Dog Star Man: Part IV (1964) User Reviews

you must see his other works...

[thestudiollc · 4 October 2004]

The movie 'Dog Star Man' directed by Stan Brakhage in 1964 is an experimental film about a man and his faithful dog. In the movie he utilizes himself, his wife, baby and dog. As a limited supply of actors, the viewer is stuck in a small world. This small world is cold with warming memories. This is beneficial to Stan Brakhage so that he can project this image of continual tension of the man climbing a mountain. Also adding the constant fear of death and mystery to give it suspense. The rapid cut of the film of trees and snow give a fearing near death experience. The pain staking technique of painting on every frame of film would have taken years in my eyes. The scratching on the film seemed random rather than deliberate but it somehow works. The colors Stan Brakhage used look like they are deliberate just the overall movement that he applies to the markings does not. The 'Man' as himself is a generalized figure of man in the generic term of the word. The man is climbing up the Colorado Mountain but there is an eternal struggle of life throughout the whole film. The symbolism of the male figure struggling throughout the whole movie is a simile about man's eternal battle throughout of everyone life, which reiterates nothing, is easy or comes easy. The Stan Brakhage is using the dog as man's guide through the snowstorm but both are cool and tired. The 'Wife' (his wife) utilizing old film pieces from his other movies. Creating the 'Wife' as a warm memory, using a warm light and rapid clips of her body makes a loving and nurturing look that he is remembering parts of her at a time. The woman in the film is not really shown as a whole but a thought or a memory. We as the viewer, only see bits and pieces of her actions that gave me the impression of the man persisting up the mountain to get to her loving arms. The 'Baby' in the movie is Stan' s son. But it is also used as a generalized one, of a baby. In the sense of taking care of the wife and baby be getting to them to be the provider. The man, trying to reach the baby and wife but not necessarily at the top of the mountain but just in the intent of reach them and reuniting with them. In the movie we can only assume that the man gets connected with them again but I do feel like it does happen. The 'Dog', as man's best friend. Is the generalized figure of dog, being faithful to the end. This animal is also in a consent fight to the loyalty of the man but also had thought of the dog being stupid for guiding him in a snowstorm and or up a mountain. But I see the dog as the guide and can sense the wife and baby searching for their smell. In the similar sense like a bloodhound would search for a criminal in a forest to capture him for the police. The dog is going the same for the man. To reiterate the movie as a whole is inspirational. I enjoyed the painted film technique that Stan Brakhage applied to the movie, scratching and drawing, giving a pain-staking look to the movie. I would like to try that in my own way or technique. I see the connection to the title of the movie but only if hearing then commentary about the title for a basis. The commentary helped in the plots foundation, otherwise it would have probably took me just about the whole movie to get and idea of what is going on and why is this man climbing a mountain with a dog.

scratchy, it's bizarre, and it's one of a kind.

[Quinoa1984 · 8/10 · 3 May 2016]

If there's any theme to this final part of the Dog Star Man saga or epic or Tone Poem to the Nature and Human Body itself, it's birth and rebirth. We see a baby being born in very quick fragments - it's clear it is a baby, the amniotic fluid can't be obscured no matter how many super-impositions there are - and then the man on the mountain needs to be reborn as well into... something more, I suppose(?) Whatever it is, this is a fine culmination of what Brakhage had on his mind at the time. According to other people online, at the time the filmmaker was in trouble as he was out of work and had kids before and another on the way. Sometimes if you're living in that part of the country of Colorado and the mountains it's more than likely to have that Sysyphus feeling of continually rolling the rock up the hill with little result except the continuation of that.

It may be hard to discern any 'theme' from this for some who are only in it for the visual pleasures and mind-f***ery. For the latter part that's certainly still here and in a fairly awesome way that's consistent through the other parts (and clearly if you made it this far you've at least been able to tolerate the other four parts, I include the prelude with that).

But I could see it as being about what it means to be a... human being, in essence: to create life, to witness life, to grow, to copulate, to climb a goddamn mountain and chop some wood. Oh, and to have Man's Best Friend at your side guiding you (or trying to lick your face until you get up again) certainly helps.

Weak closing to a weak movie

[Horst_In_Translation · 2/10 · 11 August 2015]

This is the 4th and final part of Stan Brakhage's original "Dog Star Man" series from 50 years ago when he was around 30 years of age. I say "original" because it seems he made another 4th part decades later. And there is nothing remotely interesting about this final part either. It's, as always with him, a series of flickering images. Early on, it seems to have a reference to the nudity from the 3rd part, but near the end we see the man with his dog (the title character?) in the mountains again. The only good thing I can say about this one here is that it only runs for roughly 5 minutes and not as long as the prelude or part 1 for example. Still, it's really dragging and that is quite an achievement for a film that runs for only 5 minutes. I never saw the big deal about Brakhage and his work here certainly cannot change my mind. Highly not recommended. Watch through a kaleidoscope instead.