Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2 (2005)

Review: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2 (2005)

Director: William Greaves

Cast: William Greaves, Steve Buscemi, Audrey Heningham, Shannon Baker, Jonathan Gordon,

William Greaves
William Greaves
Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi
Audrey Heningham
Audrey Heningham
Shannon Baker
Shannon Baker
Jonathan Gordon
Jonathan Gordon

Plot: A movie about making movies about making movies. In 1968, William Greaves shot several pairs of actors in a scene in which a woman confronts her husband and ends their relationship. In "Take 2 1/2," Greaves starts with 1968 takes of one of these pairs of actors plus footage of the crew discussing the film's progress. Then, 35 years later, Greaves brings back to Central Park those actors and some of the original crew (plus others) to film a reunion of the characters Alice and Freddie. We watch scenes of these characters and discussions among the actors and crew. Greaves explores and dramatizes the dialectic in the creative process.

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Seeking cinematic truth: two new Criterion Blu-rays

Seeking cinematic truth: two new Criterion Blu-rays

Two new releases from the Criterion Collection showcase very different approaches to filmmaking. Robert Bresson’s Mouchette (1967) and William Greaves’ Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Two Takes (1968/2005), although both made during the […]

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