At Land: Difference between revisions
Added: trivia about the shown chess game |
m Remove template per TFD outcome |
||
| (40 intermediate revisions by 24 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{short description|1944 silent experimental short film}} |
|||
{{ |
{{more citations needed|date=January 2016}} |
||
{{Infobox film |
{{Infobox film |
||
| name = At Land |
| name = At Land |
||
| image = |
| image = Maya Deren from the still in the film At Land (1944).jpg |
||
| caption = Deren from the still in the film ''At Land'' |
|||
| image size = |
|||
| caption = |
|||
| director = [[Maya Deren]] |
| director = [[Maya Deren]] |
||
| producer = |
| producer = |
||
| writer = Maya Deren |
| writer = Maya Deren |
||
| narrator = |
| narrator = |
||
| starring = Maya Deren<br>[[Alexander Hammid]]<br>[[John Cage]]<br>[[Parker Tyler]] |
| starring = Maya Deren <br />[[Alexander Hammid]] <br />[[John Cage]] <br />[[Parker Tyler]] |
||
| music = |
| music = |
||
| cinematography = [[Hella |
| cinematography = [[Hella Hammid]] (as Hella Heyman) <br />Alexander Hammid |
||
| editing = |
| editing = |
||
| distributor = |
| distributor = |
||
| released = 1944 |
| released = {{Film date|1944}} |
||
| runtime = 15 |
| runtime = 15 minutes |
||
| country = USA |
| country = USA |
||
| language = |
| language = |
||
| budget = |
| budget = |
||
| preceded by = |
|||
| followed by = |
|||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''At Land''''' |
'''''At Land''''' is a 1944 American [[experimental film|experimental]] [[silent film|silent]] [[short film]] written, directed by, and starring [[Maya Deren]].<ref name=Senses>{{cite journal |url=http://www.sensesofcinema.com/2002/great-directors/deren-2/ |title=Great Directors: Maya Deren |first=Wendy |last=Haslem |journal=Senses of Cinema |issue=23 |date=12 December 2002 |accessdate=19 June 2011}}</ref> It has a dream-like narrative in which a woman, played by Deren, is washed up on a beach and goes on a strange journey encountering other people and other versions of herself. Deren once said that the film is about the struggle to maintain one's personal identity. |
||
The composer [[John Cage]] and the poet and film critic [[Parker Tyler]] were involved in making the film, and appear in the film, which was shot at [[Amagansett]], [[Long Island]]. |
The composer [[John Cage]] and the poet and film critic [[Parker Tyler]] were involved in making the film, and appear in the film, which was shot at [[Amagansett]], [[Long Island]]. |
||
== |
==Plot== |
||
A woman is lying amid the waves crashing on a beach. The water retreats and leaves her on the sand. She climbs a nearby uprooted tree with some difficulty, but when she finally reaches the top, she finds herself at the end of a long dining room table during a bourgeois dinner party. None of the guests acknowledge her presence as she drags herself along the top of the table toward a man (played by graphic designer [[Alvin Lustig]]) who is playing chess against himself. Her progress is intercut with footage of her crawling through some underbrush. When she finally gets to the man, he stands up and walks away. The chess pieces begin to move by themselves, and one of the [[pawn (chess)|pawn]]s falls off the table. She chases it down a river and over some small waterfalls before giving up. |
|||
The woman walks down a dirt road. A man (played by American surrealist poet [[Philip Lamantia]] at age 17) begins to talk with her, and as they walk he turns into three other men: first [[Parker Tyler]], then artist and composer [[John Cage]], and finally [[Alexander Hammid]] (Deren's real-life husband). She follows the final man into a house where all the furniture is under white dust covers. The woman and a new man, who has appeared under the covers on a divan, stare at each other for several moments. A cat leaps from her arms, and she turns around and leaves. After walking through several doors, she ends up on top of a big rock. She slowly falls down to the ground in several stages and then walks across a field of dunes. |
|||
The chess pieces begin to move by themselves, and one of the [[pawn (chess)|pawn]]s falls on the floor. It floats down a waterfall and down a river. The woman chases it, climbing down the hill she had already passed. She then finds herself walking down a forest path; she begins talking and walking with a man, who in total is replaced four times by four different men (the first one is the American surrealist poet, [[Philip Lamantia]] at age 17; the second man is [[Gregory Bateson]]; the third is artist and composer [[John Cage]]; and the last one Deren's real-life husband, [[Alexander Hammid]]). |
|||
On a beach, the woman gathers rocks in her arms as she walks along, but she is having a hard time and drops the stones as fast as she is able to pick them up. She sees two women (who are dressed like they could have been at the dinner party earlier) playing chess near the water. While they talk and play, the woman gets closer and watches them for a bit before she begins to gently caress their hair. They lose their focus on the game, and the woman grabs the white queen just as it is about to get captured. She runs away with her arms raised, and, as she passes back through all of the places she has previously been on her journey, she exchanges glances with other versions of herself who are still in each location. The woman keeps running after she gets to the beach from the beginning of the film, leaving her footprints behind her in the sand. |
|||
She follows the man into a house where all the furniture is covered with white blankets. She opens many doors, and in one room finds a bed on which a man is lying covered in a white blanket as if laid out in death. They stare at each other for some moments; then a cat leaps from her arms, and she turns her back and leaves. After walking through several doors, she finds herself on a hilltop, and climbs down to a dune field. |
|||
==Cast== |
|||
Walking down the beach, she picks up stones, finding it hard to carry all of them at once. Then she finds two of the women who were at the dinner party in the beginning of the film playing chess on the beach. They are gossiping, having a good time while playing. The woman gets closer and watches them. She caresses their heads gently, making them lose their attention on the game. Then she takes a pawn from the game and runs across the dunes with her arms raised. While she runs, we see other versions of herself, at earlier stages in her journey; her other selves all glance at her. The film's final image is of the woman running down the beach, leaving her footprints behind her. |
|||
* [[Maya Deren]] |
|||
* [[Alexander Hammid]] |
|||
* [[Hella Hammid]] |
|||
* [[John Cage]] |
|||
* [[Parker Tyler]] |
|||
* [[Philip Lamantia]] |
|||
==Trivia== |
==Trivia== |
||
The chess game shown at the beginning and the end is Anderssen - Kieseritzky, proclaimed as the [ |
The chess game shown at the beginning and the end is Anderssen - Kieseritzky, proclaimed as the [[Immortal Game]]. |
||
==Legacy== |
|||
==Influences on popular culture== |
|||
Film theorist [[P. Adams Sitney]] described [[Stan Brakhage]]'s 1962 film ''[[Blue Moses (film)|Blue Moses]]'' as a reaction to Deren's work, with references to ''At Land'' in its circular structure, the sudden costume changes of its protagonist, and its story about footprints.<ref>{{cite book |last=Sitney |first=P. Adams |author-link=P. Adams Sitney |year=1990 |title=Modernist Montage: The Obscurity of Vision in Cinema and Literature |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |page=200–202}}</ref> The film is part of [[Anthology Film Archives]]' Essential Cinema Repertory collection.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://anthologyfilmarchives.org/about/essential-cinema |title=Essential Cinema |publisher=[[Anthology Film Archives]] |access-date=May 14, 2024}}</ref> |
|||
The scenes of Deren on the beach, and of the chess games are referenced in the music video for the band [[Garbage (band)|Garbage]]'s 2012 single "[[Blood for Poppies]]".<ref> http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/04/garbage-start-useurope-tour-premiere-new-video/ </ref> |
The scenes of Deren on the beach, and of the chess games are referenced in the music video for the band [[Garbage (band)|Garbage]]'s 2012 single "[[Blood for Poppies]]".<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.live4ever.uk.com/2012/04/garbage-start-useurope-tour-premiere-new-video/ | title=Garbage to Start US/Europe Tour - Premiere New Video | Live4ever Media | date=2 April 2012 }}</ref> English rock musician and former [[Pink Floyd]] member [[David Gilmour]], used footage from the film in the official music video for his song "[[Faces of Stone]]", directed by Aubrey Powell of [[Hipgnosis]].<ref name="Death in Somber">{{cite news |last=Blistein |first=Jon |title=David Gilmour Mulls Life, Death in Somber 'Faces of Stone' Video |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-gilmour-mulls-life-death-in-somber-faces-of-stone-video-66993/ |access-date=15 July 2019 |publisher=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=28 October 2015}}</ref> |
||
| ⚫ | |||
The [[Herb Ritts]] directed music video for [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]]'s 1989 single "[[Cherish (Madonna Song)|Cherish]]" is largely inspired by ''At Land''.<ref> http://thenewinquiry.tumblr.com/post/243921042/maya-derens-1944-film-at-land-compare-with </ref> |
|||
{{Reflist}} |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
{{reflist}} |
|||
==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
||
| Line 52: | Line 55: | ||
==External links== |
==External links== |
||
* {{IMDb title}} |
|||
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036618 ''At Land'' at IMDB] |
|||
{{Maya Deren}} |
|||
[[Category: |
[[Category:1944 short films]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:1944 films]] |
[[Category:1944 films]] |
||
[[Category:1940s avant-garde and experimental films]] |
[[Category:1940s avant-garde and experimental films]] |
||
[[Category:American short films]] |
[[Category:American short films]] |
||
[[Category:Films directed by Maya Deren]] |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 17:10, 21 December 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2016) |
| At Land | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Deren from the still in the film At Land | |
| Directed by | Maya Deren |
| Written by | Maya Deren |
| Starring | Maya Deren Alexander Hammid John Cage Parker Tyler |
| Cinematography | Hella Hammid (as Hella Heyman) Alexander Hammid |
Release date |
|
Running time | 15 minutes |
| Country | USA |
At Land is a 1944 American experimental silent short film written, directed by, and starring Maya Deren.[1] It has a dream-like narrative in which a woman, played by Deren, is washed up on a beach and goes on a strange journey encountering other people and other versions of herself. Deren once said that the film is about the struggle to maintain one's personal identity.
The composer John Cage and the poet and film critic Parker Tyler were involved in making the film, and appear in the film, which was shot at Amagansett, Long Island.
Plot
[edit]A woman is lying amid the waves crashing on a beach. The water retreats and leaves her on the sand. She climbs a nearby uprooted tree with some difficulty, but when she finally reaches the top, she finds herself at the end of a long dining room table during a bourgeois dinner party. None of the guests acknowledge her presence as she drags herself along the top of the table toward a man (played by graphic designer Alvin Lustig) who is playing chess against himself. Her progress is intercut with footage of her crawling through some underbrush. When she finally gets to the man, he stands up and walks away. The chess pieces begin to move by themselves, and one of the pawns falls off the table. She chases it down a river and over some small waterfalls before giving up.
The woman walks down a dirt road. A man (played by American surrealist poet Philip Lamantia at age 17) begins to talk with her, and as they walk he turns into three other men: first Parker Tyler, then artist and composer John Cage, and finally Alexander Hammid (Deren's real-life husband). She follows the final man into a house where all the furniture is under white dust covers. The woman and a new man, who has appeared under the covers on a divan, stare at each other for several moments. A cat leaps from her arms, and she turns around and leaves. After walking through several doors, she ends up on top of a big rock. She slowly falls down to the ground in several stages and then walks across a field of dunes.
On a beach, the woman gathers rocks in her arms as she walks along, but she is having a hard time and drops the stones as fast as she is able to pick them up. She sees two women (who are dressed like they could have been at the dinner party earlier) playing chess near the water. While they talk and play, the woman gets closer and watches them for a bit before she begins to gently caress their hair. They lose their focus on the game, and the woman grabs the white queen just as it is about to get captured. She runs away with her arms raised, and, as she passes back through all of the places she has previously been on her journey, she exchanges glances with other versions of herself who are still in each location. The woman keeps running after she gets to the beach from the beginning of the film, leaving her footprints behind her in the sand.
Cast
[edit]Trivia
[edit]The chess game shown at the beginning and the end is Anderssen - Kieseritzky, proclaimed as the Immortal Game.
Legacy
[edit]Film theorist P. Adams Sitney described Stan Brakhage's 1962 film Blue Moses as a reaction to Deren's work, with references to At Land in its circular structure, the sudden costume changes of its protagonist, and its story about footprints.[2] The film is part of Anthology Film Archives' Essential Cinema Repertory collection.[3]
The scenes of Deren on the beach, and of the chess games are referenced in the music video for the band Garbage's 2012 single "Blood for Poppies".[4] English rock musician and former Pink Floyd member David Gilmour, used footage from the film in the official music video for his song "Faces of Stone", directed by Aubrey Powell of Hipgnosis.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ Haslem, Wendy (12 December 2002). "Great Directors: Maya Deren". Senses of Cinema (23). Retrieved 19 June 2011.
- ^ Sitney, P. Adams (1990). Modernist Montage: The Obscurity of Vision in Cinema and Literature. Columbia University Press. p. 200–202.
- ^ "Essential Cinema". Anthology Film Archives. Retrieved May 14, 2024.
- ^ "Garbage to Start US/Europe Tour - Premiere New Video | Live4ever Media". 2 April 2012.
- ^ Blistein, Jon (28 October 2015). "David Gilmour Mulls Life, Death in Somber 'Faces of Stone' Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
Further reading
[edit]- Feminisms in the Cinema, ed. Laura Pietropaolo and Ada Testaferri. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, c1995.
- Turim, Maureen. "The Ethics of Form: Structure and Gender in Maya Deren's Challenge to the Cinema", in Maya Deren and the American Avant-Garde, ed. Bill Nichols, Berkeley University of California Press, 2001.
