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Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

Play trailer Poster for Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film 2012 1h 22m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 59% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Filmmaker Pip Chodorov pays tribute to some of the 20th-century's leading figures of experimental cinema, including Stan Brakhage, Ken Jacobs and Jonas Mekas.

Critics Reviews

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Moira MacDonald Seattle Times 01/17/2013
3/4
A pleasant ramble through little-known cinematic territory. Go to Full Review
Nicolas Rapold New York Times 08/02/2012
3.5/5
This friendly, colorful documentary from Pip Chodorov is not the last word on all the shapes, sizes and languages of experimental film, but rather an introduction brightened by a companionable enthusiasm and an apposite sense of community. Go to Full Review
Keith Uhlich Time Out 07/31/2012
3/5
There are simply too many obvious condensations and omissions in the course of the meager 82-minute running time ... Go to Full Review
David N. Butterworth La Movie Boeuf 11/13/2016
3/4
A worthy baptism for those unacquainted with the genre but less fulfilling, perhaps, for the pre-converted eager to experience more. Go to Full Review
Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews 01/30/2014
B+
A playful and audacious homage documentary to the pioneering and economically hard-pressed avant-garde filmmakers from the silents to the present. Go to Full Review
Eric Monder Film Journal International 08/02/2012
Breezy overview of classic cinematic avant garde will be best appreciated by established fans. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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01/22/2014 "In this film I'd like you to meet my friends and see their films" That's really all there is to it, the son of a filmmaker compiles old interview footage with experimental film clips and some new. Kenneth Anger wasn't even mentioned, but I guess they never met. "Overview of classic cinematic avant garde will be best appreciated by established fans." Informative. See more 11/13/2013 Learned a lot about experimental cinema and the free spirits behind it. See more 03/24/2013 A survey of 90 years of abstract experimental film (mostly the kind where they scratch into or paint directly on the celluloid), from its Dadaist origins to its NYC heyday, with rare interviews and plentiful examples, including a few full-length shorts. A decent overview of an imposing subject, though aficionados will wonder about some of the important figures who are rushed over or omitted entirely (did Hollis Frampton sleep with the director's girlfriend or something?) See more 01/07/2013 http://www.clevelandmovieblog.com/2013/01/free-radicals-history-of-experimental.html See more Read all reviews
Free Radicals: A History of Experimental Film

My Rating

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Movie Info

Synopsis Filmmaker Pip Chodorov pays tribute to some of the 20th-century's leading figures of experimental cinema, including Stan Brakhage, Ken Jacobs and Jonas Mekas.
Director
Pip Chodorov
Producer
Ron Dyens, Aurélia Prévieu
Screenwriter
Pip Chodorov, Lucy Allwood
Distributor
Kino Lorber
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 3, 2012, Original
Release Date (DVD)
Mar 12, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.8K
Runtime
1h 22m