Jaap Pieters: The Eye of Amsterdam

Avant-garde cinema (past and present) continues to be upheld in a monthly screening series entitled Early Monthly Segments, presented at the Art Bar in the Gladstone Hotel. For their twenty-eighth show last night, they featured a retrospective of films by Amsterdam artists Jaap Pieters. Although his works are often shown in European cine-clubs, they are rarely seen in Canada. His in-person appearance to introduce the work made last night's screening all the more precious.

While the twenty-plus films in this program were not shown chronologically, there is a central work ethic to these pieces. Each subject was shot on a complete roll of Super 8 film (averaging over three minutes of running time),

Films Screened:

(titles translated from their original Dutch)

Clear Views (1997; 2:20)

Screamman (1994; 3:20)

A Swiss Dragonfly (2000; 3:20)

Passengers on Sunday (1996; 3:20)

Meat Transport (1995; 3:20)

The Weight [AKA- Who's Afraid of Red Yellow and Blue] (1998; 6:40)

Radioman and the Candlewoman (1996; 10:00)

WilliamIWilliamIIWilliamIIIq (1991; 17:12)

Jimmy's Ballet (1993; 3:00)

Queen Street West I (2011; 3:20)

-intermission-

The Furious With Bottle and Can (2002; 1:30)

Silver Grey Waves on the Land or the White Sea (2000; 3:20)

Stringless (1994; 3:20)

4 Policemen Write Tickets (2000; 6:40)

The Flyer (1995; 3:20)

Tears From Daddy's Suit (1994; 5:30)

The Trolleyman (1991; 3:20)

Michel's Shadowworks (2004; 3:20)

Sudscrubbing (1995; 3:20)

The Tincanman (1991; 3:20)

The Cups Dance (1992; 2:20)

Queen Street West II (2011; 3:20)

DVD Releases We Dig This Week (06.07.11)

This week features some more drive-in fun debuting on DVD. From Code Red, comes the revenge-trash classic Brute Corps (1972); and for all you supporters of CanCon, don't miss the Lee Majors futuristic drama, The Last Chase (1981) .

Good old Alpha Home Entertainment has several releases of thrills and chills from yesteryear this week, but the one that especially catches our eye is the 3 DVD set, Douglas Fairbanks Silent Rarities, featuring the dashing swashbuckler in: When The Clouds Roll By (1919), The Americano (1916) and Wild and Wooly (1917).