Dusan Makavejev

When the Eclipse Series #18 was announced, I just ignored it because I had never heard of it. I find this rather silly and would really like to know who is he, and which of his films are the best, and pretty much just start a discussion that I don’t plan on participating in, so I can read and learn about him.

Grey Daisies, You seemed to be very excited over it, and that got me excited and curious.

http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/33/makavejev.html

I’m no expert but this article is somewhat informative.

Did you watch any of the Kaurismaki set? If you enjoyed that then Makavejev’s early films may be for you.

I’m excited because I can finally watch Makavejev’s Innocence Unprotected with subtitles! I’m no expert on Dušan Makavejev but I quite liked both Sweet Movie (1974) and WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971). And I’m curious about Man Is Not a Bird and The Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator which I have not seen yet either.

I tried to watch WR but frankly was baffled. I understand that its historical relevance, as a film of that type, makes its more important than first glance would glean. David Thomson speaks intelligently about him in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film, which I basically have not stopped reading since I bought it, months ago.

CHA-CHINGG!! beautiful! this is unbelievable news. i thought criterion would feel they did enough justice to makavejev off “wr” and “sweet movie”, to where they wouldnt feel they needed to release anything else. thank god i was wrong. this is an extremely important release from a still-undervalued filmmaker. plus, this basically means that criterion has released the important majority of his ouevre. these are his first three features, plus the aforementioned next two. he only directed a couple of other films in the 80s and 90s, then nothing more.

“man is not a bird” is very interesting. truth be told, i still havent studied it enough. but i look forward to now in a print that will be beautiful. enjoy it. you’ll witness the appearance of one of the earliest important films of the “yugoslav black wave” (a movement all the films in this eclipse release belong to). assistant director kokan rakonjac went on to become an important black wave filmmaker in his own right. upon his early, untimely death, makavejev called him a “master of montage”. humble praise, coming from one himself.

“love affair” will shock and awe you. you’ll witness the birth of “serbian cutting”, one of the more unique expressive cinematic devices in world cinema (and a concept first theorized by branko vucicevic). its also an extremely beautiful, experimental, humanist film. if im not mistaken, the first instance of full nudity in a yugoslav feature. the only thing im upset about is the cover artwork for this dvd. they didnt use the iconic image of a naked eva ras lying flat on a bed with a black cat perched covering up the “sensitive information” on her back side. actually, it might be the single most iconic image in the history of yugoslav cinema. two important assistant directors. branko vucicevic, a brilliant film theorist/screenwriter who was one of makavejev’s most important early collaborators, and who contributed a lot of other work to the black wave. and zelimir zilnik, who would go on to direct what may be the most important, representative, and possibly best film of the black wave, “early works” (co-written by vucicevic; golden bear winner at berlin in ’69).

“innocence unprotected” sees mak continuing with his experiments in “serbian cutting”. this also has to be in the running for one of the most interesting documentaries ever made, or better yet, possibly the most interesting “remake” ever made. also a great work of film history (blending historiography with cinematography). some of the stunts in the film are amazing, and makavejev’s overwhelming humorous side is on full display in this entertaining film. and once again, we have the brilliant vucicevic riding shotgun (look for his cameos, along with makavejev’s, in the self-reflexive passages of the film).

and that being said, with the new critical attention thats soon to be awakened because of this release, this should finally grant entry into the international filmmakers hall of fame for makavejev. another great, exciting release of extremely rare but also extremely important films. long live criterion!

I just watched WR a few days ago; it was very stirring, as were the interviews with Makavejev. He’s a very liberated thinker, a kind of anarchist, I’d say, and he spoke directly about what I’ve been thinking about in terms of social conditioning (on the recent Salo thread).

At the same time, it depressed me a little. Reich had a depressing life. I used to read him, and I’m in general sympathy with a lot of his views. I would say he was at least ten years too early — the world caught up to him only after he died. Also, he was probably not the best “salesman” of his ideas. Janov’s primal scream therapy and also E.S.T., both of which took off in the Me-Decade of the 70s, both ripped off Reich a lot. “Dumbed down” Reich, so to speak.

What I liked about WR was the totally new combination of three different kinds of film — genuine documentary (the Reich stuff, which is slightly predictive of Errol Morris); mockumentary (the Tuli Kupferberg-Jackie Curtis stuff); and fictional narrative (Milena and her Russian figure skater). Well, it all makes sense in the editing — when Milena’s lover hits her for touching his penis and she looks up at him and suddenly he’s Stalin (or, actually, a hammy actor playing Stalin in a Triumph of the Will-style propaganda film), you see why WR won the Luis Bunuel Award at Cannes in 1971. Terrific satire — also the cutting from Stalin/Communist Party rallies to footage of mental patients (some of which is quite disturbing).

It reveals something about anarchy in films, though, which I want to talk about if I ever revisit the thread I started on anarchic films, and which also speaks to your comments, Drew, about The Dreamers being ultimately about people who cop out. Or words to that effect. There are very few films (even the most anarchic, of which WR is surely one) that don’t also acknowledge the inevitable despair of anarchy — the inevitable failure of it. It’s beautiful and romantic because it’s impractical and unpracticable; and “the moral” often creeps in that one can’t expect to go too far without paying for it somehow. I think it’s because these opppositions — anarchy and puritanism, mainly — are not artificial external constructs but deep-seated human instincts that exist side by side in each of us. We may have way more of one than the other, but we’ve got the other one somewhere, and it always comes out sooner or later.

These comments may not make as much sense if you haven’t seen WR. I’d love to talk more about it, and Wilhelm Reich.

I had no clue this was the same guy who did Sweet Movie, and WR. I have not seen either but I have heard a lot about them. Are they worth buying?

i think makavejev as anarchist is right on, and his films as anarchic cinema is an interesting framework. these films feel like a star or something exploded into a million pieces, and then immediately was captured and pasted back together before all of the elements could scuttle away. its a patchwork style that at the same time feels highly unstable, as if ready to explode again at any moment. the anarchy in this anarchic cinema can literally be felt in the joins of the highly disparate shots.

not to go too far into anarchy, but back to cinema. there is a frustration of total despair in makaveyevs flms. tragedy occurs, but is blunted through optimistic cinematic means. “love affair” and “wr” and “sweet movie” all feature resurrections at their conclusions.

Ive seen Dirty Movie. Awesome!

WR and Sweet Movie are probably two of the best counter-culture documents that exist. Worth buying? Not unless you check them out first and know what you’re getting.

Justin, I’m not sure Reich was ten years too early. His early work is interesting (Mass Psychology of Fascism in particular which is probably one of the best works of its gone) but the orgone stuff is just loopy.

I also like Makavejev’s more accessible films, Montenegro and the Coca Cola Kid. Montenegro, in particular is fantastic, and I really enjoy the Coca Cola Kid, although it’s hard to imagine that it was made by the same person as Sweet Movie or WR.

i havent seen “coca cola kid” or “montenegro”. it would be great to have some thoughts on it for this thread.

Yes, Bobby, I thought the ending of WR was meant to feature a reincarnation (I won’t give it away).

Ari, Reich’s theories about sexual liberation exploded in the late 60s and a lot of his therapeutic ideas became widely practiced in the 70s (under different names — primal scream therapy and E.S.T., for instance). The orgone box, yeah, I don’t see how it “works.” But I don’t think he would have been imprisoned for it in 1967, unlike 1957.

give it away! we dont have time for plot spoiler warnings on this site. only critical discussion!

lol.

On that, I agree. But I’m not sure he was ahead of his time so much as he directly inspired the sexual liberation movement (on that, I’d give him credit along with that other Marxist psychoanalyst Marcuse). It’s just when you actually hear the ideas behind orgone accumulation, it strikes one as a lot of nonsense (but apparently Einstein was interested in it briefly so who knows?).

Coca Cola Kid is a very light-hearted romantic comedy with some very subtle jabs against American imperialism. It stars Eric Roberts, probably at the height of his star power/acting chops. It’s worth seeing but if you go into thinking it has anything to do with WR, you’ll probably go away disappointed. I haven’t seen Montenegro in a while but it’s more in line with WR in terms of thematic (especially sexual liberation and repression).

Ok I’m more than intrigued enough that if I find my way to a B&N in the next few days I will buy one of the two. Which one do you all suggest based on the movie and the special features (since correct me if I’m wrong they don’t seem like movies I am going to constantly rewatch)?

(I apologize if this post is weird since its from my phone and I don’t know what will happen. Usually I just read from my phone and don’t post)

with makavejev you just have to dive in cold. there is no shallow end of the pool.

id suggest starting with the eclipse box set, since it has his first film, which is actually also his most traditional narrative feature. but thats a long wait. if your immediate interest is between buying “wr” and “sweet movie” at the store, go with “wr”. it will be a WHOLE lot easier for you to handle than “sweet movie”. plus, its considered his masterpiece. the film he’ll probably be remembered for.

I think at some point I will definitely watch Sweet Movie, and then after that I might consider my Makavejev education relatively “complete.” But I do find him interesting, and I’m sympathetic to his aims.

I can’t wait for this Eclipse set! I own both “Sweet Movie” and “WR: Mysteries of the Organism” and think they are both 2 of the most unique movies I’ve ever seen. This guy is awesome

holy shit, this is the best news I’ve heard in a long time. Eclipse is quickly becoming my favorite imprint; I just got the Sam Fuller and Raymond Bernard sets. I’m so excited by Eclipse #18 that I just bought WR and SWEET MOVIE at bn.com five minutes ago at the low low price of $34 thanks to their crazy sale. Now if only October would get here quicker – I haven’t seen those three movies in about 20 years. Anarchic is really the best word for Makavejev – actually most anything filmed by him would be the perfect film to put on when you want to really baffle your “thumbs up thumbs down” multiplex friends who don’t have a clue how radical cinema can be.

to me, his films are the best examples of godard’s famous statement “everything can be put into a film, everything should be put into a film.” even better than godard’s films himself!

They may be strong examples of that maxim by Godard — but WR is not better than Godard.

“The Coca-Cola Kid” is a little strange. It’s not even remotely as off the wall as WR, but it has it’s simple pleasures. I watched it a few years ago simply because it had a fun title and Greta Scacchi. I knew nothing of WR, “Sweet Movie” or Makavejev at all. Anyone who’s become familiar with him through the Criterion releases will be a little bit baffled at just how ordinary this movie is. But, if you’re willing to judge it on it’s own, apart from his pervious works of anarchy (I guess), then it’s not a bad little movie.

no, i dont think “wr” is better than the best of godard either. but then again, for me, who is?

i do recall godard making special mention of “man is not a bird” in one of his interviews, and how he liked it as a great example of new cinema coming out of eastern europe. but i never heard him comment on later makavejev films.

Another superbly underrated thread. Please, let’s leave fucking Godard OUT OF THIS!!!!

(6 Makajevev films I know of equally match ANYTHING Godard ever made)

I can agree with Dimitris here, that Godard is supremely overrated.

The Coca Cold Kid is the pits. I understand the ironic/subversive nature of the film, but it was really just way too standard.

Loved all of his other films that I’ve seen, though! Truly original and innovative.

Why would you revive this thread just to specifically mention Godard and the idea that we shouldn’t talk about him? Talk about Makavejev, or some interesting ideas about his work! There are already enough pointless posts on this forum in general.