4 Shots from 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots from 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
Happy Pop Art Day!
4 Shot From 4 Films
The Creation of the Humanoids (1962, dir by Wesley Barry)
Award Presentation to Andy Warhol (1964, dir by Jonas Mekas)
Vinyl (1965, dir by Andy Warhol)
Basquiat (1996, dir by Julian Schnabel)
Pop artist Andy Warhol wasn’t just a painter and a celebrity. He was also a filmmaker.
Below, you’ll find Warhol’s final film. In 1985, using a type of early computer known as an Amiga, Warhol made a 2 and a half-minute movies called You Are The One. It’s a strange little movie, one that features Marilyn Monroe and a disembodied voice repeating, “You are the one.” It’s atmospheric and, when viewed under the right circumstances, kind of creepy.
This movie was believed to be lost until 2007, when it was found hidden away in Warhol’s studio.
Here is Andy Warhol’s final film:
“The Empire State Building is a star!”
— Andy Warhol, reportedly on the night of filming Empire (1964)
On the night of July 24th, 1964, Andy Warhol, John Palmer, Jonas Mekas, Gerald Malanga, Marie Desert, and Henry Romeny gathered in an office on the 41st floor of the Time-Life Building in New York City.
As the sun went down, they pointed a camera out a window and at the Empire State Building, which was the tallest building in the world at that time. As they filmed, the upper 30 floors of the building were lit up in honor of the opening of the 1964 World’s Fair. Behind the Empire State Building, the beacon atop the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company tower blinked on and off. Otherwise, the entire skyline was invisible in the night.
They started filming at 8:06 pm and stopped at 2:42 am. Projected in slow motion (which was either per Warhol’s specifications or the result of an error on the part of the projectionist, depending on which source you read), the final film — entitled Empire — lasted for 8 hours and five minutes. Originally, Warhol planned to have voices in the background but ultimately, Empire would be a silent film. Three times you can very briefly spot the faces of Warhol and the crew reflected in the window of the office. When the tower’s skylights were eventually switched off, Warhol filmed darkness.
Believe it or not, Empire is available, in its entirety, on YouTube. I watched about two and a half uninterrupted hours of it, along with skipping to the brief glimpses of Warhol and to the film’s end. Believe it or not, Empire does have a definite hypnotic power. When you spend hours staring at the same image, you do start to become fascinated by things like a blinking beacon or the occasional bird flying by the Empire State Building. (The film was so grainy that I assumed it was a bird. It could have just as easily been a speck of dust.) You find yourself thinking about what it would have been like to be in New York in 1964 and to see that one brilliantly lit tower rising high above the city. The tower does take on a life of its own.
On that night in 1964, there was no bigger star in New York City than the Empire State Building.
Happy Pop Art Day!
Today seems like a good day to share a music video that was directed by one of the most important pop artists, Andy Warhol!
Hello Again was the first of three music videos that Warhol would direct before his death in 1987. According to Greg Hawkes, who played keyboards on the song, “I think [Warhol] mainly did some of the conceptualizing and showed up to be an extra. And he invited his various friends to be in it. It was like any video shoot, but with a more interesting cast of characters. And you could always look over on the set and go ‘Hey that’s Andy Warhol.'”
And, of course, Warhol plays a role in the video. He appears as a bartender, one who is intently watching a special on sex, violence, and rock music. Among the patrons sitting in the bar is a young but instantly recognizable Gina Gershon.
Enjoy!
Through the Shattered Lens 