A Hollis Frampton Odyssey

Hollis Frampton (1936–1984) was one of the most notable of American avant-garde filmmakers. This compilation features 24 films (including portions of his major composite projects, Hapax Legomena and the unfinished Magellan cycle) spanning Frampton's career, beginning with early silent shorts from 1966 and ending with The Death of Magellan (1979). Stylistically, the entries—which include his best-known film, the hour-long Zorns Lemma (1970)—vary from static exercises such as Lemon (1969), a single seven-minute shot of light and shadow playing across the titular fruit, to the hyperkinetic montages that make up most of his '70s productions, including those from Magellan (envisioned as a 36-hour compendium to be viewed over the course of 371 days!). Frampton's highly experimental efforts—exploring what he called the “metahistory” of cinema—will not be for all tastes, but he was an influential figure in American film, and this handsome set provides a representative sampling of his work. Extras include nine brief audio comments by Frampton on specific titles, portions of a 1978 interview, a 1968 piece of performance art by Frampton (called a lecture on cinema), a gallery of his artwork, and a booklet in which some of Frampton's ardent admirers discourse on his method. Recommended. (F. Swietek)