John Smith

April 26, 2016 1:09 AM

The great John Smith, filmmaker and artist. The Girl Chewing Gum (1976), one of the finest avant garde films of the 20th century, Om (1986), The Black Tower (1985-87) (discussion)(MLYT/Vimeo)

Interview.
More avant-garde work: Leading Light (1975), Gargantuan

posted by Tarn (10 comments total)

Was it me or was it the past series of months, but I just kept expecting the post to end with "... died today".
posted by greenhornet at 2:22 AM on April 26, 2016 [4 favorites]

Thanks for these. I've always loved Blight (just an extract sadly)
posted by gravelshoes at 4:13 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

I've never heard of Smith, these are great thanks!
posted by PHINC at 5:06 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

You know, I remember The Black Tower when it first came out on TV! I pressed Play thinking this couldn't be the same one, but it is!

I also remember thinking "was that it?" at the time, but I'm saving it for later today to see if my opinion has changed over the last 3 decades.
posted by tel3path at 5:57 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

There is something super calming about his voice
posted by PinkMoose at 6:27 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Great post, I really enjoyed these. The Girl Chewing Gum reminds me of a video I saw in college in which a narrator reads casting notes and stage directions over 80s McDonalds commercials. Does anyone know this video, or how I might find it again?
posted by confabulous at 7:49 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

John Smith is indeed a great filmmaker, as well as a nice fellow. I've actually written an essay about Gargantuan, and, if you'll pardon the self-linking, you can read that essay here (PDF link).
posted by Dr. Wu at 10:35 AM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

Similar to The Girl Chewing Gum is Necrology by Standish Lawder. The pay off is at the very end though so you have to be patient.
posted by cazoo at 2:00 PM on April 26, 2016 [1 favorite]

So I just watched The Black Tower, and it seems that my memory of it is very accurate, probably because there's not much to remember.

I haven't exactly changed my opinion of it, but it must have something going for it if it's stuck in the back of my mind for 30 years. That's kind of striking.
posted by tel3path at 6:48 AM on April 27, 2016 [1 favorite]

Gosh these are great. So elemental in terms of the basics of film making; images and sound. And a brilliant economy of means as regards editing such limited footage to such great effect. I love the way that each exposes the processes of its own creation.
posted by Conrad-Casserole at 6:59 PM on May 2, 2016