13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol Screen Tests

I am not even going to try to give "13 Most Beautiful..." a numerical score, as it isn't a movie in any real sense--just a strange experiment that was recently set to music. It's also a project that is for only a limited group of viewers--those who will appreciate the film and all its oddness. In fact, I am surprised I stuck with this one!

Back in the 1960s, Andy Warhol made a lot of experimental films that were never intended for mass consumption. Among the many odd projects were some black and white video portraits he made of friends and interesting people who came into his studio, his so-called 'Factory'. These consisted of closeups of an unmoving movie camera that simply stared at the individuals. During the entirety of the this, the subjects were instructed to do nothing or next to nothing--mostly just stare into the camera. In a few cases, reactions such as crying occurred but in every case the faces remained stone-like.

Recently, the singers Dean & Britta took these old images and set them to music--very, very evocative and maudlin music. The combination make for a very odd and haunting film--one that would work best in a modern art museum. As a DVD you would buy and enjoy, I am just not sure who would want this. As for me, I meant to turn it off but was distracted and actually completed this oddity. Not terrible but certainly not something I want to see again.