Summary
21-87 is a 1963 Canadian abstract montage-collage film created by Arthur Lipsett that lasts 9 minutes and 33 seconds.[1] The short, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, is a collage of snippets from discarded footage found by Lipsett in the editing room of the National Film Board (where he was employed as an animator), combined with his own black and white 16 mm footage which he shot on the streets of Montreal and New York City, among other locations.[2]
| 21-87 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Arthur Lipsett |
| Produced by | Colin Low Tom Daly |
| Edited by | Arthur Lipsett |
| Distributed by | National Film Board of Canada |
Release date |
|
Running time | 9 minutes 33 seconds |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Release and reception edit
21-87 premiered on the CBC program Explorations in 1964.[2]
Journalist Howard Junker dismisses 21-87 and Lipsett's other film, Free Fall, as repetitious: "the whole idea of wildly flashing stills and phrases wears quickly".[3] Critic N. Roy Clifton is frustrated by the seeming randomness of the images.[4] Critic John Fell suggests the film is evocative of parataxis, like a sentence without a conjunctive word.[5]
Influence on George Lucas edit
"21-87" would have a profound influence on director George Lucas and on Walter Murch, an editor and designer with whom Lucas worked. Lucas described it as "the kind of movie I wanted to make – a very off the wall, abstract kind of film".[6]
In response, Lucas created the pure cinema, short, 16mm movies: "6-18-67", "1:42.08", and "Look at Life". The later "Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB", an experimental science fiction short, takes place in a dystopian future on 14 May 2187.[7] Lucas expanded the latter into THX 1138. His later works American Graffiti and Star Wars has shown "21-87"'s influence. Lucas and Lipsett would never meet.
The concept of the Force, so prominent in Star Wars and its sequels and prequels, is said to have been inspired by a statement made by Roman Kroitor in the short film.[8][9]
References in Lucas's works and Star Wars edit
- In Star Wars, Princess Leia's prison cell on the Death Star is numbered 2187.[10]
- In Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, the order to initiate the Great Jedi Purge (Order 66) can be found by subtracting 21 from 87.[11]
- In the post Lucas era Star Wars sequel trilogy, FN-2187 is the designation of one of the main characters, who is later renamed Finn.
Awards edit
- Ann Arbor Film Festival, Ann Arbor, Michigan: First Prize, 1964
- Palo Alto Filmmakers' Festival, Palo Alto: Second Prize, 1964
- Midwest Film Festival, University of Chicago, Chicago: Most Popular Film, 1964[12]
References edit
- ^ "21-87". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
- ^ a b Kashmere 2004.
- ^ Junker 1964, p. 25.
- ^ Clifton 1983, pp. 221–223, quoted in Fell 1985, p. 59.
- ^ Fell 1985, p. 59.
- ^ Hassannia, Tina (2 March 2016). "Colin Low, Don Owen and how the NFB's Unit B changed Canadian cinema". CBC Arts. Retrieved 2 March 2016.
- ^ Lucas, George (Director) (1967). Electronic Labyrinth: THX 1138 4EB (DVD [on the bonus disk accompanying THX 1138: The George Lucas Director's Cut]). USA: Warner Bros.
- ^ George Lucas interview with Wired. Retrieved on 2008-12-22 from .
- ^ CBC article on Star Wars. Retrieved 2008-12-22. Archived 11 October 2004 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Star Wars – Finn's Stormtrooper Number Is A Reference To Leia in a New Hope". LRM. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
- ^ "Star Wars: Meaning Behind Finn's Stormtrooper Name Revealed". CBR. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- ^ "21-87". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
Sources edit
- Clifton, N. Roy (1983). The Figure in Film. Newark: University of Delaware Press. ISBN 0-87413-189-8.
- Fell, John (Spring 1985). "Review of The Figure in Film". Film Quarterly. 38 (3): 58–59. doi:10.2307/1212552. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1212552.
- Junker, Howard (Winter 1964). "The National Film Board of Canada: After a Quarter Century". Film Quarterly. 18 (2): 22–29. doi:10.2307/1210933. ISSN 0015-1386. JSTOR 1210933.
- Kashmere, Brett (July 2004). "Lipsett, Arthur". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
