Bill Morrison's most recent feature film, 'Dawson City: Frozen Time' (2016) is an astonishing look at the history of early cinema, and of North America in the early 20th century, told almost entirely with footage found buried in the former gold-mining town. But it is the product of a 25-year film career in which Morrison has built a distinctive way of telling stories using archive film, often in states of decay, and contemporary music. This week, Juliet talks to Morrison about his practice, from his time at film school to the present.
SELECTED REFERENCES
WORKS BY BILL MORRISON
Full filmography: http://billmorrisonfilm.com/bio-filmography
The Film of Her (1996) - http://sensesofcinema.com/2006/the-films-of-bill-morrison/morrison-film-of-her/
Decasia (2002) - https://bombmagazine.org/articles/bill-morrisons-decasia-the-state-of-decay/
Who by Water (2007) - https://vimeo.com/48669901
Spark of Being (2010) - https://variety.com/2011/film/reviews/spark-of-being-1117946734/
The Miners' Hymns (2011) - https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/mar/16/the-miners-hymns-barbican-review-morrison-johansson
The Great Flood (2013) - https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/features/american-refugees-bill-morrison-s-great-flood
Beyond Zero: 1914-1918 (2014) - https://vimeo.com/125601994
Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) - https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2018/08/16/dawson-city-after-gold-rush/
Robert Breer - https://lightcone.org/en/filmmaker-37-robert-breer
The Clock (dir. Christian Marclay, 2010) - https://frieze.com/article/about-time-christian-marclays-clock-receives-its-tate-modern-premiere
Gustav Deutsch & Peter Tscherkassky - https://www.closeupfilmcentre.com/library/essay/24-frames-a-second
Fantasia (dir. Various, 1940)
Flesh for Frankenstein (dir. Paul Morrissey, 1973)
Frankenstein (dir. J. Searle Dawley, 1910) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-fM9meqfQ4
Frankenstein (dir. James Whale, 1931)
Michael Gordon (Bang on a Can)
The Green Fog (dir. Guy Maddin, 2017) - https://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/reviews-recommendations/green-fog-guy-maddin-giddy-san-francisco-vertigo-remake
La Jetée (dir. Chris Marker, 1962) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLfXCkFQtXw
Jóhann Jóhansson
Peter Kubelka - https://www.filmcomment.com/article/peter-kubelka-frame-by-frame-antiphon-adebar-arnulf-rainer/
Saved from the Titanic (dir. Étienne Arnaud, 1912, lost)
MARY SHELLEY, Frankenstein (1818)
Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (dir. Ken Jacobs, 1969) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDYzi_qIYdc
You Will Be Free (dir. Juliet Jacques, 2017) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=288L2CRNfZU
Young Frankenstein (dir. Mel Brooks, 1974)
Toute la mémoire du monde (dir. Alain Resnais, 1956) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0RVSZ_yDjs
