Stan Brakhage was an avant-garde filmmaker who created over 350 films between 1952 and 2003. His works, most of which were silent, generally involved some form of collage using 8mm, 16mm, and 35mm stock. He often mixed original footage, news reels and stock footage that ranged from the mundane to the surprisingly frank. A film was just as likely to contain landscapes, kids at play, and people at home as it was to involve autopsies (Dog Star Man, 1961-1964), sex (Wedlock House: An Intercourse, 1959), or natural child birth (Window Water Baby Moving, 1959). His efforts rarely ended with just shooting and cutting footage. He used a litany of photographic techniques and directly manipulated film through hand-painting, scratching, and heating. Occasionally, he worked purely with physical material; Mothlight (1964) was created by taping moth wings and grass leaves to 16mm film.
Stan Brakhage once referred to his works as "home movies." Indeed, some of the imagery in the early works might come across that way. However, the sophistication of the ideas and methods were obvious from the beginning. Banal footage of mountains, forests and cities could spontaneously erupt into a kaleidoscope of fantastic colors, startling juxtapositions, and rich subtext. Although purists might cringe at the thought, the influence of these films is readily apparent throughout American pop culture. Everything from the psychedelic light shows of the 60s to modern music videos to films like Enter the Void owes some debt to Brakhage's experimentalism.
The three-disc Blu-Ray box collects Volume One, which was released in 2003, and Volume Two release, which was released in May 2010. Thus, the box spreads 56 films made between 1955 and 2003. The total running time is 689 minutes, which doesn't include the extras. Each disc is chronologically and thematically organized into a "program" or "series" that lasts between 60 to 90 minutes. A timeline menu is provided as is an index of all films on an individual disc. Each film or film part is isolated to its own chapter with Brakhage's titles, which were usually hand-scratched, as the only indication of when the films stop and start. The twenty-six films on the single disc of Volume One are split into two "series." For example, the first series in Volume One contains two shorts (Desistfilm and Wedlock House: An Intercourse) and a feature length film (Dog Star Man Parts I-IV). The second series contains 23 films lasting anywhere from 9 seconds to 31 minutes. In contrast, Volume Two splits thirty films into six "programs." The selection of films reflects the progression in Brakhage's work. Collages dominate the early years while the later years focus on hand-painted works.
None of the films have been subject to image enhancement or noise reduction. They were scanned into a telecine from original negatives, interpositives or presentation prints. These films were made through unorthodox means and one shouldn't be surprised to see hair or other detritus pop up. However, the absence of compression artifacts and the overall clarity of the images should be obvious to anyone who looks at these Blu-Ray discs. The handpainted works look like moving stained glass. Save for one film, which is presented in 1.85:1, all the films are in a 4:3 aspect ratio. Only 9 of the films have audio. As is the case with most Criterion Blu-Rays, the audio is uncompressed.
The extras are lumped into an "Encounter" category on all three discs. These materials include excerpts from Stan Brakhage's salons at the University of Colorado at Boulder, 8 video "encounters" with the filmmaker, two audio lectures, and a short film by Marilyn Brakhage (his second wife). The box includes a thick booklet provides synopses for each film, and essays by Marilyn Brakhage, author/lecturer Fred Camper, and preservationist Mark Toscano. One of the best aspects of the booklet isn't the essays, but the beautiful frame scans. Reading about these films is fine. Seeing them is what really matters.