Prelude

I saw John Astin's short film Prelude in late 1968 and fell in love with it. But despite years of searching, I still cannot find the film, although the memory and message still resonates with me almost 53 years later. John or Sean, if you ever read this comment, please put the film into general circulation!

Provocative and prescient, John Astin's Prelude is a wonderful commentary on our go-go-go society. Featuring Mr. Astin himself as a workaday TV repairman, with a chaotic kids and a shrewish wife, whose trip to a grocery store provides a welcome relief. Here among the fruits, veggies, and attractive shop-goers Mr. Astin searches for a better life only to find that fantasy and reality are often the same thing. Nominated for an Academy Award, Prelude is insightful, funny, and a film many of us will relate to.

I was able to catch Prelude at the Johns Hopkins Film Festival. A former graduate, Mr. Astin himself was there to present. He apologized in advance for the faded print and asked if any of us knew the cinematographer, no less than Vilmos Zigmond, to send our apologies. After seeing the film I hope Mr. Astin is still producing short films such as this. Time may have faded the print, but the message still resonates.