''Free Radicals'' is a black-and-white
animated film short by
avant-garde film
Experimental film or avant-garde cinema is a mode of filmmaking that rigorously re-evaluates cinematic conventions and explores non-narrative forms or alternatives to traditional narratives or methods of working. Many experimental films, parti ...
maker
Len Lye
Leonard Charles Huia Lye (; 5 July 1901 – 15 May 1980) was a New Zealand artist known primarily for his experimental films and kinetic sculpture. His films are held in archives including the New Zealand Film Archive, British Film Institute, M ...
. Begun in 1958 and completed in 1979, Lye made the film by directly scratching the film stock. The resulting "figures of motion" are set to music by the Baguirmi tribe of Africa.
Production
In ''Experimental Animation: the origins of a new art'', Len Lye recalled making ''Free Radicals'':
"I made Free Radicals from 16mm black film leader, which you can get from DuPont. I took a graver, various kinds of needles. (My range included arrowheads for romanticism.) You stick down the sides with scotch tape and you get to work with scratching the stuff out. … … You hold your hand at the right height and act is if you were making your signature. It goes on forever. You can carry a pictographic design in your head and make a little design. You can't see what you're doing because your hand is in the way. That's why those things have that kind of spastic look."
Legacy
In 2008, the film was included in the annual selection of 25 motion pictures added to the
National Film Registry
The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...
of the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and recommended for preservation.
''Free Radicals'' appears on the DVD ''Rhythms'', a collection of short films by Lye.
Re:Voir Vidéo + The Film Gallery
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See also
* List of avant-garde films of the 1950s
This is a list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1950s. Unless noted, all films had sound and were in black and white.
References
{{Filmsbygenre
Avant-garde
1950s
The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly ...
* Independent animation The term independent animation refers to animated shorts and feature films produced outside a major national animation industry.
A good portion of the work is viewed in animation festivals and private screen rooms along with schools that produce ...
* 1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved many significant events.
Highest-grossing films United States and Canada
The top ten 1979 released films by North American gross are as follows:
International
Major events
* March 2 – Buena Vista release t ...
References
External links
Official Website
*
*
*
''Free Radicals''
on MUBI
Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...
* ''Free Radicals'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 761-76
{{Len Lye
1979 films
1979 animated films
1970s American animated films
1970s animated short films
American animated short films
American avant-garde and experimental films
American black-and-white films
United States National Film Registry films
Drawn-on-film animated films
Films directed by Len Lye