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.
Title | Director | Cast | Nation | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | ||||||
The Adventures of Jimmy | James Broughton | James Broughton | United States | Music by Weldon Kees.[1] | ||
Un chant d'amour | Jean Genet | Java, André Reybaz | France | Genet's only film as a director | ||
Eaten Horizons | Wilhelm Freddie, Jørgen Roos | France | Surrealist film | |||
Orphée | Jean Cocteau | Jean Marais | France | |||
Rabbit's Moon | Kenneth Anger | André Soubeyron, Claude Revenant | France | Color[2] | ||
Swain | Gregory Markopoulos, Robert C. Freeman, Jr. | Gregory Markopoulos, Mary Zelles | United States | Based on Hawthorne's novel Fanshawe. Only a drastically shortened version exists; 24 minutes of 50[3][failed verification] | ||
Tłum (The Crowd) | Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | [4][failed verification] | |||
1951 | ||||||
Divertissement Rococo | Hy Hirsh | United States | Abstract animation[5] | |||
Ensemble for Somnambulists | Maya Deren | Canada | [6] | |||
Images pour Debussy | Jean Mitry | France | Visualization of music, semi-abstract water film.[7] | |||
Le film est déja commence? | Maurice Lemaître | France | Lettrist film[8] | |||
Le mort du cerf | Dimitri Kirsanoff | France | ||||
A Treatise on Venom and Eternity | Isidore Isou | Isidore Isou | France | Lettrist film[8] | ||
1952 | ||||||
L'anti-concept | Gil J. Wolman | France | Lettrist film[8] | |||
Approaches and Leavetakings | Weldon Kees, Jurgen Ruesch | United States | [1] | |||
Bells of Atlantis | Ian Hugo | Anaïs Nin | United States | Color. Semi-abstract images and electronic music by Bebe and Louis Barron accompany a reading by Nin from her 1936 novella House of Incest.[9] | ||
Form Phases I | Robert Breer | United States | Color, silent abstract animation.[10] | |||
Hand-Mouth Coordination | Weldon Kees, Gregory Bateson | United States | [1] | |||
Hotel Apex | Weldon Kees | United States | Study of the demolition of an old hotel[1] | |||
Hurlements en faveur de Sade | Guy Debord | France | Lettrist film | |||
Interim | Stan Brakhage | United States | Brakhage's first film, scored by James Tenney[11] | |||
1953 | ||||||
The Boy and the Sea | Stan Brakhage | United States | Silent, listed by Camper as "not available"[11] | |||
Color Cry | Len Lye | United States | Color, Drawn-on-film animation, music by Sonny Terry[12] | |||
Come Closer | Hy Hirsh | United States | Color, abstract animation in 3-D[5] | |||
Eaux d'Artifice | Kenneth Anger | Carmilla Salvatorelli | Italy | Color, added to the National Film Registry in 1993[13] | ||
The End | Christopher Maclaine | United States | Early Beat generation film[14] | |||
Eneri | Hy Hirsh | United States | Abstract animation, color.[5] | |||
Form Phases II | Robert Breer | United States | Color, silent abstract animation.[10] | |||
Mandala | Jordan Belson | United States | Abstract animation, color[15] | |||
The Pleasure Garden | James Broughton | Lindsay Anderson, Hattie Jacques, John Le Mesurier | United Kingdom | |||
Statues Also Die | Chris Marker, Alain Resnais | France | ||||
Unglassed Windows Cast a Terrible Reflection | Stan Brakhage | United States | Silent, listed by Camper as "not available"[11] | |||
1954 | ||||||
Desistfilm | Stan Brakhage | United States | [11] | |||
The Extraordinary Child | Stan Brakhage | United States | Listed by Camper as "not available"[11] | |||
Form Phases IV | Robert Breer | United States | Color, silent abstract animation.[10] | |||
Gyromorphosis | Hy Hirsh | Netherlands | Abstract animation[5] | |||
Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome | Kenneth Anger | Samson de Brier, Anaïs Nin | United States | Color, edited into at least three distinct versions[16] | ||
Un Miracle | Robert Breer, Pontus Hultén | United States | Color, collage animation.[10] | |||
The Way to Shadow Garden | Stan Brakhage | United States | [11] | |||
1955 | ||||||
Atelier de Fernand Léger | Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Filmed at Fernand Léger's studio in Paris[4] | |||
Aviary | Joseph Cornell | United States | Silent[17] | |||
The Bridge | William Heick | Weldon Kees | United States | Poetic study, based on Hart Crane[1] | ||
Closed Vision | Marc'O. | France | Lettrist film[8] | |||
Dementia, aka Daughter of Horror | John Parker | Adrienne Barrett, Bruno VeSota | United States | Essentially silent psychological horror film, music by George Antheil[18] | ||
Une femme coquette | Jean-Luc Godard | Maria Lysandre, Roland Tolma | France | |||
Haitian Film Footage | Maya Deren | Haiti | Begun in 1947; later posthumously edited into The Divine Horsemen[19] | |||
In Between | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, music by John Cage[11] | |||
Jesień (Autumn) | Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[4] | |||
Joanne, Union Square | Joseph Cornell | United States | Silent[17] | |||
Joanne, Xmas | Joseph Cornell | United States | Silent[17] | |||
Mosaik im Vertrauen (Mosaic in Confidence) | Peter Kubelka | Austria | Written by Ferry Radax[20] | |||
A Portrait of Ga | Margaret Tait | United Kingdom | ||||
Orchard Street | Ken Jacobs | United States | Color, silent[21] | |||
Reflections | Madeline Tourtelot | United States | Color, two distinct versions[22] | |||
Reflections on Black | Stan Brakhage | United States | [11] | |||
Sunday in Peking | Chris Marker | France | ||||
Untitled film of Geoffrey Holder’s Wedding | Stan Brakhage, Larry Jordan | United States | [11] | |||
The Very Eye of Night | Maya Deren | United States | Dance film, choreographed by Antony Tudor[19] | |||
The Wonder Ring | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
Żywe fotografie (Photographies Vivantes) | Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[4] | |||
1956 | ||||||
Centuries of June | Stan Brakhage, Joseph Cornell | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
Flesh of Morning | Stan Brakhage | United States | Revised in 1986[11] | |||
Little Cobra Dance | Ken Jacobs | Jack Smith | United States | |||
Nightcats | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
Recreation | Robert Breer | Noël Burch | United States | Color, semi-abstract animation with narration.[10] | ||
Saturday Afternoon Blood Sacrifice | Ken Jacobs | Jack Smith | United States | |||
Together | Lorenza Mazzetti, Denis Horne | Eduardo Paolozzi, Michael Andrews | United Kingdom | Experimental semi-documentary[23] | ||
Zone Moment | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
1957 | ||||||
8 x 8: A Chess Sonata in 8 Movements | Jean Cocteau, Marcel Duchamp, Hans Richter | United States | ||||
A to Z | Michael Snow | Canada | "Blue and white" color, silent[24][25][26] | |||
Adebar | Peter Kubelka | Austria | Early structural — or in Kubelka's terms, "metric" — film[27] | |||
Adventures of * | John Hubley, Faith Hubley | United States | Color, music score by Benny Carter. Semi-abstract animation.[28][29] | |||
Angel | Joseph Cornell | United States | Color[17] | |||
Był sobie raz (Once Upon a Time) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Cut-out animation[30] | |||
Boy's Games | Joseph Cornell | United States | Silent[17] | |||
Cappuccino | Joseph Cornell | United States | [17] | |||
Children | Joseph Cornell | United States | Silent[17] | |||
Cloche a Travers les Feuilles/Claude Debussy | Joseph Cornell | United States | Revised version of Nymphlight[17] | |||
Daybreak and Whiteye | Stan Brakhage | United States | [11] | |||
Dni Oświaty (Education Days) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[4] | |||
A Fable for Fountains | Joseph Cornell, Rudolph Buckhardt | United States | Begun in 1955; revised as "A Legend for Fountains" in 1965[17] | |||
Glimpse of the Garden | Marie Menken | United States | Selected for addition to the National Film Registry in 2007[31] | |||
Nagrodzone uczucia (Requited Sentiments) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[30] | |||
Jamestown Baloos | Robert Breer | United States | Color, semi-abstract combination of animation and live action.[10] | |||
Loving | Stan Brakhage | Carolee Schneemann, James Tenney | United States | Color, silent[11] | ||
Strep-tease (Striptease) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[30] | |||
A Man and His Dog Out for Air | Robert Breer | United States | Abstract animation, shown with Last Year at Marienbad in its first New York run.[10] | |||
The Man Who Invented Gold | Christopher Maclaine | United States | Partly filmed by Jordan Belson[32] | |||
Nymphlight | Joseph Cornell | United States | Color[17] | |||
1958 | ||||||
Anticipation of the Night | Stan Brakhage | United States | [33] | |||
Beat | Christopher Maclaine | United States | [32] | |||
Broadway by Light | William Klein | France, United States | ||||
Défense d'afficher | Hy Hirsh | France | Color[5] | |||
Dom (House) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation; Winner of 1958 Belgium International Experimental Film Competition[30] | |||
Free Radicals | Len Lye | United Kingdom | ||||
Une histoire d'eau | Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut | Caroline Dim, Jean-Claude Brialy | France | Semi-improvised, proto-Nouvelle vague short[34] | ||
A Movie | Bruce Conner | United States | Iconic collage film.[35] | |||
Schwechater | Peter Kubelka | Austria | "Metric" beer commercial | |||
Szkoła (School) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animated photographs[4] | |||
Spatiodynamisme | Tinto Brass, Nicolas Schöffer | France | Color, silent. A visual document of Schöffer's CYSP-1, the first cybernetic sculpture.[36] | |||
Sztandar młodych (Banner of Youth) | Jan Lenica, Walerian Borowczyk | Poland | Animation[30] | |||
The Very Eye of Night | Maya Deren | United States | ||||
1959 | ||||||
Les astronautes | Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker | France | Animated[4] | |||
Chasse des Touches | Hy Hirsh | France | Abstract animation[5] | |||
Cat's Cradle | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
The Diary of an Unknown Soldier | Peter Watkins | United Kingdom | ||||
Eyewash | Robert Breer | United States | Color, silent mixture of abstract animation and live action; exists in two versions.[10] | |||
Hiroshima mon amour | Alain Resnais | Eiji Okada, Emmanuelle Riva | France | Written by Marguerite Duras | ||
Monsieur Tête | Jan Lenica | France | Animation[30] | |||
Odds and Ends | Jane Conger Shimane Belson | United States | ||||
Pull My Daisy | Robert Frank, Alfred Leslie | Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso | United States | Beat Generation film, written by Jack Kerouac[37] | ||
The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film | Richard Lester | United Kingdom | ||||
Scotch Hop | Christopher Maclaine | United States | [32] | |||
Season of Strangers | Maya Deren | United States | Unfinished; made as part of Haiku Film Project at Woodstock[19] | |||
Shadows | John Cassavetes | Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd | United States | |||
Sirius Remembered | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] | |||
Wedlock House: An Intercourse | Stan Brakhage | United States | Silent[11] | |||
Window Water Baby Moving | Stan Brakhage | United States | Color, silent[11] |