Avant-garde is a word from the French, meaning 'ahead of the crowd'. In contemporary English, we'd say it's on the 'cutting edge'. Avant-garde filmmakers want to experiment with new ideas, forms, techniques, and expressions - and are often said to be 'ahead of their time'. Avant-garde films are characterized by a high degree of experimentation - whether it be in manipulation of narrative materials, highly stylized visual representation, or radical departures from the norms and conventions current at the time, avant-garde film is always a vehicle for the filmmaker's expression. Surrealism, abstract studies of light and form, Dadaism, and impressionistic studies of people and things figure heavily in early works of the genre. Below is a Alice's extensive collection in this genre. Right: The famous eyeball scene from Luis Bunuel & Salvador Dali's 'Un Chien Andalou'.
This sequel to the notorious original finds the hippie feline in the '70s. Now on welfare with a nagging wife, he smokes dope for escape, and fantasiz... Read more
Bourgeois convention is demolished in Luis Buñuel's surrealist gem "The Phantom of Liberty". Featuring an elegant soiree with guests seated at toilet... Read more
A characteristically surreal and stunning blend of live action, animation and puppetry from the Brothers Quay. On the eve of her wedding, opera singe... Read more
Peter Greenaway's bold stylistic experiment has as it's theme, the 'correspondence' between the daughter of a famous writer and a publisher, written o... Read more
Iconoclast, philosopher, aesthete: Alexander Kluge is all this and more. One of the founding fathers of the New German Cinema, Kluge made a varied and... Read more
This camp musical sci-fi horror movie spoof has become - thanks to elaborate audience participation on the midnight movie circuit - the definitive cul... Read more
This camp musical sci-fi horror movie spoof has become - thanks to elaborate audience participation on the midnight movie circuit - the definitive cul... Read more
Disillusioned and exhausted after a decade of battling in the Crusades, a knight (Max von Sydow) encounters Death on a desolate beach and challenges h... Read more
Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good cau... Read more
British helmer Derek Jarman's film version of Shakespeare's most fanciful play is definitely one of a kind. The plot remains intact, however, liberty... Read more