The year 2013 concluded with, among other things, Bill Morrison's film Decasia (2002) being named to the National Film Registry. Now 2014 begins with another achievement in archival film artistry. The Great Flood is Bill Morrison's latest feature-length compilation of extraordinary strips of celluloid, scored with an original engaging music track by guitarist genius Bill Frisell. The film has its theatrical premiere and a week-long run at NYC's IFC Center, January 8 through 16, with four screenings daily (at 11am, 12:45, 4:20, & 8pm).
Go to the evening shows on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday to see/hear the filmmaker speak about this look at the historic Mississippi River floods of 1927.
Judging from the sneak preview clip we saw at NYU Cinema Studies on December 4, 2013, The Great Flood is another visually stunning work. The footage scanned from the original 35mm newsfilm in the University of South Carolina's Moving Image Research Collections is particularly glorious in its resolution. Not all of the scenes are from USC MIRC films, but those that are stand out from the others. Better originals; better digital copying from the Carolina keepers of the Fox newsreel outtakes.
As ever, Mr. Morrison will also be revealing new work [yet untitled] at the 2014 Orphan Film Symposium in Amsterdam (March 30-April 2). So the OFS is happy to point you to this new theatrical run.
Here's the trailer from "friend of the show," Icarus Films (frequent provider of swell doorprizes at symposia past).
from Icarus Films.
(Icarus: Love their unabashed motto: "Serious documentaries are good for you.")
Find the IFC Center at 323 Sixth Avenue at West Third Street
Box office: (212) 924-7771
