” comprises a number of different “movements,” each depicting a different theme underscored by music: A early version of Pink Floyd’s “Interstellar Overdrive” plays behind some arty nightclub scenes, while Chris Farlowe’s rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Out of Time” accompanies a young woman’s description of London nightlife and the vacuousness of her own existence. In another segment, the Marquess of Kensington (Robert Wace) croons the nostalgic “Changing of the Guard” to shots of Buckingham Palace’s changing of the guard, and recording act Vashti are seen at work in the studio. Sandwiched between are clips of Mick Jagger (discussing revolution), Andrew Loog Oldham (discussing his future) – and Julie Christie, Michael Caine, Lee Marvin, and novelist Edna O’Brien (each discussing sex). The best part is footage of the riot that interrupted the Stones’ 1966 Royal Albert Hall concert.

Tonite Let's All Make Love in London

4.5 1967
Vita privata

A caustic and sharply ironic portrait of a woman consumed by a destructive ideology, the film explores the psychological profile of a protagonist who has so deeply internalized a masculine, fascist militarism that she ultimately dismantles the very fabric of her own family. The work uses a distinctly feminine lens to conduct a socio-political autopsy on the consequences of totalizing ideologies. Through the use of biting satire, Mann examines the intersection of personal identity and political extremism, offering a fierce critique of how the remnants of fascism can warp individual conduct and domestic life.

Vita privata

NR 1965
Women's Quarter

The film shows the life of prostitutes in Tehran's city brothels, an area known as Shahre Now. The film closely follows a number of women and communicates how the burden of social constraints led them to surrender in the face of their common fate. The film does explore the possibility of re-education and development for these women, but in no way does it paint over the hard and brutal reality. The film was produced on behalf of the Organization of Iranian Women and was immediately banned while shooting was still going on. After the revolution, a portion of the material was found, and Shirdel decided to finish the film using photos by the late Kaveh Golestan that were taken more than ten years after the film itself was shot.

Women's Quarter

4.3 1966
The Colony

A railwayman from St. Kitts, a bus conductor from Jamaica, a family of singers from Trinidad and a nurse from Barbados ... Philip Donnellan's Birmingham-based film gives a voice to West Indian immigrants who movingly describe their experiences of trying to integrate into a surprisingly unwelcoming ‘mother country’. Shot in 1964 the film provides an important snapshot of Britain in the early stages of momentous social change and first-generation Afro-Caribbean immigration.

The Colony

10.0 1964
Paul Dessau

The film’s subtitle identifies it as a “study of the constructive discontent of a composer”. It is a portrait of the pugnacious musician Paul Dessau (1894 – 1979), who was controversial in East Germany, as a teacher. It follows the composer as he rehearses the “Bach Variations” with the Berlin state opera orchestra, as well during classes at the Polytechnic School I in Zeuthen, where he strives to teach the students a critical attitude. In an interview, Dessau bemoans the simplification of artistic media and elucidates the meaning and necessity of “hard sounds in an era that is not soft”. As we see when he works, “pleasure requires effort” … “art is never comfortable. Building socialism is not comfortable at all. That’s why I’m in favour of the uncomfortable”.

Paul Dessau

NR 1967
O Papel

A brief history of paper and the stages of its production. An animation about the history of writing, the emergence of paper in ancient civilizations and the invention of printing, taking paper manufacturing to an industrial scale. Paper production in Brazil, with emphasis on the use of pine, eucalyptus and bamboo. At Companhia Mineira de Papéis, in Cataguases, the stages of paper making. Paper consumption and its production in tons in Brazil since 1939. Brazilian self-sufficiency and the use of paper in various activities.

O Papel

NR 1962
Six and Twelve

Six and Twelve is one of a series of short films and documentaries produced under the auspices of the Centre Cinématographique Marocain in the years after Moroccan independence. While most of these were utilitarian in nature, Bouanani, Tazi, and Rechiche took a different route with this film, creating a modernist “city symphony” film that documented six hours in the life of the city of Casablanca. Combining a hard bebop soundtrack with stunning black and white cinematography and a radical editing style, the film stands as a document to the energetic experimentation of this period of Moroccan art and cinema.

Six and Twelve

7.0 1968
Rhythm and Movement in Art

This film explores the fundamental role of rhythm and movement in art, drawing parallels between natural phenomena and artistic creation. It demonstrates how artists utilize various elements like line, color, light, and form to evoke a sense of rhythm and motion. Through examples from different art forms, including painting, sculpture, architecture, and film, the transcript highlights techniques such as repetition, alternation, and accent to create dynamic visual experiences that engage the viewer's eye and imbue static works with life.

Rhythm and Movement in Art

NR 1969