Oddball Films presents Strange Sinema 97, a monthly evening of newly discovered films, rarities and choice selects from the stacks of the archive. Drawing on his collection of over 50,000 16mm film prints, Oddball Films director Stephen Parr has compiled this 97th program of classic, strange, offbeat and unusual films. This installment, Strange Sinema 97: “Laservision: Science Art Cinema” features films that explore the boundaries of science, art and cinema using light as a starting point. The program features a pulsating panorama of films highlighting the discovery and uses of lasers and holograms in science, art, medicine, the military and law enforcement-with a solid dose of sci-fi and futurism thrown into the mix. This program of shorts and excerpts premiered at the Frost Museum of Science in Miami in August 2015 to a sold-out audience. Highlights include West Coast experimental filmmaker Donald Fox’s exhilaratingly beautiful, optically printed poem Omega (1970), foretelling the end of the world through a series of stunning images dissolving into ethereally apocalyptic visions, Laser Blast (1978) a high-octane trailer from the cheesy sci-fi knock off where a teenager stumbles upon an alien weapon, transforming him into a grotesque killer, We Study in Moscow (1960s, excerpt) a weirdly bizarre Russian propaganda clip featuring students being taught principles of laser physics with a eerie pre-electronic music track, Holography: Memories in Light (1985) a fascinating and comprehensive look at the invention and use of holography in industry and art-from holographic space ships to a holographic Andy Warhol, The Simple Lens: an Introduction (1976, excerpt) an animated segment showing how light is organized by the human eye or a camera, Kinetic Art in Paris (1971) - the works of legendary Kinetic artists Julio Le Parc, Victor Vasarely and John Rock Yvar are some of the futuristic artists featured in this ultra rare, quirky documentary featuring music from the short-lived cult British pop duo White Trash, Learning About Light (1976, excerpt) shows experiments with light and applications of lasers, Laser Bra 2000 (1979) features sexed-up lingerie wearing female soldiers demonstrating a top-secret military weapon - bras that shoot lasers, Lasers Unlimited (1969) - produced by ATT - this short shows lasers scoring electronic circuits at Western Electric and deep research into the laser’s potential for memory storage and information processing at Bell Labs, Crime: Dye Guns, Lasers, Justice? (1972, excerpt) a futuristic look at high-tech law enforcement tools using surveillance, laser walls and dye guns with a very timely look at the role of the police by famed activist attorney Ramsey Clark, Airborne Laser Laboratory (1960s, excerpt) a surreal demonstration of the wide range of laser based military weapons produced for Air Force Now Films. Plus! For early birds: Laser (1979), a lush and mesmerizing visual depiction of lasers and their various uses from medical to industrial. From gorgeous vintage laboratory interiors to an optical kaleidoscope of the many uses of this magical harnessed light beam, with a great Moogy soundtrack. Also! Rare news outtakes from the construction of the Shiva Laser (1977) at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory.
Date: Friday, February 26th, 2016 at 8:00pm
Omega (Color, 1970)An optical poem by West Coast experimental filmmaker Donald Fox. This is a dazzling, highly original non narrative, exhilaratingly beautiful film. Omega deals with the end of mankind on earth, prophesying man's liberation from his earthly bounds to roam the universe at will. By sending an energy ray to the sun and harnessing its solar power, man is able to make an evolutionary leap. The film can be used to explore the outer limits of the concepts of death, evolution the afterlife, and the future of mankind. Phew! A film that over 40 years later still inspires.
This fascinating industrial short explains what lasers are, how they work, and how they developed. Describes research and 1960s advances in the application of the laser in medicine, science, communication, and industry, including use of the “laser knife” in surgery, for scoring electronic circuits at Western Electric, and as an alignment tool for the Boeing 747 aircraft. Focuses on work at Bell System research labs into the laser's potential in memory storage and information transmission. Demonstrates holograms and their potential use in communication.
Airborne Laser Laboratory (Color, 1960s, excerpt)
Laser Bra 2000 (Color, 1979)
Michael O’Donahue (1940-1994) was one of the most important writing and creative forces behind the original Saturday Night Live. This mind-blowing erotic excerpt from his feature film debut Mr. M*ke's M*ndo Video features sexed up lingerie wearing female soldiers demonstrating a top-secret new weapon being developed by the military the “Laser Bra 2000”-bras that shoot lasers.
Stephen Parr’s programs have explored the erotic underbelly of sex-in-cinema (The Subject is Sex), the offbeat and bizarre (Oddities Beyond Belief), the pervasive effects of propaganda (Historical/Hysterical?) and oddities from his archives (Strange Sinema). He is the director of Oddball Films, a stock film company and the San Francisco Media Archive (www.sfm.org), a non-profit archive that preserves culturally significant films. He is a co-founder of Other Cinema DVD and a member of the Association of Moving Archivists (AMIA) where he is a frequent presenter.
Oddball Films is a stock footage company providing offbeat and unusual film footage for feature films like Milk, documentaries like The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution, Silicon Valley, Kurt Cobain: The Montage of Heck, television programs like Mythbusters, clips for Boing Boing and web projects around the world.
Our screenings are almost exclusively drawn from our collection of over 50,000 16mm prints of animation, commercials, educational films, feature films, movie trailers, medical, industrial military, news out-takes and every genre in between. We’re actively working to present rarely screened genres of cinema as well as avant-garde and ethno-cultural documentaries, which expand the boundaries of cinema. Oddball Films is the largest film archive in Northern California and one of the most unusual private collections in the US. We invite you to join us in our weekly offerings of offbeat cinema.