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The Exploding Eye: A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema (Cultural Studies Cinema
Explores the work of lesser-known American experimental filmmakers whose films, though well-received and influential, have been excluded from the dominant film canon.
"This book brings together an extraordinary spectrum of filmmakers and documents that represent the spirit of a vital period in the history of American independent filmmaking and cinema in general. By letting these auteurs, in effect, speak for themselves and by not discriminating among them, the author remains true to the communal energy that marked the period. I also admire the personal anecdotes and first-hand interviews interspersed throughout the text; these reflections define the author's commitment to, and participation in, the cultural milieu he surveys." -- Lloyd Michaels, editor of Film Criticism
"Dixon's book is a valuable introduction to a once-influential, but now-forgotten, movement in cinema history. He succeeds in his aim of remedying canonical defects by showing that many others operated in this era usually limited to Anger, Deren, and Warhol. The sheer diversity of works in the 1960s as well as other filmmakers now forgotten makes Dixon's project an important work of historical excavation." --Tony Williams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
"This book records, often with unique personal experiences, an important period of American film history that is rarely surveyed, and it does so in a particularly unique way that reflects the broad concerns and variety of practitioners in the period. It is important to several fields of study, including literature and poetry as well as film and media." -- Deac Rossell, former Head of Programme Planning, the National Film Theatre, London
The Exploding Eye explores the work of lesser-known American experimental filmmakers whose work has been excluded from the dominant film canon. Although the works of such artists as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Robert Nelson, and Maya Deren are well-known to the contemporary scholar of independent cinema, there is an entire body of work created in the American experimental cinema that has been overlooked, work of considerable beauty and influence that was enthusiastically received when first released and that is still available for viewing today, awaiting long-overdue rediscovery.
Featuring more than seventy rare stills and complete information on the films and filmmakers covered, The Exploding Eye offers a fresh vision of American experimental film for critics, scholars, and the general reader.
“… The Exploding Eye will be an invaluable resource for new studies of the independent cinema of the 1960s.” — H-Net Reviews (H-PCAACA)
“Dixon successfully and completely collates critical information on and by the filmmakers into a biographical glossary, a one stop, literate A to Z information center on the ‘underground’ cinema that flourished in the 1960s, and is now more often referred to as ‘independent film.’ … the author provides a guide with intellectual liner notes to both major and lesser-known figures in this movement.” — CHOICE
"This book brings together an extraordinary spectrum of filmmakers and documents that represent the spirit of a vital period in the history of American independent filmmaking and cinema in general. By letting these auteurs, in effect, speak for themselves and by not discriminating among them, the author remains true to the communal energy that marked the period. I also admire the personal anecdotes and first-hand interviews interspersed throughout the text; these reflections define the author's commitment to, and participation in, the cultural milieu he surveys." -- Lloyd Michaels, editor of Film Criticism
"Dixon's book is a valuable introduction to a once-influential, but now-forgotten, movement in cinema history. He succeeds in his aim of remedying canonical defects by showing that many others operated in this era usually limited to Anger, Deren, and Warhol. The sheer diversity of works in the 1960s as well as other filmmakers now forgotten makes Dixon's project an important work of historical excavation." --Tony Williams, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
"This book records, often with unique personal experiences, an important period of American film history that is rarely surveyed, and it does so in a particularly unique way that reflects the broad concerns and variety of practitioners in the period. It is important to several fields of study, including literature and poetry as well as film and media." -- Deac Rossell, former Head of Programme Planning, the National Film Theatre, London
The Exploding Eye explores the work of lesser-known American experimental filmmakers whose work has been excluded from the dominant film canon. Although the works of such artists as Michael Snow, Stan Brakhage, Bruce Conner, Robert Nelson, and Maya Deren are well-known to the contemporary scholar of independent cinema, there is an entire body of work created in the American experimental cinema that has been overlooked, work of considerable beauty and influence that was enthusiastically received when first released and that is still available for viewing today, awaiting long-overdue rediscovery.
Featuring more than seventy rare stills and complete information on the films and filmmakers covered, The Exploding Eye offers a fresh vision of American experimental film for critics, scholars, and the general reader.
“… The Exploding Eye will be an invaluable resource for new studies of the independent cinema of the 1960s.” — H-Net Reviews (H-PCAACA)
“Dixon successfully and completely collates critical information on and by the filmmakers into a biographical glossary, a one stop, literate A to Z information center on the ‘underground’ cinema that flourished in the 1960s, and is now more often referred to as ‘independent film.’ … the author provides a guide with intellectual liner notes to both major and lesser-known figures in this movement.” — CHOICE
- GenresFilm
250 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1997
About the author
Wheeler Winston Dixon
62 books13 followersWheeler Winston Dixon is an American filmmaker, scholar and author, and an expert on film history, theory and criticism.
His scholarship has particular emphasis on François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, American experimental cinema and horror films. He has written extensively on numerous aspects of film, including his books A Short History of Film and A History of Horror. From 1999 through the end of 2014, he was co-editor of the Quarterly Review of Film and Video. He is regarded as a top reviewer of films. In addition, he is notable as an experimental American filmmaker with films made over several decades, and the Museum of Modern Art exhibited his works in 2003. He has taught at a number of schools of higher learning.
His scholarship has particular emphasis on François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, American experimental cinema and horror films. He has written extensively on numerous aspects of film, including his books A Short History of Film and A History of Horror. From 1999 through the end of 2014, he was co-editor of the Quarterly Review of Film and Video. He is regarded as a top reviewer of films. In addition, he is notable as an experimental American filmmaker with films made over several decades, and the Museum of Modern Art exhibited his works in 2003. He has taught at a number of schools of higher learning.
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November 7, 2021
no problems really. this is a straight-forward catalogue of every single recorded film artist in the united states and also a few canadians, which is of particular interest to me because the first film made out of the toronto university film departments is mentioned and discussed. little bit of canadian film history and also several hundred pages for you warhol heads.
Displaying 1 of 1 review