Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film
Director: Pip Chodorov
Year Released: 2012
Rating: 1.0
Technically the title should read "My History of Experimental Film," since Chodorov doesn't even get close to covering the 'whole' history - he's basically covering a few of his avant-garde buddies he met because of his Dad's TV show (like Hans Richter, Jonas Mekas and Peter Kubelka). Though the heart is there, this is neither inspirational nor thorough nor does it 'flow' - Chodorov thinks nothing of inserting clips from his own shorts right after those of the acknowledged masters - although as the most brief of introductions to 'underground cinema' it could encourage some people to actually seek out the likes of Brakhage, Breer and Lye, although I suspect most people who would watch this are already aware of those individuals, rendering this a bit superfluous. As a side note, one of the best books I ever read about experimental film is "Film at Wit's End" by Stan Brakhage, which I picked up in college and encouraged me to seek out many of the film artists he talks about (especially Maya Deren).
