April 19, 2008

William Klein @ 80.

William Klein Films "One of the most pleasurable things about embarking on each new Eclipse series is the excitement of delving into a chapter of film history that's been cobwebbed by years of neglect," blogs Michael Koresky for Criterion. One "true revelation came when encountering the films in series nine, The Delirious Fictions of William Klein.... Hopefully this Eclipse release, coming in May, will get the ball rolling on recouping the once lambasted Mr Freedom as a valuable piece of 60s radical cinema; it was far too prescient to ever be appreciated in its time, so now will have to do."

"With their kaleidoscopic imagery, myriad filterings of perception and multi-tiered storytelling, [Klein's films] are more meta-fiction than fiction, and their delirium is that of a world driven mad by its own media, observed by a rational artist who views its psychosis, amused and appalled," writes Tim Lucas in Sight & Sound.

Ray Pride has photos.

As part of the Pop Goes the Revolution: French Cinema and May 68 season at London's BFI Southbank, Klein's Where Are You, Polly Maggoo? screens April 26 and 29, Mr Freedom on April 28 and 29.

Grand soirs et petits matins screens on May 9 at Documenta Madrid 08 (May 2 through 11).

Looking Through the Lens: Photography 1900 - 1960, on view at the Baltimore Museum of Art through June 8, features Klein's work, among that of many others.

Online listening tip. David D'Arcy interviewed Klein in 2003.

See also: designboom, the IMDb and Masters of Photography.



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Posted by dwhudson at April 19, 2008 6:38 AM

Comments

Many happy returns to the amazing M. Klein. While recently revisiting Chris Marker's LA JETEE as background for my review of the Icarus Films Marker DVDs, I noticed the presence of a Bill Klein in the cast list. Possibly one and the same? If so, any idea who he plays?

Posted by: Tim Lucas at April 19, 2008 11:16 AM

Great catch, Tim. Here's what I've found in an entry posted by one Mr Whiskets:

http://5b4.blogspot.com/2007/07/le-jetee-by-chris-marker.html

"Interesting fact about La Jetee is that William Klein (credited as Bill Klein) and his wife Janine appear in the film as beings from the future. William Klein also narrates the story. What is additionally interesting is that Marker is credited as the only photographer for La Jetee, but there are a few shots in the film that seem remarkably in the style of William Klein. Notably when the two main characters are walking in a park and children run through the scene. This isn’t to say that Klein actually shot those few photos but rather to point out that Marker, as a photographer, had remarkable instincts towards capturing subjects on the fly."

Posted by: David Hudson at April 19, 2008 11:25 AM

Wow, interesting! I would surmise from the comment about the narration that Klein read the text for the English version, as that voice is different, somehow less professional, to that in the French one. In some ways, the Beat-like cadence and East coast character of that voice makes the English version even richer in alienation than the original.

Posted by: Tim Lucas at April 19, 2008 5:11 PM

WHEN WILL WE SEE THE RELEASE OF THE RARE DOCUMENTARY
WILLIAM KLEIN SHOT IN ALGIERS WITH WRITER/PHILOSOPHER ELDRIDDGE CLEAVER WHO WAS AT THE TIME EXILED IN ALGIERS.

ELDRIDGE CLEAVER: BLACK PANTHER (1970)

Posted by: LANDO at April 28, 2008 12:10 AM