On any list of classic 16mm films that made AV collections in the '70s and '80s the place to go for cool shorts, Powers of 10 (1977), by husband and wife team Charles and Ray Eames, would have to rank pretty high. Powers of 10 begins with a shot of a sleeping man in a Chicago park and progressively zooms out by one power of 10 every 10 seconds (up to 1024, or 100 million light years away). After reaching the limit in one direction, the camera reverse zooms back to the sleeping man, enters his hand, and progresses through tissue and cell until it reaches the molecular level (1016). Not only was the film an impressive work in its own right, Powers of 10 brilliantly used visual imagery to illustrate relationships in the abstract world of numbers. In addition to Powers of 10, the DVD also features the 1968 "rough sketch" version of Powers of 10, as well as 901: After 45 Years of Working (1989), a moving, almost completely visual, half-hour essay that takes viewers around the Eames studios at 901 Washington Boulevard in Venice, CA, just prior to the closing of the legendary design team's offices after Ray Eames death. To call the Eames's label obsessive pack rats would be a gross understatement: while the Library of Congress is surely benefiting from the donated 750,000 slides and stills from the Eames collection, one can only wonder where the refrigerator items labeled "Easter eggs, 1974" ended up. Recommended. Also available at the same price: The Films of Charles & Ray Eames, Vols. 2, 3 & 4. Aud: J, H, C, P. (R. Pitman)
The Films of Charles & Ray Eames, Vol. 1
(2000) 46 min. DVD: $24.95. Image Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). Color cover. Vol. 15, Issue 6
The Films of Charles & Ray Eames, Vol. 1
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