Synopsis
“
Joseph Cornell’s filmic masterpiece is a re-edited collage of
East Borneo (1931) which starred Rose Hobart. The montage and introduction of a few fragments from a scientific documentary reverses the system of cause and effect, isolates Rose Hobart’s expressions and gestures and converts the conventional Hollywood jungle drama into a surrealistic encounter of a beautiful, but nervous heroine with a quixotic and malevolent natural environment. The film is projected at silent speed, which prolongs and emphasizes the gestures, and accompanied by a musical tape track supplied by the artist. The film was originally projected through a deep blue glass which gave the effect of a tint. When Anthology Film Archives proposed making a colour master Cornell said he preferred a purple tint.” – Anthology Film Archives
