Decasia (2002)

A meditation on the human quest to transcend physicality, constructed from decaying archival footage and set to an original symphonic score.

Director:

Bill Morrison

Writer:

Bill Morrison

Stars:

Tsuru Aoki, Julia Calhoun, Margaret Cullington

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tsuru Aoki	...	Geisha (archive footage)
Julia Calhoun	...	Old Angry Woman (archive footage)
Margaret Cullington	...	Maggie Jiggs (archive footage)
William S. Hart	...	Cowboy (archive footage)
Eddie Lyons	...	Laughing Clerk (archive footage)
Marc McDermott	...	Judge (archive footage)
Mary Pickford	...	(archive footage)
Willie Ritchie	...	Boxer (archive footage)
Pearl White	...	Laughing Woman (archive footage)

Storyline

Black and white stock footage, much of it scratched or blistered, illustrates a Michael Gordon symphony. A whirling dervish, couples laughing, a soldier trying to take advantage of a flower vendor, a camel caravan moving across the horizon, a single plane and then others, paratroopers in the sky, a mining disaster, a pugilist, nuns and children at a school - some images last a few seconds, others for a minute or more. The scratches, blisters, and bygone look of the footage suggest time's passage. Only the dervish, who begins and ends the film, is intact.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | school | nun | couple | whirling dervish | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

This is the first film from the 2000's to be inducted into the National Film Registry. Which also makes it the first film from the 21st century to be inducted.

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Crazy Credits

In memory of Hortense K. Becker, (1902-2001) 'Big Non'

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Connections

Features The Last Egyptian (1914)

User Reviews

Intesesting Premise, best watched in fast forward

Being an avid film restoration film, I was eagerly awaiting the chance to see this film. This film is made up of random bits of film, from various film archives around the world, which has been spliced together at random. The one connecting feature of this film is that all film used is rotting, decaying, faded, bubbling...in other words the film is decomposing. Kudos to the filmmaker for salvaging some of this film and letting the public see what can happen to film if it has not be stored or cared for properly. The footage is totally random, some nature films, newsreels, features...countries featured include the United States, Turkey, Japan, Morocco....scenes of stars like William S. Hart, Larry Semon, Mary Pickford....scenes of dignitaries arriving aboard ships from 1920s newsreels; 1950s educational films.....a really vast array.

However the film can be agonizing to sit through, especially because it is in incredibly slow motion, and most of the time we get only a fleeting glimpse as to what is actually in the film frame, most of the time the entire image is distorted. I watched the movie in fast forward, and even then it was too slow. The movie has very haunting music, and this film could easily be shown in October as part of a scary movie festival.

Details

Official Sites:

Bill Morrison Film Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Release Date:

3 October 2003 (UK)

Also Known As:

Aposynthesia

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1