Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer
Director: Thom Andersen, Fay Andersen and Morgan Fisher
Year Released: 1975
Rating: 3.0
Intriguing essay-film by Andersen covers a bit of the life and a lot of the pioneering photographic techniques of British artist/scientist Muybridge, whose obsession with capturing human (and animal) movement laid the groundwork for developments in the cinematic arts. The filmmakers give Muybridge's personal life a cursory glance (him murdering his cheating wife gets a few seconds of attention) in order to devote the bulk of the time to his methods/techniques - the ruminations on Muybridge's influence and aesthetic are fascinating, though read in near-monotone by Dean Stockwell. As far as MFA thesis films go, few are as refined as this.