Luke

USA 2004, DV

realized by:

Bruce Conner

keywords:

exptl. documentary
slow motion
photography, about movies

premiere:

New York Film Festival, Oct 2004

cast&crew:

camera, realization:

Bruce Conner

synopsis: Gladstone Gallery, press release 18 Dec 2004

The film recounts one day during the production of the 1967 film Cool Hand Luke. Invited to visit the set by his friend Dennis Hopper, Conner's film captures the events occurring on both sides of the camera. Though the focus of the day's shoot is a posse of shirtless actors shoveling gravel, including Paul Newman, George Kennedy, and Hopper, Conner's behind-the-scenes view emphasizes the filming as much as what is being filmed. As the crew mills about, dragging various equipment back and forth, the production of the film becomes a parade. Teasing out the relationship between still photography and motion picture, Conner has slowed the film speed during transfer from 8mm to digital video, creating images that are alternately staccato and attenuated. This poetic film, which meditates on both the formal features of film as well as its cultural role, features an original score both composed and performed by Patrick Gleeson.

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