From: Pablo Marin (email suppressed)
Date: Thu Jul 13 2006 - 07:20:38 PDT
Freya wrote:
"I don't know but it's possible that it will encourage
the people who do have that power to do so. Certainly
it made me really interested in the film. Is this the
same guy with the celophane wrapper? If so that video
didn't excite me the way this one did, however if I
ever see the real film I might just be bored. :)"
remarkable.
--- Freya <email suppressed> wrote:
> --- Mark Toscano <email suppressed> wrote:
>
> > Being a huge fan of the David Rimmer film
> 'Surfacing
> > on the Thames', I was very curious to check out
> the
> > downloadable video of it at ubu.com, and found it
> to
> > be one of the poorest quality video "transfers" of
> a
> > film I've ever seen. I imagine the extreme crap
> > quality would be all the more amusing/disturbing
> to
> > someone who had read the accompanying effusive
> texts
> > describing how "beautiful" and "brilliant" the
> film
> > is.
>
> Yay! I downloaded this too and was as you say
> completely shocked by the "quality" of the recording
> complete with extreme hotspot and everything! I have
> no idea how this was transferred. I suspect it was
> projected onto a bit of wall paper with a torch
> (flashlight) and then filmed with an old 1 chip VHS
> video camera. Truly did I gasp, and I was as you say
> much amused by the accompanying texts.
>
> > So whaddaya think? The huge disparity in quality
> > that
> > one might hope for versus what one gets in this
> case
> > might be sufficient for some to encourage them to
> > see
> > or organize a proper screening of the film
> > somehow...?
>
> Okay, you asked what I thought and I hope this won't
> upset people, but actually I really liked it. At
> first
> I was just OMG this is unwatchable I can't make out
> anything in the film at all, but then after a short
> time I decided that I quite liked the strange
> quality
> and textures of the bizzare transfer. I'm not sure
> if
> any of this texture came from the original film but
> I
> started to wonder what I could do to replicate it! I
> thought it was facinating, although in the context
> of
> a film that hardly changes and you can't make out
> the
> images, it did go on a bit. ;) Thank goodness for
> fast
> forward.
>
> I have to say I may be a bit odd in this regard
> however, as I watched Warhols Empire and became very
> excited by the tape splices at the time. Actually I
> still am excited by the tape splices... anyways...
>
> Also I did kind of like it in the way of a kind of
> sick joke.
>
> > or maybe that's just totally naive? Because how
> > many
> > people out there have the
> > money/facilities/knowledge/passion/etc. to figure
> > out
> > how to rent and screen a 16mm print of this film?
>
> I don't know but it's possible that it will
> encourage
> the people who do have that power to do so.
> Certainly
> it made me really interested in the film. Is this
> the
> same guy with the celophane wrapper? If so that
> video
> didn't excite me the way this one did, however if I
> ever see the real film I might just be bored. :)
>
> One thing I can say about the download, is that it's
> got us talking about the film hasn't it? So in a way
> it's generated interest already.
>
> > Huge applause to all the folks who do, including
> the
> > curators out there. Most people simply want to be
> > able to get the movies from Netflix and watch 'em
> at
> > home with little or no inconvenience to their
> lives.
>
> As you say tho, most people have no choice in the
> matter. I'd say it's great that people are
> interested
> enough to be doing this dodgy stuff.
>
> > The "experimental film community" that truly cares
> > maybe DOES give a damn, and maybe DOESN'T
> > necessarily
> > fall into this gross characterization, but also is
> > and
> > always has been (and always will be?) a very small
> > minority.
>
> It's a tiny minority perhaps but it is members of
> this
> tiny minority who are making these recordings and
> downloading them. The people outside of this
> minority
> generally don't know these films exist. I had never
> even heard of this film till I downloaded that file.
>
> > If Michael Snow doesn't want Wavelength ever
> > released
> > on any kind of video, then he won't. And people
> > will
> > continue to see bootleg videos (you can rent one
> at
> > Cinefile in West L.A.), and continue to catch the
> > screenings when they happen, if they're
> interested.
>
> Maybe they will continue or maybe it will just die
> away over time, although I'm sure that sooner or
> later
> long after Mr Snow is dead that someone will find a
> way to justify in their own minds, transfering it to
> whatever super video format exists then against his
> wishes.
>
> > P.S. I encourage everyone who has the time to
> > download
> > this video of Surfacing on the Thames to see what
> > I'm
> > talking about. It really is of amazingly
> > unwatchable
>
> Me too! Go check it out! If only for comedy value.
>
> > quality, and I feel that absolutely NOTHING of the
> > film survives. Double points if you then organize
> a
>
> Exactly. I think it is almost a completely different
> and facinating work that is largely unrelated to the
> original. It needs a new name! ;)
>
> It does go on a bit tho.
>
> > screening somewhere which includes a 16mm
> > presentation
> > of this film, which by the way really is
> "beautiful"
> > and "brilliant".
> > http://www.ubu.com/film/rimmer.html
>
> I take your word on it! ;) I am really interested in
> it however. Can I ask is the original in colour or
> black and white?
>
> love
>
> Freya
>
>
>
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