For 40 years, James Benning has been a singular, defiant voice in the American independent film scene. This 2-disc set the first in a planned series devoted to the filmmaker's oeuvre features two of Benning's seminal works from the mid-1980s for the first time ever on DVD: American Dreams (lost and found) is the filmmaker's personal take on the history of the USA from 1954 to 1976, told through a complex and thought provoking amalgamation of image, text and sound. In Landscape Suicide, he effortlessly strides the boundaries of narrative and documentary forms as he recounts two infamous murder cases that took place almost 30 years apart.
For 40 years, James Benning has been a singular, defiant voice in the American independent film scene. This 2-disc set the first in a planned series devoted to the filmmaker's oeuvre features two of Benning's seminal works from the mid-1980s for the first time ever on DVD: American Dreams (lost and found) is the filmmaker's personal take on the history of the USA from 1954 to 1976, told through a complex and thought provoking amalgamation of image, text and sound. In Landscape Suicide, he effortlessly strides the boundaries of narrative and documentary forms as he recounts two infamous murder cases that took place almost 30 years apart.
American Dreams (lost and found) - USA 1984 - Directed, written, photographed, edited and produced by: James Benning - Premiere: February 19, 1984 (Film Forum, New York)
Landscape Suicide - USA 1986 - Directed, written, photographed, edited and produced by: James Benning - Cast: Rhonda Bell, Elion Sacker, Eve E. Ellis, Lisbeth Jetton, Pegge Winslow, John Benning, Rusty Johnson - Premiere: October 4, 1984 (Minneapolis)
Comments
Challenging and provocative
Submitted by MEstes on
Rating:
American Dreams is so place and time specific I wonder how many European or younger US viewers will "get" it's complex themes. For me, as a 63 years old American it was not only enthralling, it had depth.
Landscape Suicide is an interesting take on the subject of murder and murderers.
Both are highly recommended.
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