Ralph Steiner
1899 (125 лет)Panther Woman of the Needle Trades, or The Lovely Life of Little Lisa
Ralph Steiner
Morris Carnovsky, Elizabeth Hawes
The photographer Ralph Steiner, who had been making abstract avant-garde films in the late 1920s, contributed his own parody of American economic life with PANTHER WOMAN OF THE NEEDLE TRADES, OR THE LOVELY LIFE OF LITTLE LISA (1931). The film, which opens with Jehovah (Morris Carnovsky) creating the world out of a test tube, proceeds to present a short history of the universe before the birth of Elizabeth Hawes (1903), the heroine of the film’s title. It then follows her career from childhood seamstress to Parisian designer of haute couture via a college education at Vassar. Reminiscent of Robert Florey’s THE LIFE AND DEATH OF 9413—A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA (1928) in terms of its art direction and elliptical narrative style, PANTHER WOMAN is a parody of the all-American success story, a young woman’s fantasy of a glamorous career in an age of diminishing possibilities. (via: http://encyclopedia.jrank.org/articles/pages/2902/Avant-Garde-Film.html)
Panther Woman of the Needle Trades, or The Lovely Life of Little Lisa
H₂O
Ralph Steiner
H₂O (1929) is a short silent film by photographer Ralph Steiner. The film serves as a cinematic tone poem, showcasing the dynamic nature of water through its various forms. Steiner's direction captures the mesmerizing patterns of water's movement, nuanced shading, and intricate textures.
H₂O
Mechanical Principles
Ralph Steiner
Close up we see pistons move up and down or side to side. Pendulums sway, the small parts of machinery move. Gears drive larger wheels. Gears within gears spin. Shafts turn some mechanism that is out of sight. Screws revolve and move other gears; a bit rotates. More subtle mechanisms move other mechanical parts for unknown purposes. Weights rise and fall. The movements, underscored by sound, are rhythmic. Circles, squares, rods, and teeth are in constant and sometimes asymmetrical motion. These human-made mechanical bits seem benign and reassuring.
Mechanical Principles
Pie in the Sky
Ralph Steiner
Russell Collins, Elia Kazan
At a skid row mission, a cleric opines as men wait to eat. After his sermon, he brings out a pie and cuts it into small slices. The two men at the end of the line get none. They leave the mission and head for a garbage dump where junk becomes props for their play. A dress form becomes Mae West; a rusted car gives them a wild ride. Then, one dresses as a priest and promises pie in the sky. By the end, they sport metal halos.
Pie in the Sky
Surf and Seaweed
Ralph Steiner
Shoreline images: first small breakers and the swirls they leave, then water running up the shore on a sandy beech, then water hitting pebbles and rocks. The second half is a close look at a sluggish eddy of seaweed, moving to and fro on the surface, like sodden twigs. The ocean's tide creates patterns of small surges and circles. The music of the soundtrack is more dramatic than the more gentle movements of the seaweed. Final closeups show the bulbs and leaves of the plants, then the tide takes over.
Surf and Seaweed
Hands
Willard Van Dyke, Ralph Steiner
A commercial for the Works Progress Administration. We see hands close up: working, playing, praying, whittling, and strumming. Hands use saws and hammers, lift stones, turn wheels, then write, type, apply a bandage, play a violin, use a compass, and hold a U.S. Treasury note. Hands put a shoe on a customer, shake a thermometer, and count out bills and coins into other waiting hands. A hand places an engagement ring on a finger, buys a movie ticket, and reels in a fishing line. There are multiple images repeating what we've seen. A chicken is basted; other chickens get grain. It's a national celebration.
Hands
The World Today: The Black Legion - Shadow of Fascism Over America
Ralph Steiner
“Unhappy with the limited structure of league newsreels, Nykino, a splinter filmmaking collective, produced a MARCH OF TIME-type series under the banner THE WORLD TODAY. Only two episodes were released, the first premiering with Strand’s THE WAVE (1936). This one, like NATIVE LAND, addresses fascism in America.” - Bruce Posner” (via Light Cone). Not to be confused with the similarly titled Black Legion from 1937, directed by Archie Mayo.
The World Today: The Black Legion - Shadow of Fascism Over America
