"Mathew Brady, the historian with a camera, photographed everyone of importance including Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, Edgar Allen Poe, Abraham Lincoln, and many battle scenes of the Civil War. This motion picture is built entirely of photographs by Brady and his cameraman. Mr. Southard has used the zoom lens and lap dissolves to create a feeling of movement, supported by a good sound track" PSA Journal, Oct. 1961, 49.
"Quizá para dejar claro que abordaba el tema desde un punto de vista artístico, la película comienza con imágenes de erotismo en las artes plásticas (Picasso y Fiona Alexander, principalmente) para relatar la historia de un hombre (Salvador Garcini) que se acerca sensualmente a su amada (Tina Romero) y descubre que tiene una vagina dentada, cosa que lo desorienta y conflictúa. Es curioso que a diferencia del poema de Neruda en el que se había inspirado, la película no mostraba el ejercicio de una sexualidad plena y consumada, sino precisamente de los miedos a ella.
El joven vaga atormentado por las calles de la ciudad. Acude con una especie de gurú (Juan José Gurrola), que interpreta música neuroatonal en un teclado eléctrico, mientras resuena el poema de Neruda. A partir de esto el joven recupera sus fuerzas y recibe una suerte de inciación sexual con una mujer de vestido blanco en la pirámide de Cuicuilco para finalmente volver, todo complejo superado, a la mujer del principio" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012)
"Maybe to make it clear that the topic was addressed from an artistic perspective, the film begins with erotic images from plastic arts (mainly Picasso and Fiona Alexander) to tell the story of a man (Salvador Garcini) that approaches sensually his loved one (Tina Romero) and discovers that she has a Vagina Dentata, which disorients and conflicts him. It is curious that unlike the Neruda poem it is inspired by, the film doesn't show a free and consummated sexuality, but the fears associated with it.
The tormented man wanders the streets of the city. He goes to a sort of spiritual guru (Juan José Gurrola), that interprets neuro-atonal music in an electric keyboard, while Neruda's poem sounds in the background. From this point the young man regains his strength and receives a sort of sexual initiation with a woman dressed in white in the pyramid of Cuicuilco to finally come back, all complexes aside, to the woman of the beginning" (Vázquez Mantecón, 2012)
"Dr. Crane has a humorous approach for a visit to Boston, Lexington, Concord, Bunker Hill, Plymouth Rock, and the Mayflower II. Each sequence is preceded by a title quotation from a famous writer, to wit: "Boston.....the hub of the solar system" by Holmes; "The fate of the nation was riding that night" by Longfellow; and ends with "the unconquerable rectitude" of the Plymouth Maiden and Edward Crane" PSA Journal, Oct. 1961, 48-49.
"Hansen visits a Caribbean French colony, popularly referred to as Martinique. Much like Hansen's previous travels, he focuses on the colorful and exotic landmarks of the island." UC San Diego Library.
Marshland Mysteries is a version of Unseld's film Swamp Song.
"Marshland takes us into the Canadian (Alberta) breeding grounds of a large variety of waterfowl. There are many close-ups of ducks, geese and a variety of other birds which nest near the water. We see men fishing with bow and arrow. Air propeller boats are useful in shallow marshland with these one may follow the ducks as they fun ahead of us on the surface of the water, using both feet and wings. With the boat we can get to the nests for closeups. As the fall and hunting season arrives our cameraman flies north to intercept some of the birds as they come in to the feeding grounds along the flyway, where we may see impressive flight formations of ducks unlimited. Russell Jameson wrote and narrated the story of this picture and has recorded fitting background music and sound effects." PSA Journal, Nov. 1957, 32.
"doc. a fantasia"/avant-garde documentary
Total Pages: 299
Amateur Cinema