Stan Brakhage

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two

In Criterion’s first volume of the anthology By Brakhage, we brought twenty-six astonishing works by the avant-garde film pioneer Stan Brakhage to home video for the first time. Now, in this second installment, we are proud to present thirty more of Brakhage’s visionary creations, from 1950s films to his final work, from 2003, curated by his wife, Marilyn Brakhage. Highlights of this collection include the war meditation 23rd Psalm Branch; hand-painted films from Persian Series; The Wonder Ring, made for a commission by Joseph Cornell; the autobiographical Scenes from Under Childhood, Section One; and the found-footage film Murder Psalm.

Film Info

  • United States
  • 454 minutes
  • Color
  • Spine #517

Special Features

SPECIAL EDITION THREE-DVD SET:

  • New high-definition digital transfers of all thirty films:

Disc One Program 1: 1955–67 THE WONDER RING 1955 • 5 minutes, 34 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE DEAD 1960 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds • 16 mm • Silent TWO: CREELEY/MCCLURE 1965 • 3 minutes, 11 seconds • 16 mm • Silent 23RD PSALM BRANCH 1967 • 66 minutes, 47 seconds • 8 mm • Silent Program 2: 1967–76 SCENES FROM UNDER CHILDHOOD, SECTION ONE 1967 • 23 minutes, 46 seconds • 16 mm • Silent/Monaural THE MACHINE OF EDEN 1970 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds • 16 mm • Silent STAR GARDEN 1974 • 20 minutes, 58 seconds • 16 mm • Silent DESERT 1976 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent Disc Two Program 3: 1972–82 THE PROCESS 1972 • 8 minutes, 1 second • 16 mm • Silent BURIAL PATH 1978 • 8 minutes, 2 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent DUPLICITY III 1980 • 22 minutes, 18 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE DOMAIN OF THE MOMENT 1977 • 14 minutes, 33 seconds • 16 mm • Silent MURDER PSALM 1980 • 16 minutes, 24 seconds • 16 mm • Silent ARABIC 12 1982 • 17 minutes, 1 second • Super 8 mm • Silent Program 4: 1989–90 VISIONS IN MEDITATION #1 1989 • 16 minutes, 19 seconds • 16 mm • Silent VISIONS IN MEDITATION #2 (MESA VERDE) 1989 • 16 minutes, 9 seconds •16 mm • Silent VISIONS IN MEDITATION #3 (PLATO’S CAVE) 1990 • 16 minutes, 36 seconds • 16 mm • Monaural VISIONS IN MEDITATION #4 (D. H. LAWRENCE) 1990 • 17 minutes, 41 seconds • 16 mm • Silent Disc Three Program 5: 1982, 1992, 1994 UNCONSCIOUS LONDON STRATA 1982 • 22 minutes, 15 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent BOULDER BLUES AND PEARLS AND . . . 1992 • 22 minutes, 24 seconds • 16 mm • Monaural THE MAMMALS OF VICTORIA 1994 • 34 minutes, 9 seconds • 16 mm • Silent FROM: FIRST HYMN TO THE NIGHT—NOVALIS 1994 • 2 minutes, 52 seconds • 16 mm • Silent Program 6: 1995–2003 I TAKE THESE TRUTHS 1995 • 17 minutes, 44 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE CAT OF THE WORM’S GREEN REALM 1997 • 14 minutes, 10 seconds • 16 mm • Silent YGGDRASILL: WHOSE ROOTS ARE STARS IN THE HUMAN MIND 1997 • 16 minutes, 58 seconds • 16 mm • Silent “. . .” REEL FIVE 1998 • 14 minutes, 6 seconds • 16 mm • Stereo PERSIAN SERIES 1–3 1999 • Total run time: 5 minutes, 54 seconds • 16 mm • Silent CHINESE SERIES 2003 • 2 minutes, 18 seconds • 35 mm • Silent

  • Brakhage on Brakhage, three video encounters with the filmmaker
  • For Stan, a 2009 short film by Stan Brakhage's wife, Marilyn Brakhage
  • Two segments from a 1990 video interview with Brakhage for the Boulder Arts Commission
  • Footage from Brakhage’s Sunday salons at the University of Colorado
  • Audio recordings of two lectures by Brakhage, one from the Beckwith Lecture Series and one on Gertrude Stein's poem Stanzas in Meditation
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring program notes by Marilyn Brakhage, film capsules by Brakhage expert Fred Camper, and an essay on the films' preservation by Mark Toscano of the Academy Film Archive

    New cover by Sarah Habibi

Available In

Collector's Set

By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volumes One and Two

By Brakhage: An Anthology

Blu-ray Box Set

3 Discs

$41.96

Special Features

SPECIAL EDITION THREE-DVD SET:

  • New high-definition digital transfers of all thirty films:

Disc One Program 1: 1955–67 THE WONDER RING 1955 • 5 minutes, 34 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE DEAD 1960 • 10 minutes, 21 seconds • 16 mm • Silent TWO: CREELEY/MCCLURE 1965 • 3 minutes, 11 seconds • 16 mm • Silent 23RD PSALM BRANCH 1967 • 66 minutes, 47 seconds • 8 mm • Silent Program 2: 1967–76 SCENES FROM UNDER CHILDHOOD, SECTION ONE 1967 • 23 minutes, 46 seconds • 16 mm • Silent/Monaural THE MACHINE OF EDEN 1970 • 10 minutes, 45 seconds • 16 mm • Silent STAR GARDEN 1974 • 20 minutes, 58 seconds • 16 mm • Silent DESERT 1976 • 10 minutes, 7 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent Disc Two Program 3: 1972–82 THE PROCESS 1972 • 8 minutes, 1 second • 16 mm • Silent BURIAL PATH 1978 • 8 minutes, 2 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent DUPLICITY III 1980 • 22 minutes, 18 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE DOMAIN OF THE MOMENT 1977 • 14 minutes, 33 seconds • 16 mm • Silent MURDER PSALM 1980 • 16 minutes, 24 seconds • 16 mm • Silent ARABIC 12 1982 • 17 minutes, 1 second • Super 8 mm • Silent Program 4: 1989–90 VISIONS IN MEDITATION #1 1989 • 16 minutes, 19 seconds • 16 mm • Silent VISIONS IN MEDITATION #2 (MESA VERDE) 1989 • 16 minutes, 9 seconds •16 mm • Silent VISIONS IN MEDITATION #3 (PLATO’S CAVE) 1990 • 16 minutes, 36 seconds • 16 mm • Monaural VISIONS IN MEDITATION #4 (D. H. LAWRENCE) 1990 • 17 minutes, 41 seconds • 16 mm • Silent Disc Three Program 5: 1982, 1992, 1994 UNCONSCIOUS LONDON STRATA 1982 • 22 minutes, 15 seconds • Super 8 mm • Silent BOULDER BLUES AND PEARLS AND . . . 1992 • 22 minutes, 24 seconds • 16 mm • Monaural THE MAMMALS OF VICTORIA 1994 • 34 minutes, 9 seconds • 16 mm • Silent FROM: FIRST HYMN TO THE NIGHT—NOVALIS 1994 • 2 minutes, 52 seconds • 16 mm • Silent Program 6: 1995–2003 I TAKE THESE TRUTHS 1995 • 17 minutes, 44 seconds • 16 mm • Silent THE CAT OF THE WORM’S GREEN REALM 1997 • 14 minutes, 10 seconds • 16 mm • Silent YGGDRASILL: WHOSE ROOTS ARE STARS IN THE HUMAN MIND 1997 • 16 minutes, 58 seconds • 16 mm • Silent “. . .” REEL FIVE 1998 • 14 minutes, 6 seconds • 16 mm • Stereo PERSIAN SERIES 1–3 1999 • Total run time: 5 minutes, 54 seconds • 16 mm • Silent CHINESE SERIES 2003 • 2 minutes, 18 seconds • 35 mm • Silent

  • Brakhage on Brakhage, three video encounters with the filmmaker
  • For Stan, a 2009 short film by Stan Brakhage's wife, Marilyn Brakhage
  • Two segments from a 1990 video interview with Brakhage for the Boulder Arts Commission
  • Footage from Brakhage’s Sunday salons at the University of Colorado
  • Audio recordings of two lectures by Brakhage, one from the Beckwith Lecture Series and one on Gertrude Stein's poem Stanzas in Meditation
  • PLUS: A booklet featuring program notes by Marilyn Brakhage, film capsules by Brakhage expert Fred Camper, and an essay on the films' preservation by Mark Toscano of the Academy Film Archive

    New cover by Sarah Habibi
By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two

Current

Some Notes on the Selection of Titles for By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two
Some Notes on the Selection of Titles for By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two
Between 1952 and 2003, depending on how the various serial works are counted, Stan Brakhage made somewhere between 350 and 400 films, about half of them short film poems under ten minutes in length, most of the rest between ten minutes and an hour…

By Marilyn Brakhage

Reintroducing Metaphors on Vision
Reintroducing Metaphors on Vision

In conjunction with a new edition of Stan Brakhage’s Metaphors on Vision, we’re sharing a selection from the opening pages of this seminal work.

By P. Adams Sitney

Adventures in Perception: Stan Brakhage in His Own Words
Adventures in Perception: Stan Brakhage in His Own Words

This collection of excerpts from interviews with Stan Brakhage illuminates the evolution of his philosophy of film through his career.

By Suranjan Ganguly

Don Hertzfeldt’s Top 10
Don Hertzfeldt’s Top 10

The Academy Award–nominated independent filmmaker Don Hertzfeldt has amassed a major cult following for his meticulously crafted animated movies.

Brakhage in Seattle

Repertory Picks

Brakhage in Seattle
Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum is offering a Stan Brakhage showcase tonight. The avant-garde legend’s widow, Marilyn Brakhage, and preservationist Mark Toscano will appear in person to accompany a program of four 16 mm films in Academy Film Archi…
Criterion in Bologna
Criterion in Bologna
Two of Criterion’s 2010 releases were honored at last week’s Il Cinema Ritrovato festival, organized by the Cineteca di Bologna: By Brakhage: An Anthology, Volume Two won the top prize for DVD of the year, while Roberto Rossellini’s War Trilogy…