Overview
Harry Smith’s final film; an epic four-screen projection. Smith worked on this cinematic transformation of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny (1929) for over ten years and considered it his magnum opus. The film was shot from 1970 to 1972 and edited for the next eight years. The “program” of the film is meticulous, with a complex structure and order. The Weill opera is transformed into a numerological and symbolic system. Images in the film are divided into categories— portraits, animation, symbols and nature— to form the palindrome P.A.S.A.N.A.S.A.P. The film contains invaluable cameos of important avant-garde figures such as Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, and Jonas Mekas, intercut with installation pieces from Robert Mapplethorpe’s studio, New York City landmarks of the era, and Smith’s visionary animation.
Cast
Patti Smith
Self
Allen Ginsberg
Self
Lotte Lenya
Self (voice)
Jonas Mekas
Self
Hello
Return to Me
Hello
The Return of Don Camillo
Return of the Seven
Bonanza: The Return
Cocoon: The Return
Don't Worry Darling
Return to Nim's Island
Hello
Jarhead: Law of Return
Leprechaun Returns
Warhorse One
Hello
Return to Mayberry
Ek Villain Returns
Return to Space
Return to the 36th Chamber
Christmas ...Again?!
The Return