Moonsigns  |  Band Guide  |  Blogs  |  In Pictures  |  Adult
Boston  |  Portland  |  Providence
 
Features  |  Reviews

Jack Smith and the Destruction of Atlantis

It's hard not to be moved
By RICHARD BECK  |  February 21, 2007
3.0 3.0 Stars
phxcinema#Jack Smith_Destruction_ Atlantis#')

Even if Andy Warhol did call filmmaker Jack Smith “the only person I would ever copy,” Mary Jordan’s portrait of the avant-garde anti-hero goes a little far in asserting his importance. Film, performance art, rock videos, Fellini — Jack Smith, it seems, made it all happen. Despite Jordan’s sometimes stifling love of her subject, she has an imaginative eye for Smith’s surprisingly coherent æsthetics. Those who admired and hated his films — “Flaming Creatures” (1963) is either famous or notorious depending on who you talk to — may have painted him as everything from sexual freedom fighter to moral menace, but for Smith it was all about the “Baroque.” His ornate sensibilities are on display throughout, and with his sad, sing-songy voice serving as a guide, it’s hard not to be moved. Warhol, Jonas Mekas, and Mary Jordan herself want him to have transformed a world that he only wanted to escape. The Harvard Film Archive is accompanying this documentary with a program of “Flaming Creatures” and two other Jack Smith films go to hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/.
Related:
  Topics: Reviews , Jack Smith , Entertainment , Movies ,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Live from St. Paul: real-time updates at thePhoenix.com/Election2008
More: DNC 2008
ARTICLES BY RICHARD BECK
Share this entry with Delicious
  •   13 SHOTS TO THE DOME  |  September 03, 2008
    The 10 hours and 29 minutes of LL Cool J’s career
  •   OKKERVIL RIVER  |  September 02, 2008
    The Stand Ins | Jagjaguwar
  •   DEATH VESSEL  |  August 19, 2008
    Nothing Is Precious Enough For Us | Sub Pop
  •   THE PLAY’S THE THING  |  June 30, 2008
    The audial oddities of Blevin Blectum
  •   SILVER JEWS  |  June 24, 2008
    Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea | Drag City

 See all articles by: RICHARD BECK

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



Featured Articles in Reviews:
Sunday, September 07, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group