Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son (film)

Summary

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son is a 1969 American experimental film made by Ken Jacobs.[1]

Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son
Directed byKen Jacobs
Distributed byThe Film-Makers' Cooperative
Release date
  • 1969 (1969)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States

Summary edit

 
The 1969 film uses the 1905 film of the same name as its source material.

In a meticulous experiment in rephotography, Jacobs deconstructs, manipulates, and recontextualizes a small fragment of found footage: a 1905 film showing a group of people chasing a thief through a barn, (shot and directed by G.W. ‘Billy’ Bitzer),[2] rescued via a paper print filed for copyright purposes with the Library of Congress," according to Jacobs.[3] Jacobs' refashioning of the footage is an essayistic meditation on the nature of cinematic representation; in the words of Chicago Reader critic Fred Camper, it is "a film about watching movies."[4]

Legacy edit

The film is considered a landmark in avant-garde and structural filmmaking, and remains Jacobs' best-known work.[4] It was inducted to the National Film Registry in 2007, and is part of Anthology Film Archives' "Essential Cinema" repertory.[5]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Artfourm
  2. ^ TCM.com
  3. ^ Anthology Film Archives: Film Screenings
  4. ^ a b Chicago Reader
  5. ^ Anthology Film Archives: Film Screenings

External links edit

  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at the Film-Makers' Cooperative
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at AllMovie
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at IMDb   - 1969 film
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at IMDb   - 1905 film
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at Rotten Tomatoes
  • Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son at the TCM Movie Database
  • Jacobs discussing the work in 1969 at St. John's University
  • Optic Antics, the first major academic survey of Jacobs' work, including Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son