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'.
Hail Mary (1985)
6.7/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Myriem Roussel, Thierry Rode, Philippe Lacoste
A reverent modern retelling of the Incarnation and Birth of Christ. The setting is 1980s France where Mary works at her father's gas station. Her sele... Read more
The Power of Emotion (1983)
7.2/10
Director: Alexander Kluge
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
Koyaanisqatsi ( Blu-ray ) (1982)
8.3/10
Director: Godfrey Reggio
The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance", an apt summation of this mesmerizing collection of wonders both natural and man-made. S... Read more
Peter Greenaway Collection: The Draughtsman's Contract / A Zed & Two Noughts / Peter Greenaway - A Documentary (1982)
Director: Peter Greenaway
Starring: Andrea Ferreol, Anne Louise Lambert, Anthony Higgins, Brian Deacon, Eric Deacon,...
Peter Greenaway has crafted a string of visually extravagant films that are experimental, erudite, and have won him an ardent cult audience. This excl... Read more
Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982)
8/10
Director: Alan Parker
Starring: Christine Hargreaves, Bob Hoskins, Bob Geldof
Bob Geldof stars as Pink, the burned-out rock star slowly going out of control. Conceived and written by Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, with animation by... Read more
Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
8.3/10
Director: Godfrey Reggio
The title is a Hopi Indian word meaning "life out of balance", an apt summation of this mesmerizing collection of wonders both natural and man-made. S... Read more
Downtown 81 (1981)
7.2/10
Director: Edo Bertoglio
Starring: Deborah Harry, John Lurie, Vincent Gallo, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Kid Creole
AKA 'New York Beat Movie'. This film was two decades in the making, only recently released for all to see 'New York...the way it was...when it was...'... Read more
Possession (1981)
7.4/10
Director: Andrzej Zulawski
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent
In this dramatic story of blackmail and human retributions, a beautiful but sadistic young wife gives birth to a nightmare...a love of her own creatio... Read more
Possession (Blu-ray) (1981)
7.4/10
Director: Andrzej Zulawski
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent
In this dramatic story of blackmail and human retributions, a beautiful but sadistic young wife gives birth to a nightmare...a love of her own creatio... Read more
The Tempest (1979)
6.6/10
Director: Derek Jarman
Starring: Heathcote Williams, Karl Johnson, Toyah Wilcox
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