Grand Opera: An Historical Romance

Mar 15, 1979

1h 30m

★ 7.2

Overview

Grand Opera marks a stock-taking of Benning's work and his life, presenting a personal and artistic autobiography woven together with a series of events dealing with the historical development of the number pi, Benning's travels, and homages to Michael Snow, Hollis Frampton, George Landow (Owen Land), and Yvonne Rainer.

Genres

Documentary

Grand Opera: An Historical Romance Trailers

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Cast

Max A. Zorn

Hollis Frampton

Al Rutcurts

Owen Land

Wilma Schoen

Michael Snow

Kristina

Yvonne Rainer

Himself (voice)

Stan Brakhage

An improvisation recorded over the course of one day, starting at dawn and finishing after dusk. The film was edited in camera and shot from one camera position in the middle of one of the 112 football pitches that cover Hackney Marsh, a location chosen because of the similarities between the surrounding buildings and objects (identical blocks of flats, goalposts etc.). By cutting between precisely matched framings of similar objects, illusions of movement were produced, disrupting representational readings of the landscape. Unforeseen events occurring in the vicinity were also recorded, determining to some extent the subsequent filming. Through selection of shots and changes in cutting pace and speed of camera movement, the film fluctuates between record and abstraction.

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Grand Opera: An Historical Romance

Overview

Genres

Grand Opera: An Historical Romance Trailers