FILM, VIDEO, DVD: ALPHABETICAL LISTINGS
A B C D E F G H I J K L MN O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Film, Video, DVD: V
Valerie WA-183
15 min / color / 1975 / PFI / 16mm
Middle school through adult
“If I walk down the street, nobody but nobody knows that I paint or that I sculpt or that I draw or that I anything. I’m just a woman who passed by.”-Valerie Maynard. This film explores some of the attitudes and insights of a gifted black sculptor whose work is acclaimed both here and abroad.
Van Gogh’s Van Goghs WA-652 NEW!
57 min/1999/ VHS
College through adult
This is the vivid document of The National Gallery of Art’s major exhibition of 70 paintings by Vincent van Gogh as loaned by the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. The viewer is guided through three major stages of Van Gogh’s troubled ten year career: early work in the Netherlands, reactions to French Impressionism in Paris, and his most creative period in the south of France. Includes The Potato Eaters, The Bedroom, Self-Portrait as an Artist, The Harvest, and Wheatfield with Crows.
Van Meegeren’s Fake Vermeers ED-15
28 min / b&w / 1952 / EDIF / 16mm
High school through adult
Twentieth-century artist Van Meegeren forged many oil paintings that had been accepted as being by the Dutch master Jan Vermeer, and that had hung in museums and art galleries around the world. The film shows Van Meegeren’s studio and traces the detailed and painstaking process he followed to duplicate Vermeer’s style, technique, and materials. It also shows the research involved in exposing his paintings as fakes.
The Vanishing Rembrandts WA-447
52 min / color / 1992 / FL / VHS / DVD
High school through adult
At the beginning of the 20th century there were 1,000 paintings by Rembrandt in existence. Now there are fewer than 300. They disappeared, but not through thefts, fires, or acts of God. Instead, their numbers have shrunk because of the controversial process of attribution that began in the 1960s when the Dutch government began the Rembrandt Research Project. This film shows the sleuthing methods of these scientists and art historians. X-rays and laboratory examinations are bringing new evidence that many worthy and remarkable paintings actually were made by students of the master and misattributed in the 18th century. Inevitably, the findings of the project are controversial, especially when the objects disputed are valued at millions of dollars and form part of a nation’s cultural heritage and wealth.
Vermeer: The Magical Light WA-647
45 min / 1999 / VHS
College through adult
Beginning with a brief overview of Dutch painting in the 1600s,
this video proceeds to discuss in detail many of the 35 existing
canvasses from Jan Vermeer's oeuvre. Vermeer's particular genius
for capturing light and mood become evident under the lofty tutelage
of French art critic Pierre Descargues. As well, the mysteries
and deep complexities of the seemingly simple domestic scenes
are addressed.
The Very Eye of Night PE-11
15 mim / b&w / 1948 / GROFL / 16mm
Middle school through adult
This celestial cine-ballet, filmed in the negative, is an inspiring and rewarding work by avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who achieved a secure place in film history as a dominant personality and catalyst of American experimental filmmaking of the postwar era. This film is recommended for showing with Deren’s film A Study in Choreography for Camera.
Video Art
30 min / 2003 / DVD
Since its emergence in the 1960s and 70s, video art has incubated
radical and non-mainstream expression. In this program Art Historian
David Beech examines the history, use and meanings of video art
in the context of gallery exhibition, and how it differs from
television and cinema. Beech argues that video art allows the
viewer experiences of the moving image that would otherwise be
impossible.
Video Artists/ Video Art: Film at the Fringes of Experience
series:
3 disks / 2004 / VHS, DVD
College through adult
This series presents insight into four of the most significant
performance artists creating moving image media today. All are
cutting edge and not without controversy but always fascinating
and challenging.
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The Body as Matrix: Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle VA-1
53 min
This is a behind-the-scenes look at the epic proportioned conceptual video project The Cremaster Cycle. It shows the pre- and post-production of the series along with actual video clips. There are interviews with Barney, Guggenheim curator Nancy Spector, along with other artists and craftsmen that helped Barney with his neo-surrealist and singularly uncommon vision.
Expressing the Inexpressible: Shirin Neshat VA-2
42 min
Shirin Neshat’s identity has given her inspiration to question gender issues, western versus non-western culture, Iranian culture, and many other issues that she has faced throughout her life. Through an interview with her about her many installations, “Turbulent”, “Soliloquy”, “Rapture”, “Fervor”, and “Shadow Under the Web” Neshat talks about her thoughts on how she identifies herself and how she uses film and sound to illustrate it.
Transcending the Scenes: Gary Hill VA-3
54 min
Gary Hill takes you into his studio where he is constantly conducting experiments as to how to change your perception of space, sound, sight, and many more to explore. His studio resembles a laboratory where he creates an end combination of different technologies and mediums. Some works highlighted are: “Wall Piece”, “Crossbow”, “Liminal Objects”, “Reflex Chamber”, “Conundrum”.
Art from the Ashes: William Kentridge VA-4
52 min
Artist, filmmaker, dramatist, William Kentridge demonstrates his remarkable technique: stop-action animation using photos of charcoal drawings in which he has erased and redrawn scenes in different arrangements. His works powerfully illustrates abiding concerns with the sociopolitical legacy of racial oppression and colonialism in South Africa.
Vienna 1900: Recollections of a Viennese Girl in Paris WA-344
53 min / color / 1986 / FI / VHS
College through adult
Vienna, Austria, at the turn of the century: art, architecture, music, and literature flourished, and were shaped by changing political and social climates. The melodious waltzes of Johann Strauss gave way to the atonal innovations of Arnold Schönberg. Academic painting was replaced by the Expressionist canvases of such artists as Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, and Oskar Kokoschka. Architect Otto Wagner introduced a new, unadorned style of architecture, in a direct reaction against the ornate styles of the 19th century. In 1900, Vienna was truly a city where centuries collided.
Vincent van Gogh WA-43
22 min / color / 1959 / CORF / 16mm
High school through adult
The life of Vincent van Gogh and his development as a painter are depicted poetically through his many letters to his brother, Theo. This film uses that correspondence as narrative, and shows many of the actual places van Gogh lived and worked, such as the Borinage and Arles.
Vincent Van Gogh: A Stroke of Genius
WA-583
50 min / 1997 / A&E / VHS
College through adult
Of all the fine artists of the 19th century, Vincent Van Gogh’s paintings may today be the most sought after and yet his life story of personal tragedy and lack of acceptance is one that exemplifies the pain some artists have gone through. This A&E Biography reveals Van Gogh’s life in its full and tragic detail and features most of the painter’s amazing works. Cliff Edwards of Richmond who wrote the book Van Gogh &God gives commentary.
The Vinland Mystery WA-378
28 min / color / 1984 / FRIC / VHS
High school through adult
For centuries, scholars have speculated about the location of the mysterious “Vinland the Good,” mentioned in Icelandic sagas. In 1960, a group of house mounds was uncovered at l’Anse aux Meadows in northern Newfoundland. This documentary, with images from ancient maps, manuscripts, and archival footage, tells of the discovery and authentication of the only known Norse settlement in North America. Recommended for archaeology, anthropology, and social studies classes.
Virtual Reality ED-350
26 min / color / 1993 / FFH / VHS
High school through adult
With as much head-spinning verve as the product itself, this program provides a virtually multidimensional look at the world of computer simulation. Viewers are introduced to the practical applications this new technology provides: architectural plans and designs can now be displayed in three-dimensional models; new entertainment avenues can be explored by audiences unsatisfied with violent reality; salesmanship is lifted to a higher level, conjuring up the virtual reality of the customer’s dream; surgical reconstructions never before imagined can now be realized; and new definitions of art and the very meaning of reality can now be considered.
Virtual Reality: Primetime Live ED-334
13 min / color / 1992 / NDV / VHS
Middle school through adult
This Primetime Live TV segment takes the viewer into the computer-generated world of virtual reality, where illusion merges with the real world. Through interviews with noted computer scientists, this artificial three-dimensional world presents new avenues of technology for urban planners, architects, physicians, military groups, and artists.
Visions of Paradise
28 min each / color / 1984 / LS / 16mm
High school through adult
Each of the 5 films in this series portrays the life and work of a significant American naive artist. These magical and entertaining films, full of humor, tragedy, and wisdom, vividly convey the wonder and excitement of folk art as they explore the creative process. They celebrate the human obsession to create in the face of adverse circumstances and in spite of a lack of formal schooling. Produced and directed by award-winning filmmakers Allie Light and Irving Saraf.
- 1. Possum Trot:
The Life and Work of Calvin Black VOP-1
Calvin Black was a folk artist from the Mojave Desert area who created more than 80 wooden, nearly life-sized dolls, each with its own personality, function, and costume. He also built the Bird Cage Theater where the dolls perform and sing in voices recorded by Calvin. This artist’s legacy is presented in the grotesque figures moving in the desert wind, protected by Calvin’s widow in a world she views as hostile.
2. Hundred and Two Mature:
The Art of Harry Lieberman VOP-2
Harry Lieberman, at age 102, shares his art, philosophy, and love for life in this documentary, which describes his transformation from retired businessman to artist. Lieberman is seen painting, making sculptures, and meeting with other senior citizens at the Golden Age Club in Great Neck, New York, where he started painting at the age of 80. He is also seen as an artist-in-residence surrounded by young students at the Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.
3. Grandma’s Bottle Village:
The Art of Tressa Prisbey VOP-3
Grandma Tressa Prisbey built her first bottle house to hold her collection of 17,000 pencils. This was the beginning of the Bottle Village in Simi Valley, California. At 84, Grandma is a vivacious guide to her 15 brilliant houses, which are crammed with objects scavenged from the county dump, each a masterpiece of assemblage art. Included are Cleopatra’s Bedroom, the Round House, the Pencil House, the Doll House, and the marvelous mosaics of her village sidewalks, tapestries of artifacts from the first half of this century.
4. The Monument of
Chief Rolling Mountain Thunder VOP-4>
In this film we see Chief Thunder at age 71 living with his young wife and small children in The Monument-a powerful concrete-and-stone house he built. His overwhelming sculptures, “spirits of the living,” portray Indian heroes, family, and friends. He created The Monument on the Nevada Desert after a voice spoke to him in a dream: “You are the Big Eagle and the Big Eagle shall return to his nest.”
5. The Angel That Stands by Me:
Minnie Evans’ Paintings VOP-5
Minnie Evans was the embodiment of the visionary artist. A black painter working in Wilmington, North Carolina, she created a world of mythical animals, religious symbols, and natural beauty. The film explores the sources of her art-Airlie Garden, with its magnificent azaleas and swans-where Minnie worked as a gatekeeper for 27 years, and where she did most of her paintings.
Visions of the Spirit WA-374
58 min / color / 1988 / WMM / VHS
Middle school through adult
This warm and intimate portrait of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Alice Walker was filmed at her home in Mendocino, California, as well as in her hometown of Eatonton, Georgia, and on location with the film The Color Purple. In a manner as sincere and down-to-earth as her prose, Walker talks about her youth, the development of her career as a writer, and her role as one of the most prominent African-American authors of this century. Revealing interviews with such prominent personalities as Danny Glover, Quincy Jones, Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Steven Spielberg enhance this sensitive portrait. Especially recommended for classes in literature, creative writing, drama, women’s studies, and African-American studies.
The Visit to the Sepulcher PE-34
30 min / color / 1979 / TW / VHS
High school through adult
A 12th-century music-drama composed entirely in sung Latin dialogue, The Visit to the Sepulcher (Visitatio Sepulchri) relates the Gospel story of the first Easter. The film was made in France in 1979 at the Abbey of St. Benoit de Fleury, the location of the play’s presumed origin 800 years ago. The cast of this drama was made up of members of Theater Wagon of Virginia, many of whom have had acting experience in medieval theater. Cine Golden Eagle Award; Finalist, 1980 American Film Festival.
Voices and Visions
60 min each / color / 1988 / INT / VHS
High school through adult
Thirteen of America’s most beloved poets are portrayed in this informative and stimulating series. Noted scholars, writers, and performers give voice to the lives, motivations, and genius of our great poets. Archival footage, interviews, and recordings of the poets reading from their work provide an intimate understanding of these sometimes elusive individuals.
- 1. Elizabeth Bishop VV-1
Bishop’s world travels, from her childhood home in Nova Scotia to the exotic reaches of Brazil, are illustrated, providing a fitting background to the lush nature of her poetry. With Mark Strand, James Merrill, Octavio Paz, and Mary McCarthy.
2. Hart Crane VV-2
Although Crane’s life was short, he left behind a substantial body of work. This dramatization includes his greatest poem, The Bridge. With Derek Walcott, Richard Howard, and Malcolm Cowley.
3. Emily Dickinson VV-3
History has distorted the life and motivations of one of America’s great women poets. Dickinson’s work is presented in a manner befitting her genius and passion. With Adrienne Rich, Joyce Carol Oates, and Richard Sewall.
4. T. S. Eliot VV-4
The vast variations in Eliot’s style are explored, using The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Four Quartets as examples. Includes discussions with friends, critics, and scholars.
5. Robert Frost VV-5
Frost’s genteel demeanor and upstanding professional position belied the passionate, dark spirit of his homages to the destructiveness of nature and humanity. Includes interviews with and readings by the poet.
6. Langston Hughes VV-6
One of America’s most articulate and influential black poets is examined through interviews with the poet and those who knew him. With James Baldwin and biographer Arnold Rampersad.
7. Robert Lowell VV-7
Lowell himself reads from some of his politically inspired works such as Lord Weary’s Castle and Life Studies. With Elizabeth Hardwick and Robert Haas.
8. Marianne Moore VV-8
Moore the poet, and Moore the woman appear to have had little in common. Her friends and peers discuss the paradox that was Marianne Moore-quietly observant and morally forceful.
9. Sylvia Plath VV-9
Friends and associates attempt to dispell the myths that have evolved to obscure the genius of this most dedicated poet.
10. Ezra Pound VV-10
One of the most controversial American poets, Pound is presented as a player in the modernist movement and as a controversial catalyst and confidant to other great writers.
11. Wallace Stevens VV-11
Stevens’s vision of America and his flamboyant technique are explored by friends and scholars.
12. Walt Whitman VV-12
The power of Whitman’s work is conveyed through dramatic readings. His various sources of inspiration are explored.
13. William Carlos Williams VV-13
Williams’s philosophy-“No ideas but in things”-reflects the poet’s desire to portray rather than analyze. His dramatic, intense life and works are examined through archival footage and interviews.
Voices in Celebration WA-387
45 min / color / 1991 / NGA / VHS
Middle school through adult
Filmed on location and behind the scenes at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., this program provides a witty and often idiosyncratic journey into the workings of a major museum. Revealed are the history of the gallery, its dedication to building and conserving a permanent collection, and its commitment to creating a lively center in which people can see, study, and most importantly, enjoy great works of art. Recommended for museum studies, art history, and art education classes, as well as for general audiences.
Volatile Materials: Post-McLaren Abstract Animation ANI-1 NEW!
45 min approx/2006/ DVD
Middle school through adult
In this unique collection, seven contemporary animators, inspired by Modernist animation pioneers Norman McLaren and Len Lye, create essentially abstract paintings that move with sound and music to produce “cartoons” of visual and aural purity. Animators: Jean Detheux, Chris Hinton, Karl Lemieux, David Rimmer, Anne-Marie Sirois, Theodore Ushev, and Steven Woloshen, his Cameras Take Five uses Dave Brubeck’s jazz classic, Take Five.
The Voyage of Odysseus WA-287
27 min / color / 1987 / CF / VHS
Middle school through adult
The best-known part of Homer’s Odyssey-the voyage-is given a mind-stretching interpretation in this video. A muse recounts the story of Odysseus and his companions as they experience adventures and terrors, including confrontations with the Cyclops, the Laestrygonians, Circe, the inhabitants of Hades, the Sirens, and Calypso. The program will acquaint students with a great epic tale of early Western literature and may motivate them toward further study of the Odyssey. The Odyssey Tapes is an excellent companion tape.
Suggested Classroom Activities: Have students design Greek vases relating an event from the Odyssey; have them write a story or play in which they are trapped somewhere by a mythological person or creature and how they manage to escape.
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