Fragment of seeking. Picnic. On the edge. Assignation. Wormwood Star. Usher. Fall of the house of Usher. Four elements.
Notes:
Collection includes feature (100 min.) in two media versions: DVD and Blu-ray disc. Title from container. Curtis Harrington, Sean Nepita, Fabrice Uzan. DVD/Blu-ray release date: July 2013. "From the Academy Film Archive collection."--Disc surface. Includes illustrated booklet (27 pages ; illustrations) with an essay by Lisa Janssen and film notes by Mark Toscano. Bonus features include two films The four elements (1966), an avant-garde documentary Harrington made for the U.S. Information Agency, and The fall of the house of Usher (1942), the original film made by Harrington when was in high school (from which Usher is based); a short interview shot (22 min.) by filmmakers Tyler Hubby and Jeffrey Schwarz, who are responsible for the documentary House of Harrington (2009); 2003 interview (43 min.) with Harrington conducted by Rani Singh and Michael Friend for the Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles; an enclosed booklet contains notes on restorations by Academy Film Archive preservationist Mark Toscano and an essay by Lisa Janssen.
Contents:
Fragments of seeking (1946 : 16 min.) -- Picnic (1948 : 22 min.) -- On the edge (1949 ; 6 min.) -- The Assignation (1953 : 8 min.) -- The Wormwood Star (1955 ; 10 min.) -- Usher (2002 ; 38 min.) -- Bonus (88 min.).
Summary:
A collection of Curtis Harrington shorts that he wrote, directed, and occasionally starred in. The films are generally silent, strange, moody, and metaphorical. Fragment of seeking: Harrington plays a young man desperately seeking out the fleeting image of a female companion, and though he never quite catches her, he discovers much more through the surreal explorations of his own sexuality. Picnic: Beginning in the reality of American middle-class life, Picnic portrays the idealistic dream-quest of the protagonist, from which he is finally cast off. Harrington himself described the film thus: "A satirical comment on middle-class life frames a dream-like continuity in which the protagonist pursues an illusory object of desire." On the edge: In this poetic fantasy, set against a dark industrial landscape, Harrington casts his own mother and father in the lead roles. The Assignation: Long considered lost, this was Harrington's first color film. It was shot in Venice, Italy, and not unlike Fragment of seeking, follows a masked figure through the labyrinthine canals of the city, building to a spectacular climax. The Wormwood Star: A film study of the artwork of famed painter Majorie Cameron. Usher: Director's final film, Usher is a remake of the original film made by Harrington when was in high school, and based on the classic Edgar Allan Poe story "The fall of the house of Usher."
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.