The Cut-Ups
Essentially a dizzying montage of quirky shots of legendary Beat Generation writer William S. Burroughs and noted surrealist artist Brion Gysin, this nearly 20 minute avant-garde short features repeated articulations of such random things as "Hello," "Where are we now?," and "Look at that picture" instead of music or standard dialogue. The narrative is decidedly nonlinear and perplexing, with no discernible plot whatsoever as we see images of Gysin working on his paintings and calligraphic designs and Burroughs rummaging through draws, packing a suitcase, giving a young man a physical, making a call in a phone booth, and waiting on a platform for a subway train.
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📋 Film Details
| Year | 1966 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Documentary |
| Director | Antony Balch |
| Runtime | 19 min. |
| Rating | TMDB: 6.8/10 (11 votes) |
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🎬 MovieFinder's Take
Director Anthony Balch constructs the film as a pure editing exercise, relying on Burroughs and Gysin's famed 'cut-up' technique. It explores the nature of perception itself, using repetition and juxtaposition to dismantle the causal links between image and sound.
What lingers after the screen goes dark is a hypnotic trance, where meaning yields to the pure sensation of rhythm and random coincidence. A dizzying, mechanical poem that challenges how we assemble reality. — MovieFinder Editorial
Director: Antony Balch
Best Watched
Watch in total darkness, in a state between sleep and wakefulness, as a visual meditation.
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