Beginning in the switching yards as they set out on their daily route, Kirchheimer has photographed New Yorks trains as works of art and canvases for the city’s graffiti. As they travel through the decaying urban landscape, they are juxtaposed with advertisements which the filmmaker calls ‘sanctioned vandalism’. Eloquently combines glimpses of faces, billboards and 20th Century artefacts with an urban jazz soundtrack, by Charles Mingus, to create a political film exploring the possibilities of cinema and the visual texture of urban life.
How to watch
Collection
In ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
015635
Subject categories
Advertising, Film, Journalism, Mass Media & TV → Advertising
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → City and town life
Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → New York (N.Y.)
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Railroad trains
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Railroads
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Railroads - Stations
Communications, Infrastructure, & Transport → Railroads - United States
Crafts & Visual Arts → Graffiti
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Advertising
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Advertising photography - Social aspect
Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → City and town life
Experimental
Experimental → Experimental films - United States
Places → New York (N.Y.)
Short films
Short films → Short films - United States
Sound/audio
Sound
Colour
Colour
Holdings
16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)