THE
VELVET UNDERGROUND IN BOSTON (1967, sound, color, 33 mins. Dir: Andy Warhol):
This
newly unearthed film, which Warhol shot during a concert at the Boston Tea
Party, features a variety of filmmaking techniques. Sudden in-and-out zooms,
sweeping panning shots, in-camera edits that create single frame images and
bursts of light like paparazzi flash bulbs going off mirror the kinesthetic
experience of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with its strobe lights, whip
dancers, colorful slide shows, multi-screen projections, liberal use of
amphetamines, and overpowering sound. It is a significant find indeed for fans
of the Velvets, being one of only two known films with synchronous sound of the
band performing live, and this the only one in color. It's fitting that it was
shot at the Boston Tea Party, as the Beantown club became one of the band's
favorite, most-played venues, and was where a 16-year-old Jonathan Richman
faithfully attended every show and befriended the group. Richman, who would
later have his debut recordings produced by John Cale, and later yet record a
song about the group, is just possibly seen in the background of this film.
UPTIGHT
#3 (1966, 60 mins. Edited by Danny Williams. Photographed by Danny Williams and
Barbara Rubin):
During
the early days of the Velvet Underground' s collaboration with Andy Warhol,
they began to experiment with multi-media performances called "Andy
Warhol's Uptight," a predecessor to the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows
that were staged later in 1966. Around this time, a series of films were shot,
possibly for use as background projections in the shows. This reel, recently
discovered and restored, is the only one that was edited into a finished form. It
was shot on January 27 & 28, 1966, and chronicles the appearance of the
Velvet Underground on David Susskind's television show, long before they signed
their record contract or were known to almost anyone. The footage, shot by VU
light-show engineer Danny Williams and young experimental filmmaker Barbara
Rubin (Christmas on Earth), includes scenes in the television studio and
travelling on a bus. Besides the band, the "cast" includes many
notable faces from the New York avant garde underground and Warhol's entourage,
including Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders of the Fugs, Angus Maclise, Gerard
Malanga, Paul Morrissey, and many more.
Danny Williams, who edited the
footage shot by himself and Rubin, is just emerging as a rediscovered,
previously-unchroni cled yet crucial member of the early Warhol/Factory circle.
Williams' filmmaking career got an auspicious start with his work as an editor
for the Maysles brothers (notably on their 1964 documentary WHAT'S HAPPENING! THE
BEATLES IN THE U.S.). Soon after this he met Andy Warhol and became his
boyfriend, moving into Warhol's Manhattan townhouse. He was put to work wiring
the flashing, tension-inducing light shows that were a key element of the
Velvet Undergound's performances, and also shot experimental reels using
Warhol's own Bolex 16mm camera. These recently rediscovered films reveal an
expert manipulator of in-camera editing and stroboscopic techniques. At age 27,
Williams mysteriously vanished after visiting his family in Massachusetts, his
borrowed car found next to the ocean but his body never found. Danny Williams'
full story is told in the excellent 2007 documentary A WALK INTO THE SEA: DANNY
WILLIAMS AND THE WARHOL FACTORY, made by his niece Esther B. Robinson.
Avi
