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The first ever authorized DVD release of films by Andy Warhol
Released in conjunction with The Andy Warhol Museum, 13 Most Beautiful...Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen
Tests features 13 of Warhol's classic silent film portraits. Subjects include Nico, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Dennis Hopper, and more. Shot between 1964 and 1966 at Warhol's Factory studio in New York City, the Screen Tests are presented with newly commissioned soundtracks performed by Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips. Between 1964 and 1966, Andy Warhol shot nearly 500 Screen Tests, beautiful and revealing portraits of hundreds of different individuals, from the famous to the anonymous, all visitors to his studio, the Factory. Subjects were captured in stark relief by a strong keylight, and filmed by Warhol with his stationary 16mm Bolex camera on silent, black and white, 100-foot rolls of film. The resulting two-and-a-half-minute film reels were then screened in slow motion, resulting in a fascinating collection of four minute masterpieces that startle and entrance, mesmerizing
in the purest sense of the word.
Further Information:
The DVD is presented in a slipcovered hardbound package
New transfers from Warhol’s original 16mm negatives
Behind the scenes making-of the new soundtrack and a video interview with Dean & Britta
40-page booklet with liner notes and biographies of the Screen Test subjects
| Catalog Number: MC-976 |
Type: Feature |
Genre: Art / Artist |
| Copyright: 1964 |
Length: 60 minutes + 15 minutes of extras |
Format:
DVD Region: All regions |
| TV System: NTSC |
ISBN: |
UPC: 082354004828 |
| Label: |
Notes: Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, incorporated original compositions as well as cover songs to create new soundtracks for the 13 films.
This title is available in Europe for Wholesale - List Prices: £23.99 / 34.99€
Wholesale Purchasing:
Program MC-976 is available for wholesale from Microcinema DVD. Contact info[at]microcinema.com or call at +1-415-447-9750
Exhibition:
Microcinema is not authorized to represent this title for exhibition. Write us for this contact information.
Films In Compilation
13 Most Beautiful...
Songs for Andy Warhol's Screen Tests directed by
Andy
Warhol
USA,
Art / Artist,
1966,
01:15:00
The 13 Screen Tests included are Paul America, Susan Bottomly, Ann Buchanan, Freddy Herko, Jane Holzer, Dennis Hopper, Billy Name, Nico, Richard Rheem, Lou Reed, Edie Sedgwick, Ingrid Superstar and Mary Woronov.
Songwriters Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, formerly of the band Luna and currently recording as Dean & Britta, incorporated original compositions as well as cover songs to create new soundtracks for the 13 films. Dean & Britta will be performing the songs live in front of projections of the 13 Screen Tests in a series of events touring museums and performing arts centers around the country including The Walker Art Center in Milwaukee and Linclon Center in New York.
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2010-02-03 Drone Magazine
Over the weekend I was blessed enough to see a few remarkable events held in Melbourne as part of the International Arts Festival, going on here at the moment.
On Friday night, I caught Dean and Britta's 13 Most Beautiful... Andy Warhol's Screen Tests at the Malthouse Theatre. The show was captivating, utilising a four piece band playing compositions to thirteen of Warhol's iconic and legendary screen tests. I walked away just feeling enormously fortunate to have witnessed the performance. For one, it was an absolute treat being able to see some of the screen tests played on a big screen. Secondly, of course, it was a privilege watching Dean and Britta, and their accompanying band perform live. To mix them both together was enticing, but also moving in a way I hadn't expected.
I'd read numerous times before the formidable influence The Velvet Underground had on Dean and Britta, and when I heard about this show, it made obvious sense that the whole Warhol/Factory scene held great interest and meaning for them both as well. And why wouldn't it?! For those of us looking back on the era with a false and non-existent nostalgia, the whole scene surrounding Warhol is both confusing and compelling. Most of his Superstars embodied the notion of burning and fading out, their hyperactive entry into adulthood and the cultural scene cut short by their passion for staying awake and fitting as much craziness in as they possibly could. With it, comes that fatalistic legend that fascinates so many of us so much. It's that same myth that attracts a lot of us to rock and roll; the darker side of existence being let out into the open, being embraced by a select few. And it's probably one of the main reasons myths like Warhol's Factory scene still endures so strongly.
Dean and Britta brought sensitive life to each four minute portrait. At times it seemed as if it were beautifully choreographed, like in the fascinating screen test of Edie Sedgwick, where the lyrics and her actions - a slight smile in the corners of her mouth - seemed to merge completely for a moment.
I was so captivated by the seamlessness of each composition with each piece of film, I would gladly attend another performance again. Dennis Hopper's four minute showcase made me realise he would have been an ideal candidate to play Neal Cassady at that age. Lou Reed proved his authentic 'fuck you' nonchalance once again wearing his impenetrable sunglasses, sucking down a bottle of Coke. Over the top, the band performed an apt Velvet Underground cover.
My favourite piece of the evening accompanied Billy Name's screen test. Primitive tambourine beats dominated a wonderful instrumental piece, the camera lens reflecting off his aviator sunglasses. Next in line would have to be Freddy Herko's moment. His short, tragic, speed-dominated life was told before the piece began, and throughout, you could feel the tension scoping through his face and neck. And slowly the camera would pan to the left, where he'd move his arm so fluidly, dancing with his cigarette. Magical.
| 2010-02-03 Plume Noire
By Fred Thom
What's probably the most fascinating aspect of this project, beside the screen tests themselves and the impressive ensemble of iconic figures they feature, is that Andy Warhol never intended to produce them as a work of art — at least not as a piece that would be exposed in galleries or commercialized. At the special screening presented at the LA film festival and, which was accompanied by a live set from Dean and Britta who also scored this DVD, the actress Mary Woronov who is portrayed, explained that Mr. Warhol's goal was to simply create a collection of living portraits for his personal use. Rather than hanging pictures or paintings on his wall, he instead shot these tests, which he then would watch and rewatch several times by himself — think of them as "family" home videos.
Knowing this, before watching these 13 screen tests is certainly essential, as it allows you to transcend your experience, from their quite improvised and unexciting format to a work of art in motion. The project also boosts a naturalistic dimension, as by just turning the camera on and leaving his unprepared guests by themselves in front of the lens, Mr. Warhol was able to capture his friends in their most authentic selves — even the pros who are posing for the camera end up dropping the act after a while.
Featuring mostly friends of acquaintances of the artist, the screen tests presented here include, among others, Factory icons such as Nico (the most striking and glamorous here), Edie Sedgwick (somewhat lost ingenue) and stars such as Lou Reed (holding a bottle of coke) and Denis Hopper (cool and menacing). Fans of these personalities should appreciate the screen time, and to their credit, fully aware that such a project in the rough might bore most audiences, the producers of this DVD have spiced up the tests by having electro-folk duo Dean and Britta score the soundtrack. Light and artistic, their music — whether it's original cuts or renditions — perfectly create the mood for these films, sometime even venturing into Velvet Underground territory. Another plus is the fact that this box set includes biographies of the subjects — the band introduced them between each song and offered anecdotes — as most of us are not familiar with some starlets and boyfriends featured here.
13 Most Beautiful... Songs for Andy Warhol Screen Tests is certainly not the kind of film for which one sits tight. Rather, this is a mood piece that you can put in the background when having parties — assuming that you roll in a somewhat artistic environment. This isn't either vital or useful. This has the same purpose as paintings and pictures that might be hanging on you walls - you guessed it, this is art re-packaged in a different and more accessible media and that's exactly how you should approach it.
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