Malcolm Le Grice

Born in 1940, he became a painter. It wasn’t until the 1960s that he started to make experimental film.

The film we are concentrating on is Berlin Horse (1970)

First opinions:

A repeated clip of a horse running around in circles, that somehow manages to be entertaining, even after 6 minutes. A variety of colours and patterns keep this interesting, alongside a striking soundtrack. If anything, the soundtrack is what brings this piece of work to life.

Rather than creating a piece of work that is based purely around its content, and being narrative driven, certainly in a linear way, it engulfs the audience with its movement and sense of time. There is certainly a sense of rhythm being created, with the looping action of the horse; something that takes you on a ride and keeps you wanting more.

It is interesting how the film is more of an experience than something to think about. The contrasting colours and off beat music keep the audience watching, and is visually striking.

It is clearly a case of “film for film’s sake”. The piece definitely draws emphasis on the film being a physical medium to work with, almost canvas like, and breaks down the barriers between the film and audience that conventional film has created.

The soundtrack is excellent, and created by Brian Eno, a pioneer of this type of sound. The out of tune and out of beat repeating melody is almost uncomfortable to listen to. Coupled with the wild movements of the horse and the sporadic colours, it works marvellously to create a video and audio sensation.