CONFESSION : Un post un peu hors-sujet, une histoire un peu trop longue à raconter. En gros c’est ma faute si il n’y a plus de films de Lipsett disponibles sur Ubuweb (‘Removed by request of the copyright holder’) … Tout ce qu’il en reste c’est ce vidéo qu’on avait ‘posté’ sur un autre blog – ‘reposté’ ici (par miracle toujours fonctionnel). Je demande pardon.
Free Fall
Arthur Lipsett, Canada, 1964, 9 min 15 s
An experimental film from Arthur Lipsett, Free Fall is an assortment of film trimmings assembled to make a wry comment on humankind in today’s world. It evokes a surrealist dream of our fall from grace into banality.
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Arthur Lipsett (May 13, 1936 – May 1, 1986) was a Canadian avant-garde director of short experimental films.
In the 1960s he was employed as an animator by the National Film Board of Canada. Lipsett’s particular passion was sound. He would collect pieces of sound and fit them together to create an interesting auditory sensation. After playing one of these creations to friends, they suggested that Lipsett put images to it. He did what his friends suggested, and the result became the 7 minute long film Very Nice, Very Nice which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Live Action Subjects in 1962. Despite not winning the Oscar, this film brought Lipsett considerable praise from critics and directors. Stanley Kubrick was one of Lipsett’s fans, and asked him to create a trailer for his upcoming movie Dr. Strangelove. Lipsett declined Kubrick’s offer. Kubrick went on to direct the trailer himself; however, Lipsett’s influence on Kubrick is clearly visible when watching the trailer.
Lipsett’s film 21-87 was a profound influence on director George Lucas who included elements from 21-87 in THX 1138, his Star Wars films and also American Graffiti. The film 21-87 has been credited by Lucas as the source of the « The Force » in Star Wars. Lucas never met the filmmaker but tributes to 21-87 appear throughout Star Wars. For example, the holding cell of Princess Leia in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope on the Death Star is cell No. 2187.
Lipsett’s success allowed him some freedom, but as his films became more bizarre, this freedom quickly disappeared. He suffered from psychological problems. Later in his life he is said to have done strange things like taking a taxi from Toronto to Montreal (costing several hundred dollars). Lipsett committed suicide in 1986, two weeks before his 50th birthday.
Plus de détails sur Lipsett ici.
Aussi de Lipsett :
Very Nice, Very Nice (1961) ici.
21-87 (1964) ici.
A Trip Down Memory Lane (1965) ici.
