Bruce
Baillie
film artist
- About the
Artist
- An Interview
- with Bruce!
- Needs editing, but
there it is!
- The Films of
- Bruce Baillie
DVD Up
Date
-
- Articles Publications
- Sound Files Chapt XI
- Memoires
of an Angel
- Dr.
Bish Remedies Show
Film artist Bruce
Baillie is currently
working on what he has declared as his final, major
creative project.
This site is dedicated to aiding in the
world-wide fund raising campaign to help support Bruce
and his enduring contribution to the world of art.
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- From the Philippines, haircut in the backyard '96,
- a frame from Part III "Memoires of an Angel".
- Backyard wind and clouds, water buffalo and the
laundry:
- "of loving & laundry, not confusing
worlds,
- one random, the other
- Infinite (which is which?)
- Pursued by -
- Love I reveal my
- unmentionables to the winds"
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DVD Up Date!
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- Volume I at San Francisco lab, now awaiting first
master run-through. It will probably require two
master runs; ought to be available soon.
-
- Vol I = Tung, Mass, Valentin, Castro,
AllMyLife.
-
- Vol II = Parsifal and Quixote.
-
- Vol III = Quick Billy (almost ready).
-
- Vol IV = other films + videos.
-
- Vol V = final film, in progress:
"Les Memoires d/un Ange".
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- The Dr. Bish Remedies Show!
- Part I
- Part
II
- Part
III
- Part
IV
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The Artist
Film artist Bruce
Baillie has committed his
whole life to creating a more peaceful world through his
art. One of the founders of the San Francisco Avant Garde
film movement, his works are in the Library of Congress
and considered national treasures.
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- A
Word from Bruce:
-
- I am undertaking in my final
decade the task of putting as much of my work as
possible into a series of DVD albums.
- Being an artist in a cultural
Stone Age, I have no income. I am tax
deductable, needing at this phase $4K
for DV equipment (as to food for family, we have
some help from the local food bank).
-
- Volume I
limited release now available via Canyon Cinema,
Inc. in San Francisco!
-
- Donors of $100 and above tax
deductable contributions will be listed on the
DVD disc of Volume II
as 'Producer.'
-
- All the best,
- Bruce Baillie
-
You can help support
Bruce's efforts!
- All contributions are tax
deductible through Anthology Film Archives.
-
Administrative
Director and Exhibitions Coordinator
- 32 2nd Avenue
- New York, NY 10003
- USA
- Telephone: (212) 505-5181
- Fax: (212) 477-2714
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- There are a few copies of DVD two-disc Volume I*
available through Canyon Cinema, SF at a reduced
price, good for viewing on monitors
up to 27". I am working on a brand
new, second DV master at this time for Volume I,
straight from 16MM internegatives to lab DV
masters and DVD copies, with a number of
interesting archival inserts, some changes to
format, improved graphics, etc. Ought to
be available via Canyon by June.
-
- Seeking tax deductable contributions to this, my
final project - some 5 to 7 two-disc DVD Volumes,
incl. the final film, 'Memoires of an Angel'.
- *Vol.I, Disc 1, Five Films: Tung,
Mass, Valentin de las Sierras, Castro
Street, and All My Life.
Disc 2, "Study Reel", by Sami Van
Ingen,
Finland. AD 2002 digital video report from
the Baillie residence, Camano Island.
-
- Best regards to all out there in your lives and
with your labors!
- Bruce Baillie
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- Sound files from Bruce!
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- Bruce's presentation of Will Hindle's
films
- at Canyon Cinema, November 2005:
- Part
One
- Part
Two
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- Chapter
XI
- ...a collection of writings, photographs and
other creative concoctions.
correspondence from "Chapt XI"....
Tue, 08 Aug 2006
Dear Shirley McLaine,
who has played across _________ Lemon,
what's his name? too often: Jack it is ... Jack it would be
interesting to see him do something outside his clever archetype.
Sort of innocence by fire if necessary, as in
deprivational torture, to reach the inner, final person.
At which time the filming would begin - interesting, as I say, to
see him do a role once bereft of all masquerade, no?
Really boring, ultimately, the surround of entertaining
excellence. Inexcellence * - apriori revelation thru
human simplicity ("poverty") perhaps the key to the art
of moving imagery in narrative. Oh well, who wants to
know? Maybe I'll forward this to my website lady.
*See, "Alternatives
to Success and Failure in the Field" -
Dr B.
Part III,
Memoires of an Angel (in progress):
"The uniform of peace (Life!)
is humility."
- August 16, '06
- An Interview with
Bruce Baillie
-
- From: "carlos.adriano"
- To: "Bruce Baillie"
- Subject: interview
- Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 22:04:09
-
- Dear Bruce Baillie,
- Do you remember you've accepted my
proposal for an interview by email? Here
go the questions. Thanks a lot
- for giving me the honor of this
conversation.
-
- 1- You are working on the transferring of
all your 16mm films to DVD. The plan is
to release 5 or 7 volumes with
- a two-disc (double set) DVD at each
volume and it includes your final film,
'Memoirs of an Angel'.
- a) How many films will be included? Any
extra material (as interviews)?
- b) What is the feeling of having all your
work available at once and also for a
young generation?
- c) Do you have any sense (or temptation)
of evaluation your work as a whole with
this opportunity?
-
- 2- You were one of the pioneers in U.S.
to show and distribute independent films
and avantgarde work, as a
- founder of Canyon film distributor.
- a) How do you see the slotse for
experimental films today?
- b) How do you think avantgarde work is
considered inside film (mainstream)
culture?
-
- 3- Do you see any future in the
relationship between cinema and internet?
-
- 4- What do you think of Hollywood today?
-
- 5- Your generation (not only filmmakers,
but also poets, painters and musicians)
had a project for a better society.
- a) What is your opinion of current
America under Bush administration?
- b) How is the cultural "ambience"
in U.S. today?
-
- 6- Are you working in any new film or a
new work? (If so, what is that?)
-
- 7- What can you answer to the question:
why do you make films? What has been your
purpose as a film artist?
-
- Warmest regards,
- c.a.
- From Bruce Baillie.
- Cc/to: My website, www.brucebaillie.net,
and for the Brazilian magazine, TROPICO.
-
- Dear Carlos,
-
- Sorry for delay, I have had an eight
month series of flu and colds ... our
son, Keith, just finishing his last day
in first grade. Language here may be
abbreviated to conserve energy and
relative mental clarity. Much appreciate
hearing from you.
-
- 1. Just beginning my second year with
Volume I. Disc 1: Tung, Mass, Valentin de
las Sierras, Castro Street, All My Life.
Disc 2: Study Reel, by Sami Van Ingen,
Finland, 2002. It is an expensive and
complicated procedure digitally
remastering and locating the best
original film materials, doing my own
graphics, etc. As I write, the new lab DV
masters are nearly all assembled for
making the second DV master for Vol.I,
which will include inserts from Stan
Brakhage and myself speaking about
certain of the films, an archival still
of myself editing Quick Billy in Ft
Bragg, CA, '73 by (deceased) Kenji
Kanesaka, and an excerpt of Jonas Mekas
presenting the '05 Lifetime Achievment
Award in NY for my work in cinema. Copies
will be DVD. The one-hour piece by Sami
Van Ingen is filled with commentary on
various of the films along with the one-hour
video of myself and family.
-
- The graphics allow for some inclusion
from my archives - current and historic
photographs, notes from the ongoing,
"Chapt XI", etc. Volume II,
Disc 1: Quixote and To Parsifal. Disc 2:
CD (Radio), Dr Bish Remedies #XIV. Volume
III, Dis 1: Quick Billy. Disc 2: The
Rolls (Quick Billy). Volume IV: Intro
Holy Scrolls. Here I Am (just released
from new interneg and a new DV master).
The P-39 Pilot (video). Intro Roslyn
Romance. Excerpts from Commute (video),
Day Ashore (unfinished film), On Sundays
(first film), some smaller video pieces
... The Return of The Cardinal, etc.
Volume V: Les Memoires d'un Ange (Memoires
of an Angel) video in three parts. Part
I, SALUTE, already finished and in
limited release. There may be others to
follow, the 11-hour Holy Scrolls, etc.,
but I should live so long, as they say in
Brooklyn (God Bless Charles Levine).
-
- 2. Yes, Canyon Cinema began in my
backyard, 1961, to correct a few of the
histories. The distribution aspect came
along a bit later. We have quite an
extensive catalog at Canyon, still
flourishing in its 44th year. As to
Culture, in the overview, so to speak,
America has always been a vital and most
interesting multicultural society - aside
from nature, one of my own inspirations
for living and working in this country.
However, Culture in a more specific
context remains I think a question mark.
A huge question. The culture of business
as usual, the automobile, profit and
loss, real estate, the football score,
spiritually vacant technological
phenomena. Art and artist lost along with
the disenfranchised poor.
-
- Forgotten, Le Sange du Poet (sp?), the
mystery of found imagery which speaks for
an entire people, a Culture. What remains
of a people: the unique design on a
pottery shard, an hieroglyph, a masque,
the touch - the blood of the Poet, the
sound of Eternity, a message in code from
"somewhere utterly else" (to
quote Brakhage in his introduction to my
Castro Street). The art of the moving
image - film, cinema, video, television,
etc - is THE singular and most
universally effective medium ever devised
by mankind with its potential for
explaining or essentially identifying us
personally and collectively. Worldwide,
it is the once localized city state
central frieze, the centralized,
continuous Theatre of our times, alive
and awake with the vital information of
WHO AM I, WHO ARE WE. Rather than this
absurd actuality, "constant
misinformation" ( i.e.,commercialized,
popluar media). Is it really "experimental"
to create - recreate simply truth and
beauty?
-
- Answering your question re the avantgarde
- art and artist, or simply, being human,
in mainstream society nonculture ...
there is generally no information
available on the subject .... I assure
you of the odd veracity of this
statement, living as we do in a common
neighborhood, working in various fields
as volunteer here, there, anywhere.
"All of it lost", my friend
used to say, it is forgotten. That is
perhaps why I have taken on this final
task.
-
- 3. I am too tired at the moment to
respond to this once interesting topic,
one which I believe I will mostly leave
to the young. There is a certain
particular value one recalls in "going
to the movies": the old cinema, the
heavy maroon mohair seats, the curtains,
the golden chain ropes, the popcorn, the
darkness and anticipation, and so on.
Even today, in reviewing film prints by
projection re the DVD project, and
viewing video by electronic monitor,
there is an essential difference.
Unfortunately, re films and film labs,
nearly all the important lovely film
stocks are no longer in production,
having succumbed to the contemporaneous
preference for convenience over beauty.
There WAS something about going to the
movies, like potluck dinners with a
random crowd of humanity.
-
- 4. Hollywood. Of course there is no such
entity (try a visit to Hollywood and
Vine, a ghetto of Taiwanese trinketry,
smog and littered avenues ... missing
those charming, innumerable imitators of
Charles Bronson, Lana Turner, Tyrone
Power, and so on, working at Castle
Burgers or the Hollywood YMCA), however
THE REAL MOVIES are still appearing from
somewhere, with perennial indifference to
all but the homicidal automobiles, the
childish scripts from UCLA, etc. And,
amongst the constant trash there are
those more than wonderful, amazing
feature films of genius.
-
- I will have to write further at another
time.\line Since I will have this posted
to my web, both questions and response, I
would like to take the opportunity to
greet so many old friends and those
readers who may become new friends. Let
us stay in touch, in part via these
several filmmaker websites, as we once
did when we were constantly "on tour",
on the road, showing our work, enjoying
dinners and good conversation together.
And ... do not be put off by SUCCESS. The
crowd pleasers, the festival winners, the
money makers. (I hope one day to publish
The Doctor's manual, "Alternatives
to Success"). I am this week, for
example, waiting for the right moment for
backlight behind the swaying,
extraordinarily tall green grasses we
have here this early summer - just that,
and the right piece of music. Lets hear
from you: What was for supper last night?
The dream? Your work.
-
- - Bruce Baillie
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- Photo from the collection of Jodi.
- Used with permision from the good folks at
The
Films of Bruce Baillie
- 16mm Films available through
- Canyon Cinema:
-
- On Sundays (1960-61,
26 min.)
-
- David Lynn's
Sculpture (1961, 3 min.,
- unfinished)
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- Mr. Hayashi
(1961, 3 min.)
-
- The Gymnasts
(1961, 8 min.)
-
- Friend Fleeing
(1962, 3 min., unfinished)
-
- Everyman
(1962, 6 min.)
-
- News #3
(1962, 3 min.)
-
- Have You Thought of
Talking to the
- Director? (1962, 15 min.)
-
- Here I Am
(1962, 10 min.)
-
- A Hurrah for
Soldiers (1962-63, 4 min.)
-
- To Parsifal
(1963, 16 min.)
-
- Mass for the Dakota
Sioux (1964, 20 min.)
-
- The Brookfield
Recreation Center (1964,
- 5 min.)
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- Quixote
(1964-65, 45 min., revised 1967)
-
- Yellow Horse
(1965, 8 min.)
-
- Tung
(1966, 6 min.)
-
- Castro Street
(1966, 10 min.)
-
- All My Life
(1966, 3 min.)
-
- Still Life
(1966, 2 min.)
-
- Termination
(1966, 6 min.)
-
- Port Chicago Vigil
(1966, 9 min.)
-
- Show Leader
(1966, 1 min.)
-
- Valentin De Las
Sierras (1967, 10 min.)
-
- Quick Billy
(1970, 70 min.)
-
- Roslyn Romance (Is
It Really True?):
- Intro. I & II (1978)
-
- The Holy Scrolls*.
16MM Archives -
- hitherto unseen films, spanning 35 years. Semi-edited,
silent, spliced, prepared for a few special
showings. Three years' work assembling five
shows, 12 hours total. Completed 2-98. Includes
program notes, dates, etc., and 10-minute
introductory video with author commenting on
films, video inserts from more recent life,
family, etc. The complete Roslyn
Romance, never
released, as well as Day Ashore
with Paul Tulley, 60's Berkeley/San Francisco. The
Cardinal's Visit (80's), etc.
Suggested live music accompaniment. * (So-named
by Paul Arthur).
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Film in the Cities and Walker Art
Center, monograph series: Filmmakers Filming, 1980.
Sheldon Renan's An
Introduction to the American Underground Film, 1967.
"Dr. Bish remedies" (Question
and answer column, pseudonym); Bard Observer,
1975-77, Bard College, NY; The Downtown Review,
Norwich, VT, 1983.
Ph.D. Thesis by Scott Nygren,
SUNY, Buffalo, NY: Quick Billy, 1982.
Brigid Rose and Dr.
Bish: A Celtic Journey, M.F.A. Thesis by Kathleen
Connor, University of B.C., Canada, April 1988.
A Critical Cinema,
Vol. 2, Scott MacDonald, UC Press, Berkeley, 1992.
Ph.D. Thesis by Kathleen
Connor, June 1994, Ohio University, Quick Billy
and W.B. Yeats', The Wandering of Oisin.
"Media & The City",
University of New Mexico, Alberqueque, November 1996 (video
record available via Media Arts Department).
Articles & Essays by Bruce
Baillie: Performing Arts Journal , 50/51,
May/September 1995, Vol. XVII, pp. 35-39, The Johns Hopkins
University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Baillie. Life, Work (a
scrapbook), by Timoleon Wilkins, published by SF
Cinematheque, April 1995.
"The Work of Bruce Baillie",
The New American Cinema by Gregory Battcock (ed.), New York: E.P.
Dutton, 1967, pp. 226-233.
"San Francisco's Hipster
Cinema" by Thomas Kent Alexander. Film Culture, No. 44,
Spring, 1967, p. 70.
"An Interview with Bruce
Baillie" by Richard Whithall, Film Culture, No. 47, Summer
1969, p. 19.
"Bruce Baillie: An
Interview" by Richard Corliss, Film Comment, Vol. 7, No. 1,
Spring 1971, pp. 24-32.
"Movie Journal" by
Jonas Mekas, New York: Macmillan, 1972, pp. 415-418.
"Bruce Baillie and the
Lyrical Film" by P. Adams Sitney, New Forms in Film:
Montreux, August 3/24, 1974, Exhibition catalogue edited by
Annette Michelson, Montreux: Corbax, 33-37.
"Visionary Film" by P.
Adams Sitney, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974, 1979 (A
Hurrah for Soldiers; All My Life;
Castro Street; Have You Thought of
Talking to The Director; Mass; Mr.
Hayashi; Quick Billy; Quixote;
Still Life; To Parsifal;
Tung; Valentin de las Sierras).
"Castro Street: The
Sensibility of Style" by Lucy Fischer, Film Quarterly, Vol.
29, No. 3, Spring 1976, pp. 15-16.
"Animal Cinema: The Spirit
of Roslyn" by Ken Kelman, Film Culture 67-68-69, 1979.
"'Quixote'
And Its Contexts" by Paul Arthur, Film Culture 67-68-69,
1979.
"Baillie's Use of Light: A
Reading Of His Notebooks" by Anthony Bannon, Film Culture 67-68-69,
1979.
"Filmmaker's Filming:
Bruce Baillie" by Ernest Callenbach, Booklet in a series
published by Film In The Cities (St. Paul, MN) and Walker Art
Centre (Minneapolis, MN), 1979.
"Bruce Baillie's Roslyn
Romance (Is It Really True?)" by Sue Anne Estevez, Millenium
Film Journal, Nos. 4/5, New York, 1979.
Castro Street '66-67 notebooks,
Anthology Film Archives library, NYC.
Commute (video,
April 1995), Article by Paul Arthur, Millennium Film
Journal, #29, Fall 1996, pp. 31-33, Photo by Fr. James
Geogoghan.
Pacific Film Archive, US
Berkely, Continuing Bruce Baillie "file": Articles,
audio & video tapes about or by the filmmaker.
The P-38 Pilot
(video, 1990), Articles, critique, notes, available from the
author.
Memoires of an Angel,
Novel-journal-autobiography in progress since 1988. To appear in
serial form, author's website. Eventually with PFA, UC Berkely
"file". 1998, in process of compiling, editing. To
include numerous archival photos, which the
author also plans to release on Internet.
"Letters Written to a Friend While
Shooting 'Romance', Out Of Roslyn, Dry Wheat, August 1973"
by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter to Jonas Mekas"
by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Trailer Notebook '78"
by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter To Sally Dixon,
May 4, 1978, "Roslyn Romance" - For Pittsburgh Footage"
by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter to Sylvia
Sutherland, Watertown, MN" by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture,
No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Found Poem (Found by
Bruce Baillie)" by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69,
1979.
"More From Trailer
Notebook" by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter, August 18, 1978"
by Bruce Baillie, Film Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter to Bill Wees,
McGill University, January 4, 1978" by Bruce Baillie, Film
Culture, No. 67-68-69, 1979.
"Letter" by Bruce
Baillie, Independent Eye Vol. 10, No. 2, Summer 1989.
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Last revised: January 01, 2008
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