Avant-garde / Experimental
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'.
Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
7.7/10
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Edward Norton, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Emma S...
Michael Keaton stars in this award-winning black comedy written, directed and produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Struggling actor Riggan Thomson... Read more
Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) ( Blu-ray ) (2014)
7.7/10
Director: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Starring: Edward Norton, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts, Amy Ryan, Andrea Riseborough, Emma S...
Michael Keaton stars in this award-winning black comedy written, directed and produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Struggling actor Riggan Thomson... Read more
Black Moon (1975)
6.3/10
Director: Louis Malle
Starring: Therese Giehse, Cathryn Harrison, Joe Dallesandro, Alexandra Stewart
A bizarre apocalyptic Alice in Wonderland from Louis Malle. When Lily has a road accident, she finds she has landed up in some kind of civil war and... Read more
Blue / Glitterbug (1993)
Director: Derek Jarman
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Nigel Terry, John Quentin
A Derek Jarman double feature. "Blue" (1993, 75 mins) - A courageous personal testimony about his experiences with AIDS, Derek Jarman's final feature... Read more
Boxcar Bertha (1972)
6.1/10
Director: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus
An early effort by Martin Scorsese, with Barbara Hershey, David Carradine, Barry Primus and Bernie Casey. The film is set at a railroad yard during th... Read more
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
7.4/10
Director: Guy Maddin
Starring: Crispin Glover, Isabella Rossellini, (narrated by)
Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin again channels some of the most bizarre cinematic ideas ever realized with this imaginary account of his childhood. Told... Read more
Bubble (2006)
7.3/10
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: Dustin Ashley, Debbie Doebereiner
A twisted romantic triangle between three workers at a plastic doll factory leads to a shocking crime that explodes the sleepy calm of a small Ohio to... Read more
By Brakhage: An Anthology (2003)
Director: Stan Brakhage
Artist and filmmaker Stan Brakhage has made nearly 400 films over the past 50 years, never mainstream and always fascinating. Brakhage turns his camer... Read more
Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)
7.8/10
Director: Jacques Rivette
Starring: Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier
An accomplished dreamlike mood piece with reverberations of 'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Orpheus' as two girls change the outcome of a drama played dail... Read more
Chacun Son Cinema ( To Each His Own Cinema ) (2007)
6.8/10
Director: Theo Angelopoulos, Olivier Assayas, Bille August, Jane Campion, Youssef Chahine, Chen Kaige, Michael Cimino, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, David Cronenberg, Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne, Manoel De Oliveira, Atom Egoyan, Amos Gitai, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Aki Kaurismaki, Abbas Kiarostami, Takeshi Kitano, Andrei Konchalovsky, Claude Lelouch, Ken Loach, David Lynch, Nanni Moretti, Roman Polanski, Raoul Ruiz, Walter Salles, Elia Suleiman, Tsai Ming-Liang, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier, Wim Wenders, Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Yimou
Starring: Georges Babluani, Josh Brolin, Farini Cheung, David Cronenberg, Emilie Dequenne,...
33 renowned directors from around the world (many of them Palme d'Or winners) contributed to this anthology of short films to commemmorate the 60th an... Read more