Hy Hirsh

Three fellows dream of prize money and a chance for a real Hollywood contract by winning the Liberty-Pete Smith amateur movie contest. They work on a script, as their wastebasket and ashtrays fill. They head outside to shoot: down a manhole, up a telephone pole, through a keyhole, and at night using binoculars. Next they must edit their film, then it's time for a first screening of their product, "The Afternoon of a Rubberband." It's a montage of experimental images, including a razor blade cutting various objects, a baby in a cooking pot, and a snail in the path of a steamroller. After the screening, the boys wonder if that was their only shot at Hollywood fame. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2004.

Kwakiutl, Kwakwaka'Wakw, potlatches. British Columbia tribe as a civilization in decline as assimilation has almost obliterated native culture. Fort Rupert, Britsh Columbia Canada

Whether at the stage of conceptualization or "editing", the blending and multiple impression of the images were done in-camera. In this sense, I think I have found ways to strengthen the evolution of the camera as a creative instrument. The whole film is one scene without any dark moments. In AUTUMN SPECTRUM, movement is the dominant element, while nostalgia is the real theme of the film.

Directed by Hy Hirsh. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2000.

Directed, assembled by Hy Hirsch.

According to the director, "Gyromorphosis strives to bring into actuality the inherent kinetic qualities seen in the construction-sculpture of Constant Nieuwenhuys of Amsterdam. To realize this aim I have put into motion, one by one, pieces of this sculpture and, with colored lighting, filmed them in various detail, overlaying the images on the film as they appear and disappear. In this way, I have hoped to produce sensations of acceleration and suspension which are suggested to me by the sculpture itself."

Decollages Recolles is a mystery as it is unfinished, with no indication of the track Hirsh intended. We had two reels, each with a head title, but no identification whether they were to be printed together, or projected side by side (which seems more likely). Parts of reel one have optically printed layers of fireworks, oscilloscopes, birds, etc. Hirsh reprinted images similar to those in Eneri, Come Closer and Divertissement Rococo. Reel two is a much less polished collage with live action shots including city windows, a marching band, monkeys, circus performers, Charlie Chaplin footage and Paris neon at night. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2000.

Short experimental film by Hy Hirsh. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2000.

A Hy Hirsh film. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2000.

A potentially lost film by Hy Hirsh

A comically solemn dance film composed of superimposed images.

A potentially lost film by Hy Hirsh.

A film by Hy Hirsh. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2000.

Study of posters and graffiti on the walls of Paris, using ellipses, brief shots and quick camera movements. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with iotaCenter and National Film Preservation Foundation in 2000.

With his last film, Hirsch more than ever justifies a critic’s description as ‘the Matisse of the Cinema.