42:
395:
most fascinating element of all is
Greaves himself. On camera, he doesn't really appear to know what he's doing. But perhaps he does?". Christopher Null, a critic at FilmCritic.com commented negatively on the film's presentation on DVD, saying: "It's too bad that the film's production values scrape rock bottom -- even by low budget standards. Much of the movie is inaudible, and the scratched up film stock gives you a headache from the get-go."
278:, which Greaves described as "those events that transpire in the course of anyone's life that have an impact on the consciousness and the psyche of the average human being, and how that human being also controls or effects changes or has an impact on the environment." By inserting "-psycho-" into the term, Greaves emphasized the mental state affected by those events.
316:
Greaves opted to perform a part rather than "playing himself." Because
Greaves's director character is sexist, unfocused, unprofessional and seemingly inept, the film crews start to sow dissent, all of which is caught on camera because of the constant filming. This footage ends up in the final cut of
394:
film critic
Manohla Dargis called the film "highly entertaining and, at moments, revelatory about filmmaking as a site of creative tension between individual vision and collective endeavor," and Jeffery Anderson from CombustibleCelluloid.com described the film as "a puzzle without an answer; and the
329:
Following the filming in 1968, Greaves attempted to secure financing for a theatrical release. Its experimental nature and bizarre content made finding distribution through channels virtually impossible. This lack of marketability led
Greaves to abandon the four sequels in his planned five-film arc.
258:
to a project that he had conceived several years earlier, in which he would follow and document a group of actors undergoing the audition process for an acting job. Finding himself dissatisfied with "Hollywood acting", which he found stiff and forced rather than loose and spontaneous as life tended
308:
and utilizes the three film crews to each cover a different aspect of the story. Greaves instructs the first crew to film just the actors in an effort to document the audition process. He tells the second film crew to document the first film crew. He tells the third to document anything that fits
409:
The difference being, in this case, that nobody was in on the joke. And that's what makes it so brilliant. When you do a reality show on TV today, you know you're part of a show and that they're going to start creating obstacles for you or trying to complicate the situation purposefully and
320:
Greaves creates a circular meta-documentary about a documentary, a documentary about a documentary and a documentary documenting a documentary about a documentary. Greaves's attempt to capture reality on film employs cameras in the right places at inopportune moments to discourage any short
402:
As you can imagine, I just thought it was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. I couldn't believe it. I couldn't believe how great it was and that it wasn't famous, I mean really famous. Even then, almost ten years ago, I felt maybe it's still, even now, too far ahead of its time.
317:
the film and renders the film more complex. This complexity is enhanced by
Greaves's editing techniques, including split screens displaying two or three perspectives at once, as well as simultaneous split screens to tell the story from three different perspectives.
410:
consciously. Here, you're just watching a situation where people are absolutely convinced that Bill is out of control, doesn't know what he's doing, and you're a fly on the wall. And then the ultimate mutiny takes place. It's really incredible.
304:. He brought in actors whom he had known from his work at The Actors Studio and hired three different film crews to document the proceedings. Greaves appears as the director of the fictional documentary
386:
with an average score of 8.0 out of 10 across 17 reviews while scoring 71 out of 100 at
Metacritic, a site that assigns average ratings based on the reviews of mainstream critics.
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348:. Seeing the film's potential, Buscemi worked to secure financing for a sequel and the release of the original film. Eventually, Buscemi and Greaves were joined by director
270:. The title came from Greaves's own fascination with scientific concepts. The concept of symbiotaxiplasm (from roots meaning "together-life-movement-fluid") originated from
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documentary, attempting to capture and examine pure reality unhindered by the presence of the cameras all around. It is notable for the inherent layers of
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into the documentary's overarching theme, including the actors, the other two film crews and any passers-by or spectators who happen to fit into
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to be, Greaves attempted to find new and different ways to bring out "reality", one that would not cause his subjects to "act to the camera."
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has garnered numerous positive reviews from critics. Praised for its innovation, the film scored an 88% "fresh" rating on
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352:. Together, the three managed to secure distribution channels for the film and financing for one of Greaves's sequels.
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After years of post-development limbo, the film saw a theatrical and DVD release in 2006 alongside its new sequel,
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I think when he was presented with that material, he must have felt like the cinema gods were smiling on him.
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The film was independently financed by one of
Greaves's former students from his teaching days at the
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held a retrospective of
Greaves' work and the curator requested to show the undistributed film.
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The film developed a cult status and eventually caught the attention of actor and filmmaker
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With no other options, Greaves held onto the original print negatives until 1991, when the
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368:, which continues the narrative of two of the actors from the original 35 years later.
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426:– American writer and filmmaker who worked on the film as a production assistant
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The
Exploding Eye: A Re-Visionary History of 1960s American Experimental Cinema
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storytelling, with a documentary inside a documentary inside a documentary.
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Cinemas of the Black
Diaspora: Diversity, Dependence, and Oppositionality
630:""The Daring, Original, and Overlooked "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One""
564:"An Interview about the film with William Greaves and Stephen Soderbergh"
219:
written, directed, co-produced and edited by filmmaker and documentarian
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246:, deeming it "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
482:"'Ghostbusters,' 'Top Gun,' 'Shawshank' Enter National Film Registry"
398:
Steven Soderbergh, a longtime proponent of the film, reflected:
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556:
554:
534:"2015 National Film Registry: "Ghostbusters" Gets the Call"
461:"Movie of the Week: "Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One""
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Greaves's original concept for the film was to apply
758:. Albany: State University of New York, 1997. Print.
751:. Vol. 1-3. Westport (Conn.): Praeger, 2008. Print.
223:. The film is shot and presented in the style of a
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276:Inquiry Into Inquiries: Essays in Social Theory
674:at Metacritic.com. Accessed November 2, 2011.
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923:American avant-garde and experimental films
958:United States National Film Registry films
40:
31:
509:"Complete National Film Registry Listing"
908:1960s avant-garde and experimental films
874:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Still No Answers
765:. Detroit: Wayne State UP, 1995. Print.
448:
344:, who attended a screening at the 1992
749:African Americans and Popular Culture
313:'s overarching theme of "sexuality".
7:
321:improvisations or unnatural events.
628:Brody, Richard (February 5, 2015).
568:fastcheapmoviethoughts.blogspot.com
406:It's the ultimate "reality" piece.
988:English-language independent films
983:English-language documentary films
256:Heisenberg's uncertainty principle
238:was selected by the United States
25:
715:"Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One"
480:Mike Barnes (December 16, 2015).
812:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
801:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
776:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
290:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
283:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
209:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
18:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
46:2005 theatrical release poster
1:
843:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2
823:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2
570:. May 6, 2010. Archived from
357:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2
264:National Film Board of Canada
973:1960s English-language films
662:; accessed November 2, 2011.
27:1968 film by William Greaves
968:Rediscovered American films
953:Films shot in New York City
943:Films scored by Miles Davis
1004:
948:Films set in New York City
933:American independent films
928:American documentary films
438:that is similar in content
148:October 26, 2005
77:Louise Archambault Greaves
105:Terence Macartney-Filgate
39:
963:1960s rediscovered films
788:William Greaves' website
781:by Maria San Filippo at
607:The Criterion Collection
434:- 1973 film directed by
242:for preservation in the
672:"Symbiopsychotaxiplasm"
656:"Symbiopsychotaxiplasm"
938:Films about filmmaking
918:1968 independent films
913:1968 documentary films
783:National Film Registry
487:The Hollywood Reporter
415:
346:Sundance Film Festival
244:National Film Registry
863:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
713:(November 13, 2002).
690:Combustible Celluloid
684:Anderson, Jeffrey M.
600:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
400:
378:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
294:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
236:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
35:Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
978:1960s American films
883:Criterion Collection
596:(December 4, 2006).
292:(then called simply
86:Patricia Ree Gilbert
761:Martin, Michael T.
602:: Still No Answers"
538:Library of Congress
513:Library of Congress
240:Library of Congress
212:is a 1971 American
857:TCM Movie Database
817:TCM Movie Database
793:2017-08-18 at the
754:Dixon, Wheeler W.
459:(March 11, 2015).
376:Over its history,
372:Critical reception
711:Null, Christopher
350:Steven Soderbergh
272:Arthur F. Bentley
268:The Actors Studio
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16:(Redirected from
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165:Running time
29:
729:November 2,
695:November 2,
613:November 2,
594:Taubin, Amy
578:November 1,
250:Development
229:metatextual
178:99 minutes
169:75 minutes
123:Miles Davis
89:Don Fellows
70:Produced by
52:Directed by
903:1968 films
898:1971 films
892:Categories
879:Amy Taubin
443:References
431:F for Fake
152:2005-10-26
62:Written by
234:In 2015,
111:Edited by
92:Bob Rosen
868:AllMovie
791:Archived
418:See also
198:Language
173:Take One
119:Music by
83:Starring
881:at the
855:at the
848:⁄
828:⁄
815:at the
641:June 8,
543:May 12,
518:May 12,
362:⁄
325:Release
201:English
190:Country
182:Take 2½
150: (
139: (
778:essay
837:IMDb
806:IMDb
731:2011
697:2011
643:2023
615:2011
580:2018
545:2020
520:2020
495:2015
266:and
141:1971
137:1971
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300:in
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