Martha Graham

Released on DVD as part of The Criterion Collection's "Martha Graham: Dance on Film" collection.

In this documentary Anais Nin is shown at work, at home, and talking with and about her influences: D.H. Lawrence, Otto Rank, Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell, Martha Graham, Noguchi, Kenneth Anger, Maya Daren, Edmund Wilson, Lou Andreas-Salome and others.

Night Journey, the dance, had its premiere only two and a half years after Appalachian Spring, and it is a close cousin. It too has a stream-of-consciousness narration: Jocasta, as she is about to kill herself, remembering what has happened to her. It too contains soul-delving solos, broken up by ensemble dances. Here, however, the ensemble is a darker element. As the story was taken from Greek tragedy, so the corps is the equivalent of Greek tragedy’s chorus. They tell us how to feel: afraid mostly. In this piece Graham pushed her habitual economy to its limits.

Night Journey, the dance, had its premiere only two and a half years after Appalachian Spring, and it is a close cousin. It too has a stream-of-consciousness narration: Jocasta, as she is about to kill herself, remembering what has happened to her. It too contains soul-delving solos, broken up by ensemble dances. Here, however, the ensemble is a darker element. As the story was taken from Greek tragedy, so the corps is the equivalent of Greek tragedy’s chorus. They tell us how to feel: afraid mostly. In this piece Graham pushed her habitual economy to its limits.

A filmed version of Aaron Copland's most famous ballet, with its original star, who also choreographed.

A filmed version of Aaron Copland's most famous ballet, with its original star, who also choreographed.

A filmed version of Aaron Copland's most famous ballet, with its original star, who also choreographed.

A glimpse into the world and methodology of dancer Martha Graham.

A glimpse into the world and methodology of dancer Martha Graham.

A glimpse into the world and methodology of dancer Martha Graham.

A multi-character dance drama

A multi-character dance drama

A multi-character dance drama

A silent color film of Martha Graham dancing extracts of "Lamentation".

A dance piece celebrating western expansion and the american spirit

Heretic is a modern dance work by Martha Graham performed to Tetus Breton, an old folk tune from Brittany.

Produced by the Eastman Kodak Company and shot in a then-experimental process, two-color Kodachrome, Martha Graham's dance "The Flute of Krishna" is performed by students from the Eastman School of Music. It's likely (but unconfirmed) that the film was directed by an uncredited Rouben Mamoulian.