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Movies / On DVD / Decasia: The State of Decay
Decasia: The State of Decay

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Decasia: The State of Decay (2002)

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Reviews Counted:15

Fresh:13

Rotten:2

Average Rating:6.5/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 67 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Mar 19, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: On November 4th and 5th of this year the Europaischer Musikmonat in Basel, Switzerland will present the basel sinfonietta in the premiere of a symphony by Michael Gordon made theatrical by Ridge... On November 4th and 5th of this year the Europaischer Musikmonat in Basel, Switzerland will present the basel sinfonietta in the premiere of a symphony by Michael Gordon made theatrical by Ridge Theater. The fifty-five member orchestra will be presented in an environmental setting on a scaffolding structure in the shape of a triangle surrounding the audience. Stretched and hung over the face of the structure will be a variety of fabrics to be used as projection surfaces through which the musicians and instruments will be visible. Onto these surfaces will be projected a film created by Bill Morrison who is drawing on black and white archival footage in various states of deterioration. Layered onto the film imagery will be slide projections created by Laurie Olinder. The event took place at the Paul Sacher-Halle, Saal 2 in Basel, Switzerland. [More]

Director: Bill Morrison

Director: Bill Morrison
Composer: Michael Gordon

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Release:

Jan 27, 2004

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Reviews for Decasia: The State of Decay

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1 - 19 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Others, more attuned to the anarchist maxim that 'the urge to destroy is also a creative urge', or more willing to see with their own eyes, will find Morrison's iconoclastic uses of technology to be liberating.

Full Review Source: Eye for Film | comment Comment
08/12/02
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Eye for Film

Decasia is what has happened already to so many silent movies, newsreels and the like. The unexpected thing is that its dying, in this shower of black-and-white psychedelia, is quite beautiful.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
03/19/03
Anita Gates
Anita Gates
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As a musical piece, it is...able to convey mixed emotions within a very dissonant setting. But the film that goes along with it has a harder time selling its sense of self.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
08/30/05
Bill Gibron
Bill Gibron
DVDTalk.com

Bill Morrison's Decasia is uncompromising, difficult and unbearably beautiful.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
01/08/02
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

I'm sure the filmmaker would disagree, but, honestly, I don't see the point. It's a visual Rorschach test and I must have failed.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

The film is a fierce dance of destruction. Its flame-like, roiling black-and-white inspires trembling and gratitude.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
03/18/03
J. Hoberman
J. Hoberman
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Simultaneously heartbreakingly beautiful and exquisitely sad.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
03/19/03
Maitland McDonagh
Maitland McDonagh
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Like Brakhage, Morrison contemplates the nature of film itself and, like Conner, he conjures an apocalyptic vision. In Decasia's case, this comes from the deformation, which turns ordinary scenes into horror-movie spectacle. Of course, despite the formal

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
10/21/03
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

The visuals are hypnotic to watch ... and despite the seeming lack of narrative, they even generate suspense via the associative editing technique Morrison employs.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
03/29/03
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

If you're the kind of parent who enjoys intentionally introducing your kids to films which will cause loads of irreparable damage that years and years of costly analysis could never fix, I have just one word for you -– Decasia

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
03/29/02
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

By presenting images that are in advanced stages of decomposition Morrison is agitating in the most powerful way on behalf of the archives fighting to rescue their holdings from disintegration.

Full Review Source: Sight and Sound | comment Comment
12/02/03
Tony Rayns
Tony Rayns
Sight and Sound

A mesmerising meditation on life, death and cinema that recalls the heyday of the 60s avant-garde.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
09/30/03
Jamie Russell
Jamie Russell
BBC

It's for those who like curio films.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
01/01/04
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Empire Magazine

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/26/06
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/01/03
Austin Chronicle
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
01/15/04
Guardian [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
 
 
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