Seconds of Eternity: The Films of Gregory J. Markopoulos

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Seconds of Eternity: The Films of Gregory J. Markopoulos

Rarely seen and nearly forgotten, Markopoulos’s films were once compared to the works of Joyce, Proust, and Eisenstein.—Kristin M. Jones, Artforum

The films of Gregory J. Markopoulos, a leading figure of the American avant-garde and the world of art cinema, have been almost impossible to see during the past forty years. Markopoulos (1928–92) had very specific views on how his films should be exhibited; in 1967, when he moved from the United States to Europe, he made the decision to withdraw his films from distribution. From that point forward, Markopoulos concentrated his limited resources solely on the production of new work.

Along with Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, Andy Warhol, and Jack Smith, Markopoulos was one of the most prominent figures of American independent cinema. Following in the tradition of directors like Jean Cocteau and Jean Vigo, Markopoulos was a poet filmmaker whose work falls intro three main categories: mythic themes, film portraits, and films of place. Often taking his inspiration from classic literary works, Markopoulos forged new terrain as a filmmaker exploring abstract narratives. His poetic approach relied heavily on the expressive, even mannerist use of color, composition, rhythm, and fractured temporal structures. He achieved a harmonious and delicate balance of plot, character, and theme. Sensual and elegant, Markopoulos’s films concern themselves with beauty and form, sometimes expressing homoerotic love in psychological and dramatic terms (Lysis; Twice a Man).

Please join us for this rare opportunity to view eleven of Markopolous’s films, made in the United States between 1940 and 1967.

Susan Oxtoby, Senior Film Curator

We are grateful to the following individuals and institutions for their assistance with this series: Robert Beavers, Temenos Foundation; Steve Polta, San Francisco Cinematheque; and Mark Webber, London. All prints provided by the Temenos Archive, unless otherwise noted.

Thursday / 2.9.12
7:00
Markopoulos:
The Early Films
Gregory J. Markopoulos (U.S., 1940–49)

One of cinema’s great colorists, early in his career Markopoulos achieved a palette worthy of Delacroix or Redon.—Kristin M. Jones, Artforum

Psyche, the first film of Markopoulos’s trilogy Du Sang, de la volupté et de la mort, demonstrates Markopoulos’s great talent for color, composition, and graceful camera movements. Made under conditions of incredible austerity, the trilogy is radical in its use of narrative form and sound/image disparity. Markopoulos called Lysis, the second film of the trilogy, “a study in stream-of-consciousness poetry of a lost, wandering, homosexual soul“ and felt that the film foreshadowed The Illiac Passion, which he made twenty years later. The program also includes The Dead Ones, the director’s only black-and-white film, dedicated to Jean Cocteau.

A Christmas Carol 1940, 5 mins, Silent, Color, 16mm
Psyche 1947–48. With Ann Wells, George Emmons. 25 mins, Color, 16mm, PFA Collection
Lysis 1947–48. With Markopoulos. 30 mins, Color, 16mm, PFA Collection
Charmides 1947-48, 15 mins, Color, 16mm, PFA Collection
Christmas USA 1949, 8 mins, Silent, Color, 16mm
The Dead Ones 1949. With Markopoulos, Elwood Decker. 28 mins, Silent, B&W, 35mm

Total running time: 111 mins

Saturday / 2.11.12
6:30
Eros and Myth
Gregory J. Markopoulos (U.S., 1950–63)

Markopoulos’s ability to improvise with his surroundings and to develop techniques of rapid cutting and subjective treatments of narrative time remain among the greatest contributions he made to cinema. Reminiscent of Maya Deren’s work, Swain is an early psychodrama trance film that uses single-frame clusters of images as a recapitulation device to restate poignant themes. The multilayered Twice a Man, inspired by the myth of Hippolytus and Phaedra, demonstrates Markopoulos’s masterful handling of sound design: he structured the soundtrack as a monologue of truncated syllables spoken by Phaedra juxtaposed with music, sound effects, and silence.

Swain 1950. With Markopoulos, Mary Zelles. 24 mins, Color, 16mm
Flowers of Asphalt 1951. With John Markopoulos, Maria Markopoulos. 7 mins, Silent, Color, 16mm
Eldora 1953, 8 mins, Silent, Color, 16mm
Twice a Man 1963. With Paul Kilb, Olympia Dukakis.
48 mins, Color, 16mm

Total running time: 87 mins

Thursday / 2.16.12
7:00
The Illiac Passion
Gregory J. Markopoulos (U.S., 1966–67)

A loving and deftly orchestrated color study of an apartment, Ming Green is one of the filmmaker’s most sensuous films about place. The Illiac Passion, a contemporary Odyssean journey, is the most elaborate of Markopoulos’s completed films and has been compared to Kenneth Anger’s Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome. The central character is inspired by Aeschylus’s Prometheus Bound. The film is studded with art stars (Andy Warhol, Jack Smith, Taylor Mead) from the New York scene: don’t miss “Andy Warhol’s Poseidon pumping on an Exercycle above a sea of plastic [or] Taylor Mead’s Demon leaping, grimacing, and streaming vermilion fringes” (Kristin M. Jones).

Ming Green 1966, 7 mins, Color, 16mm
The Illiac Passion 1964–67. With Richard Beauvais, David Beauvais, Robert Alvarez. 92 mins, Color, 16mm

Total running time: 99 mins


Theater Admission Prices
Single Feature
$5.50 BAM/PFA Members, UC Berkeley Students
$9.50 Adults (18-64)
$6.50 UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and retirees
Non-UC Berkeley students
Senior citizens (65 & over)
Disabled persons
Youth (17 & under
Additional Feature $4.00 All Patrons

More Info

Link

http://bampfa.berkeley.edu/filmseries/markopoulos

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(510) 642-5249 (Box Office)

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