Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis (2006)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Mary Jordan

Writer:

Mary Jordan (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A mesmerizing collage of images and audio from the life and work of Jack Smith, the underground filmmaker...

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Jack Smith	...	Himself (archive footage)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nayland Blake	...	Himself
Ira Cohen	...	Himself
Tony Conrad	...	Himself
Richard Foreman	...	Himself
Ivan Galietti	...	Himself
Helen Gee	...	Herself
Robert Heide	...	Himself
Henry Hills	...	Himself
Gary Indiana	...	Himself
Ken Jacobs	...	Himself
Mike Kelley	...	Himself
George Kuchar	...	Himself
Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt	...	Himself
Sylvere Lotringer	...	Himself
Agosto Machado	...	Himself
Judith Malina	...	Herself
John Matturri	...	Himself
Taylor Mead	...	Himself
Jonas Mekas	...	Himself
Mario Montez	...	Himself
Billy Name	...	Himself
William Niederkorn	...	Himself
Uzi Parnes	...	Himself
Lawrence Rinder	...	Himself
Ari M. Roussimoff	...	Himself
Andrew Sarris	...	Himself
Mary Sue Slater	...	Herself
Sue Slater	...	Herself
Abbe Stubbenhaus	...	Himself
Jerry Tartaglia	...	Himself
Ronald Tavel	...	Himself
Ela Troyano	...	Herself
John Vaccaro	...	Himself
Andy Warhol	...	Himself (archive footage)
John Waters	...	Himself
Robert Wilson	...	Himself
Holly Woodlawn	...	Himself
Mary Woronov	...	Herself
Nick Zedd	...	Himself
John Zorn	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Tongue Press

Quotes:

Andy Warhol: [speaking of Jack Smith] The only person I would ever copy. He's just so terrific, and I think he makes the best movies.

Mary Jordon's homage is a hypnotic portrait of one of our greatest artists.

What is the negotiable space between art and commerce? according to Jack Smith there is none. Mary Jordon expertly applies Jack's own free form techniques to a collage portrait of the man his work and it's impact on a popular culture. The film seamlessly flows from blistering indictments of Jack's covetous enemies such as Jonas Menkas and Andy Warhol to moving sentiments from collaborators such as tony Conrad and the reclusive Mario Montez. Jack's own sister provides one of the films more heart wrenching moments in a compassionate declaration she makes towards the films end.

Mary Jordan as a filmmaker embodies the spirit of Jack Smith himself as she bucks typical documentary structure and embraces a more surging and organic approach to story telling. One comes away enlightened, inspired, educated, and moved. More than you'll find at your local multi plexus for sure. the film is currently touring the US and Europe, can be seen at Film Forum in NYC right now and must not be missed by true seekers of truth and purpose in art and life.

Jack Smith may look pale- but thats simply because he's been in the safe too long...