Over the course of more than five decades, the American experimental filmmaker Stan Brakhage produced a large body of work. All films in the filmography are assumed to be silent, in color, and are meant to be shown at 24 frames per second, unless otherwise noted. The Brakhage films, comprising his edited originals, intermediate elements, and other original material, are housed at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Film Archive, where a long-term project is underway to preserve and restore his entire film output.[citation needed]
Fifty-six of these films are available on DVD (as two separate volumes) and Blu-ray from the Criterion Collection.[1]
Part of Songs cycle; Brakhage later released the film as two halves under the names 23rd Psalm Branch: Part 1 (1979) and 23rd Psalm Branch: Part 2 (1980)[2]
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
II
16 mm
9 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
III
16 mm
2 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
IV
16 mm
2 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
V
16 mm
3 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
Other missing works
Around 1979, Brakhage produced as many as five films[2] using the Polavision developed by Polaroid. These films are estimated to have been about 2+1⁄2 minutes each in length. Their present whereabouts are unknown.
1980s
Stan Brakhage 1980s' filmography
Year
Title
Format
Length
Notes
1980
VI
16 mm
10 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
VII
16 mm
5 minutes
18 frames per second; part of the "Roman Numeral Series" (also called the "Romans")
The film is officially untitled, but is referred to by the dedication that appears in place of a title card. It is dedicated to his wife Marilyn Brakhage.[2]
1993
Boulder Blues and Pearls and...
16 mm
23+1⁄2 minutes
Sound
Blossom Gift Favor
16 mm
2 minutes
Autumnal
16 mm
5 minutes
Ephemeral Solidity
16 mm
4+1⁄2 minutes
The Harrowing
16 mm
2 minutes
Tryst Haunt
16 mm
3 minutes
Stellar
16 mm
2+1⁄2 minutes
Study in Color and Black-and-white
16 mm
2 minutes
Three Homerics: Diana Holding Back the Night, The Rolling Sea, and Love Again
Yggdrasill: Whose Roots Are Stars in the Human Mind
16 mm
17 minutes
1998
...
16 mm
95 minutes
Also known as Ellipses; consists of five separate reels, the last of which has sound. According to film critic and Brakhage scholar Fred Camper, the filmmaker "[had] said that it's acceptable to show any number of these in any order."[2]
One of the "Vancouver Island" films; the last of Brakhage's longer works
2003
Stan's Window and Work in Progress
16 mm
13 minutes
Stan's Window and Work in Progress were usually shown together; Stan's Window was the last film Brakhage completed before his death, and Work in Progress consists of the last footage he shot.
Chinese Series
35 mm
2+1⁄2 minutes
A project Brakhage was working on at the time of his death; only printed posthumously