A 16mm anthology of experimental super 8 films by Derek Jarman, Michael Kostiff, Cerith Wyn Evans and John Maybury, with framing footage by Tim Burke of Brion Gysin using a dream machine. Jarman's contribution is a version of his 1977 Art and the Pose (aka Arty the Pose), refilmed at 3fps, with a musical soundtrack. Jarman planned The Dream Machine as a commemoration of William Burroughs and Gysin's 1982 visit to the UK, and received initial funding from the Arts Council in 1983, then rethought the project as a portmanteau film featuring Gysin alone. The production remained in limbo until 1986, when James Mackay obtained completion funding from the British Film Institute. (Since this film was released on VHS accompanied by Jarman's Broken English: Three Songs by Marianne Faithfull, T.G.: Psychic Rally in Heaven and Pirate Tape under the umbrella title The Dream Machine, synopses of this film have often muddled up its details with those of the earlier films. )
'The Shadow of the Sun' draws upon Derek Jarman’s interest with alchemical processes as a metaphor for reprocessing Super-8 film. Jarman once described film’s union of light and matter as “an alchemical conjunction” and experimented throughout his career with creating dream symbolism through the superimposition of image and action. Originally called English Apocalypse, the film’s final title is derived from a 17th Century alchemical text that used the phrase as a synonym for the philosopher’s stone – the highly sought substance that turns base metals into gold and silver. The film was intended as a step toward the idea of an ambient video, that like its musical counterpart, was designed to enhance an environment.
Still Photographer
Na Roma do ano de 303, numa festa no palácio do Imperador Diocleciano, soldados se divertem torturando um jovem cristão. Sebastiane, capitão da guarda e também cristão, revolta-se com a situação. Deposto e exilado numa ilha remota, sua religião o torna vulnerável a humilhações de outros soldados e aos impulsos sexuais do centurião Severus.
Apoiando-se em sua fé em Deus, Sebastiane não reage às agressões. O único a se importar com ele é Justin, com quem cria uma relação afetuosa. Muitos anos depois de sua morte, ele é canonizado pela Igreja e consagrado como São Sebastião.
Leopard Boy
Na Roma do ano de 303, numa festa no palácio do Imperador Diocleciano, soldados se divertem torturando um jovem cristão. Sebastiane, capitão da guarda e também cristão, revolta-se com a situação. Deposto e exilado numa ilha remota, sua religião o torna vulnerável a humilhações de outros soldados e aos impulsos sexuais do centurião Severus.
Apoiando-se em sua fé em Deus, Sebastiane não reage às agressões. O único a se importar com ele é Justin, com quem cria uma relação afetuosa. Muitos anos depois de sua morte, ele é canonizado pela Igreja e consagrado como São Sebastião.
The Art of Mirrors is an abstract film made in 1973 by director, Derek Jarman. The film, shot in super 8 features figures moving in the foreground and background of an empty space holding mirrors which occasionally flash in the lens of the camera. The images portrayed in the film are reminiscent of Jarman's Abstract Landscape paintings of the same period. In his diary Jarman wrote of this film, 'this is only something that could only be done on a Super 8 camera, with it's built in meters and effects.' The film's title was reworked in the script for 'Dr Dee The Art Of Mirrors and The Summoning Of Angels' in 1975.
Himself
An experimental short film by Derek Jarman the depicts the crush of flesh at an art-world event.
