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In the Mirror of Maya Deren

Miriam Arsham (Actor), Stan Brakhage (Actor), Martina Kudlcek (Director, Writer) Rated:
Unrated
Format: DVD
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 36 ratings
IMDb7.3/10.0
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July 27, 2004 		—
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Genre Special Interests
Format NTSC, Multiple Formats, Black & White, Full Screen
Contributor Martina Kudlcek, Jonas Mekas, Rita Christiani, Teiji Ito, Miriam Arsham, Maya Deren, Stan Brakhage, Alexander Hammid, Katherine Dunham, Judith Malina, Andr Pierre, Chao Li Chi, Graeme Ferguson See more
Language English
Runtime 1 hour and 43 minutes
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Product Description

With In The Mirror Of Maya Deren, documentary filmmaker Martina Kudlacek has fashioned not only fascinating portrait of a groundbreaking and influential artist, but a pitch-perfect introduction to her strikingly beautiful and poetic body of work. Crowned "Fellini and Bergman wrapped in one gloriously possessed body" by the L.A. Weekly, Maya Deren is arguably the most important and innovative avant-garde filmmaker in the history of American cinema. Using locations from the Hollywood hills to Haiti, Deren made such mesmerizing films as At Land, Ritual In Transfigured Time and her masterpiece Meshes of the Afternoon. This film celebrates the life of the celebrated pioneer of avant-garde cinema, whose short films remain seminal pieces in the experimental canon. Deren, who died in 1961 at the age of 44, is discussed by Jonas Mekas and Deren's former husband, Alexander Hammid.

Product details

  • Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.33:1
  • Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
  • Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 3.53 ounces
  • Item model number ‏ : ‎ 795975105538
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Martina Kudlcek
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Multiple Formats, Black & White, Full Screen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 43 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ July 27, 2004
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Miriam Arsham, Stan Brakhage, Chao Li Chi, Rita Christiani, Maya Deren
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Zeitgeist Films
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0002B55VG
  • Writers ‏ : ‎ Martina Kudlcek
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

Customer reviews

4 out of 5 stars
4 out of 5
36 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Nicholas Croft
5.0 out of 5 stars A Creative Woman's Sense of Biological Time
Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2004
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Maya Deren is not greedy. She does not seek to possess the major portion of your days. She is content: "If on those rare occasions, whose truth can be stated only by poetry, you will perhaps recall an image, or even just the aura of one of my films."

Filmmaker Martina Kudlacek, with "In the Mirror of Maya Deren", has created the perfect companion documentary to the Mystic Fire Video DVD release of Maya's work: "Experimental Films". "In the Mirror of Maya Deren" weaves together excerpts from Ms. Deren's surreal films with archival audio recordings of Deren's voice and filmed interviews of her contemporaries: Alexander 'Sasha' Hammid, Katherine Dunham, Chao-Li Chi, Jonas Mekas and Stan Brakhage. It also features a haunting original score from Tzadik Records founder John Zorn.

This 103-minute work begins at Manhattan's Anthology Film Archives, where some lost containers of Maya's 16mm films have been uncovered. It then continues with the reminiscences of 'Sasha' Hammid, a pioneering Czech experimental filmmaker, who married Ms. Deren in the spring of 1943. Excerpts from and reflections on, "Meshes of the Afternoon", "At Land" and "Ritual in Transfigured Time" all lead into a discussion of Maya's 4 trips to Haiti. She spent 21 months there, between 1947 and 1955, documenting the religious festivals of the Haitian people.

Though much of the Haitian trip was recorded on film, the major fruit from this intense period of study was Maya's book: "Divine Horsemen, The Living Gods in Haiti", which was edited by Joseph Campbell and published in the year 1952. Also in 1952, Maya meets her second husband to be, Teiji Ito, son of the martial arts artist featured in Maya's 1948 film: "Meditation On Violence". They marry at sea in 1960, despite an 18-year age difference between them.

In 1961, Maya Deren dies as the result of a massive brain hemorrhage, at the age of 44. She will long be remembered for working completely outside of the commercial film industry, where she made her own inner experience to be the center of her cinema. "In the Mirror of Maya Deren" tells her uniquely dramatic story in a manner that both excites and perturbs. This compelling documentary should now be considered as essential viewing for all fans of avant-garde film.
34 people found this helpful
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monique
5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful, passionate
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2015
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What a magnificent film! Strong, beautiful, passionate, intelligent woman! She is an inspiration. I just stumbled upon this documentary and now I feel infused with some of the great energy she possessed. That's what it's all about! And the black and white archival imagery is stunning. I think it is the coolest thing, witnessing how hip people were before my time, lol. (where are they now? guess I must find these souls who have some of the right stuff Maya had!) If you love art, watch!
2 people found this helpful
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R. Ramirez
1.0 out of 5 stars Cannot enjoy this unique film about a very unique filmmaker
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2021
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Commercials INTERRUPT important interviews in mid-sentence!
Commercials INTERRUPT film footage.
This film is about a filmmaker and it is ATROCIOUS how either IMDB TV and/or Amazon allow this to happen.
The film get high marks from me; the presentation by both entities SUCKS!
I cannot enjoy this film through EITHER SERVICE!
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wilp5
5.0 out of 5 stars I was delighted to discover that she was the author of "Divine ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2015
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A fascinating documentary on a true artist of early art cinema. I was delighted to discover that she was the author of "Divine Horsemen"  Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti  in the documentary. I'd seen the book but had no idea the author was also a cinematographer. The plot device of going into the vaults to find this hidden works very well.
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Kindle Reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Must Have Documentary.
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2013
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The interviews with the people who were an integral part of her life are fascinating as they share their insight of Maya Deren. All her films are highlighted along with family photographs. Many voice interviews of Ms Deren are also included. She also sings and the rhythm in her voice is wonderful.
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Mark Robinson
2.0 out of 5 stars These are glorified home movies at best. To think Maya Deren's work was considered art ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2017
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These are glorified home movies at best. To think Maya Deren's work was considered art is an affront to the true experimental film makers who came before her. A lazy, often dull documentary, too.
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lisaleo (Lisa Yount)
4.0 out of 5 stars good, but buy with (not instead of) the DVD of Deren's films
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2012
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This biographical documentary is the perfect complement to  Maya Deren: Experimental Films . If you are interested in Deren's excellent, pioneering short films, you should see both. The documentary includes samples of Deren's works that are long enough to give the flavor of them and intrigue viewers, but it does not show the complete films; for that you need the film DVD. Conversely, the biographical material on the film DVD is skimpy, consisting of only short notes, and the documentary does a nice job of expanding this. It intercuts interviews with people who knew and worked with Deren, selections from her films, and printed biographical information.

One aspect of Deren's life that I wish the documentary had covered was her relationship with famed writer Anais Nin. The two were close friends for a while, and Nin played a role in Deren's "Ritual in Transfigured Time"; apparently, though, Nin did not like the way she appeared in the film and complained that Deren's camera "uglified" everything. I would have loved to know more about all this, since both Deren and Nin are such interesting women.

The documentary DVD also includes some "extras" that are worth viewing: two incomplete films by Deren and Stan Brakhage's "Water for Maya." The first of the two film fragments, "Witch's Cradle," is potentially as haunting as finished Deren films such as "Meshes of the Afternoon," though it needs editing to remove film breaks and (in my opinion) shorten some overlong/repetitive sections in its latter half. "Ensemble for Somnambulists," the other fragment, is a precursor to the completed film "The Very Eye of Night," and I found it more interesting in some ways than the latter, in that it better captures the textures of the dancers' costumes, hair, and faces. The documentary shows Brakhage painting the film for what became "Water for Maya," a dance of abstract colors featuring Deren's favorite, blue.
4 people found this helpful
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R. J. BOUR
3.0 out of 5 stars Boring.
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2015
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Boring. I tuned out after half an hour.
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Norman Dawson
5.0 out of 5 stars A must see for anyone interested in film and the spiritual and poetic journey of one of the great creative genius's of modern ci
Reviewed in Canada on August 9, 2016
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A very first rate documentary on one of the major icons of film. Full of insight and understanding. A must see for anyone interested in film and the spiritual and poetic journey of one of the great creative genius's of modern cinema. There are taped interviews of Maya talking about her creative approach to such things as "time" and "movement" in filming. For anyone who is interested in the genesis of modern film this documentary is a must see.
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M. Gehrmann
5.0 out of 5 stars eine fast vergessene Filmemacherin
Reviewed in Germany on February 11, 2011
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eine gelungene Einführung in das Werk und Leben von May Deren, die ich vorher gar nicht kannte. Leider gibt es keinen ihrer Filme bei amazon zu kaufen, die mich noch mehr interessieren würden. Vielleicht bewegt diese filmische Biographie ja diejenigen dazu, die auf ihren Filmen sitzen, diese endlich einmal einem größeren interessierten Publikum anzubieten. Ich würde dies heftig begrüßen.
3 people found this helpful
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