A Movie

While recapping the outlook of director Bruce Conner on the entertainment industry, one enthusiastic amateur film critic says that "As long as it's naked or goes boom, we're entertained." On the Internet, people are still carrying on a lively discussion about Conner's 1958 experimental classic A Movie. This 12-minute film consists of a curious montage of more or less well-known found footage. We see the atom bomb explode and the Hindenburg go up in flames, but also stuntmen on crazy bicycles or strange motorcycles. But why is the footage of the Hindenburg as it crashes and burns playing backwards? Why that striptease at the beginning? And what could that unusual soundtrack possibly mean? In the past years, A Movie has become quite the object of study for film students, not to mention a means for film professors to drive their students insane. For after all, what does this seductive and jarring montage actually mean? "Many people claim this film is a mockery of what's good in film. That it's only random images. Well, those people don't have insight and don't think metaphorically," according to one interpretation on the Internet. Another clear insight says that "I think the film symbolises violence." One thing is for sure: if you've seen A Movie, you've become a partner in a cinematic experience that can be very inspiring.