#360: GREAVES, William: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One (1968) / Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take 2 1/2 (2003)

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GREAVES, William (United States)
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One [1968] / Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take 2 1/2 [2003]
Spine #360
DVD


In his one-of-a-kind fiction-documentary hybrid Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One, director William Greaves presides over a beleaguered film crew in New York's Central Park, leaving them to try to figure out what kind of movie they're making. A couple enacts a breakup scenario over and over, a documentary crew films a crew filming the crew, locals wander casually into the frame: the project defies easy description. Yet this wildly innovative sixties counterculture landmark remains one of the most tightly focused and insightful movies ever made about making movies. Criterion presents this long-unreleased gem in a special two-disc edition, along with its sequel, Take 2 1/2, made thirty-five years later with executive producers Steven Soderbergh and Steve Buscemi.

Take One
75 minutes
1:33:1 aspect ratio

Take 2 1/2
99 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:78:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2006
Director


William Greaves was 42 when he directed Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take One (1968) and 77 when he directed Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Take 2 1/2 (2003).

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-six page booklet featuring an essay by Amy Taubin and production notes by Greaves.

Commentary

None.

Discovering William Greaves

Documentary on Greaves’s career, featuring Greaves, his wife and coproducer Louise Archambault, actress Ruby Dee, filmmaker St. Clair Bourne, and film scholar Scott MacDonald.
Video interview

With Steve Buscemi.
Theatrical trailer

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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