en

The Detours of Robert Frank

  • France
  • 1993
  • fr
  • en
  • 15'

In the early 1990s, Robert Frank confides his reluctance to photograph. He has made around twenty films already, and sees video as a tool, an extraordinary notebook.. At the Cinémathèque Française (then still at the Palais de Chaillot), he presents his great films. A chance to peek behind the curtain of his creation and evoke his poetic, experimental quest.

The Detours of Robert Frank
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Synopsis

In the early 1990s, Robert Frank confides his reluctance to photograph. He has made around twenty films already, and sees video as a tool, an extraordinary notebook.. At the Cinémathèque Française (then still at the Palais de Chaillot), he presents his great films. A chance to peek behind the curtain of his creation and evoke his poetic, experimental quest.

What you will learn in this film…

Robert Frank's take on his photography in the early 1990s • His taste for filmmaking • Excerpts from his great films • The influence of photography in his films • The life he detects in photography • The personalities of his entourage as a starting point for his films • The importance of the video tool to his film-making • His need to always seek something new • The good fortune to live in New York

Keywords

The artist inspiration Black & White
I always try to do something new.

Film chapters

summary00:00 No more photos

summary02:10 First film “Pull My Daisy”

summary05:42 Video for learning

summary10:50 Getting away from New York

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Linked Articles

The authors/artists

Robert Frank
Photographer
Film collective: Christophe Gauthier, Marie-Anne Chambonnier, Christos Kallitsis and Julia Reschop
Fimmakers

Further exploration

Bibliography

Selective filmography

Resources

Instagram

• THE AMERICANS - artist: Robert Frank ; introduction: Jack Kerouac ; 1959 ; Grove Press

• THE LINES OF MY HAND - artist: Robert Frank ; 1972 ; Lustrum Press

• MOVING OUT - artist: Robert Frank ; 1995 ; Scalo 

• LONDON / WALES - artist: Robert Frank ; author: Philip Brookman ; 2007 ; Steidl Verlag 

• PARIS - artist: Robert Frank ; 2008 ; Steidl Verlag 

• PERU - artist: Robert Frank ; 2008 ; Steidl Verlag 

• VALENCIA - artist: Robert Frank ; 2012 ; Steidl Verlag 

• IN AMERICA - artist: Robert Frank ; 2014 ; Steidl Verlag 

• HOLD STILL - KEEP GOING - artist: Robert Frank ; author: Christophe Ribbat ; 2016 ; Steidl Verlag 

• ROBERT FRANK: GOOD DAYS QUIET - 2019 ; Steidl 

• ROBERT FRANK: BOOKS AND FILMS, 1947-2019 - author: Gerhard Steidl ; 2020 ; Steidl Verlag

• PULL MY DAISY (1959)

• ME & MY BROTHER (1965-1968)

• CONVERSATIONS IN VERMONT (1969)

• COCKSUCKER BLUES (1972)

• LIFE DANCES ON (1980)

• HOME IMPROVEMENTS (1985)

• TRUE STORY (2004)

• TUNNEL (2005)

A Mesmerizing Marathon Of Robert Frank’s Movies - The New Yorker Article

Interview: New Doc Puts Robert Frank in Frame - Hollywood Soapbox Article

Possibly, Everything: An Interview with Robert Frank - Border Crossings Article

Uneasy Words While Waiting: An Interview With Robert Frank - Don’t Take Pictures Article

Robert Frank - Howard Greenberg Gallery Page