A Film by Bill Morrison
Music by Vijay Iyer
On March 17, 1930, a crowd assembled outside Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary in hopes of witnessing Al Capone's release from prison. (He in fact had already been released the night before.)
Filmmaker Bill Morrison and composer Vijay Iyer turn a single archival panning shot of that scene-originally filmed in 1930 by Jack Painter-and its accompanying audio track-recorded in 1930 by Addison Tice--into a split-screen surround sound panoramic film that continually doubles back on itself, creating a short cinematic meditation on the nature of spectacle and spectatorship.
RELEASE made its world premiere in a 20-month installation at Philadelphia's Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site, where it was presented in the cell next to the one once occupied by Al Capone.
Winner, Golden Gate Award, New Visions, 2010 San Francisco International Film Festival
Official Selection, 2010 Tribeca Film Festival
Official Selection, 2010 Sydney Film Festival
Official Selection, 2010 Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Montreal
Official Selection, 2010 Jihlava IDFF, Czech Republic
13 minutesRelease: 2012
American Studies, Cinema Studies, Criminal Justice, Cultural Anthropology, History (U.S.), Law, Media Studies
The Films of Bill Morrison