Film as Film: The Collected Writings of Gregory J. Markopoulos

Synopsis

Featuring ninety out-of-print or previously unavailable articles by the Greek-American filmmaker who, as a contemporary of Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage and Andy Warhol, was at the forefront of a movement that established a truly independent form of cinema. Beginning with his early writings on the American avant-garde and auteurs such as Dreyer, Bresson and Mizoguchi, it also features numerous essays on Markopoulos’ own practice, and on films by Robert Beavers, that were circulated only in journals, self-published editions or programme notes. The texts become increasingly metaphysical and poetic as the filmmaker pursued his ideal of Temenos, an archive and screening space to be located at a remote site in the Peloponnese where his epic final work could be viewed in harmony with the Greek landscape. Gregory J. Markopoulos (1928-1992) is a unique figure in film history, whose life’s work stands in testament to his strength of vision and commitment to the medium.

"This collection of writings by a key figure of the New American Cinema complements, illuminates and extends an incomparable body of work. Equal parts theory, criticism and mythical prose, the texts reflect the charisma and originality of its author – and his enduring romanticism. Brandished by the same absolutes and passion that fuel his films, Film as Film is a seminal addition to film scholarship and film history." – Andréa Picard