Zorns Lemma (1970) - Hollis Frampton

Yeah, this is a bit of a head scratcher. I wonder sometimes if people make too much out of this. Frampton himself has offered interpretations that he wasn't even consciously aware of while filming. The picture has three main acts, a pictureless intro of narration, a very long segment of a 24 letter alphabet, and then finally a very long static shot of a couple walking their dog through a snow covered field while six different female voices recite another story. That is the essential structure but things do get somewhat interesting. During the alphabet letters are subtracted and replaced with images (fire, sea waves crashing, fields of wheat, etc) and as the segment progresses more and more letters are removed for these images creating something of a guessing game as to what the next letter shall be. Everything is regimented, a second of an image and a second of blackness, next letter, etc. It is easy to fall asleep for this segment though as no sound or dialogue overlaps here, and really who can sit through words representing the alphabet for 40 minutes? This is still the best known film of Frampton's and apparently is one that embodies most of his obsessions. He seemed intrigued by puzzles and forms, and this would suit that somewhat well.