Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16

Amos Vogel is one of those pioneers who usually gets forgotten over time so this documentary is an apt reminder to cinephiles everywhere that someone started the arthouse and film club circuit that we all take for granted. Just goes to show you that even way back when (before TV) Hollywood movies dominated the cinemas and there were no outlets for foreign and 'avant-garde' films (even in New York City). That's where Amos Vogel steps in with his Cinema 16 film society which premiered the films that no other theaters would show and helped New York audiences to discover directors like Maya Deren, Roman Polanski, and John Cassavettes. If you are wondering just how successful Vogel's operation was, due to public demand he was eventually forced to move from his first theater to a 1600 seat auditorium which he filled twice daily! He also started his own distribution network and cataloged many of seminal works of film art that are revered by cinephiles and film critics today. The only weakness in this profile is it's preference to just let Amos ramble instead of supporting his words with images from the many films her discovered. Only a few film clips are used which causes some sections of the film to drag. Still, this is a MUST-SEE for cinephiles and those that need to be introduced to one of the great progenitors of Avant-garde cinema in the USA.

Be uncomfortable; Be sand, not oil in The machinery of the World (Günter Eich)

Amos Vogel published "Film as a Subversive Art" in 1974: his mini-essays on over 600 movies.

Should be a film subversive? As the Italian saying goes, se non è vero è ben trovato (which sometimes changes to se non è vero allora è ben inventato): if it's not true, it's a good story. Well, it's always true for indie movies; for experimental movies; for art movies. Because once you are not in the industry, you must say something: it means something new, making a difference, your difference. Such movies must shake taboos, attack comfortable beliefs: an independent creator must scandalize. Such movies must be sand, not oil.

And for the people the kind of Amos Vogel only such movies exist.

Paul Cronin made in 2003 a one hour documentary about Amos Vogel; the title, "Film as a Subversive Art: Amos Vogel and Cinema 16".

Paul Cronin is also a movie passionate, author of books and documentary films exploring this universe.

This movie about Amos Vogel is perfect: the director leaves the room totally for the personage, not imposing any constraint, not framing in any way. The camera just follows the old guy, giving him total freedom. It is a one hour long filmed profile of the great promoter of the subversive movie: Amos Vogel talking very casually about his life, about the history of Cinema 16, about his aesthetic convictions. The result is a wonderful portrait of a fascinating personage.

Marcia Vogel and Jack Goelman are also there in the movie. Which is natural: the wife and the friend, they worked together with Amos all those years to create and maintain the miracle that has been Cinema 16.

I enormously enjoyed to find in the movie a couple of images from "Meshes of the Afternoon" of Maya Deren and Alexander Hamid. If I were to keep only ten movies on a deserted island, "Meshes of the Afternoon" would be one of them.

This film documentary offered a great opportunity to peer into the world of the genius that was Amos Vogel.This really was A Brilliant insight into Amos Vogel's ideas and aims in bringing obscure art films to an audience that was ready for some intelligent media and at a time when society was changing and needed feeding with something more than the accepted traditional fare on offer.His Resolute and solid determination to show the films that didn't fit Hollywood's stereotypical outlook of film as a happy pacifier for the public helped art house get established world-wide giving us some great films and Directors that helped to take film forward later on.There are some brilliant moments and anecdotes from Amos Vogel here.The soundtrack was also superb and only afterwards did I discover it was the incredible Jazz musician Orphy Robinson playing some virtuoso solo marimba throughout.There was also Excellent pacing through the majority of the film.Yes we could of done with more footage of the Avante Garde films shown at cinema 16 but what we saw was pretty impressive and made you want to be there..Loved the way the whole film was shot.The director really cared about his subject and made you the viewer have a grandstand view of an important icon of the history of cinema.