Release
Bill Morrison
•
13m
Directed by Bill Morrison • Documentary • 2010 • 13 minutes
On March 17, 1930, a crowd assembled outside Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary in hopes of witnessing Al Capone's release from prison. (He in fact had already been released the night before.)
Filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer Vijay Iyer turn a single archival panning shot of that scene—originally filmed in 1930 by Jack Painter—and its accompanying audio track—recorded in 1930 by Addison Tice--into a split-screen surround sound panoramic film that continually doubles back on itself, creating a short cinematic meditation on the nature of spectacle and spectatorship.
RELEASE made its world premiere in a 20-month installation at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, where it was presented in the cell next to the one once occupied by Al Capone.
Up Next in Bill Morrison
-
Spark of Being
Directed by Bill Morrison • Documentary • 2010 • 67 minutes
An adaptation of Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" using found film footage, with an original soundtrack by Dave Douglas, performed by Keystone. It explores the thematic interchangeability of three of the novel’s characters: the Captain, th...
-
Who By Water
Directed by Bill Morrison • Documentary • 2007 • 18 minutes
Inspired by the Jewish Rosh Hashanah prayer, “Who shall live, who shall die… who by water, who by fire,” this short film deals with that which has been preordained—a future that will unfold before us, much like the faces of passengers o...
-
Bill Morrison Interviews Lawrence Wes...
Exclusive to OVID, Bill Morrison interviews Dr. Oliver Sacks' biographer, Lawrence Weschler, over video chat.
