Perfect Lives

The Pop Show

January 1966 •English

A Pop Art extravaganza by Fred Mogubgub from the late-1960s, innovative in the use of the quick cut, this film is a parade of pop icons of its time. Features a pre-Playboy, pre-N. O. W. Gloria Steinem.

So Young, So Bright

November 1955 •Japanese

Two high school girls, Ruri and Yumi, go to Kyoto on a school trip, here they get acquainted with Hinagiku, there are many adventures ahead of the three of them. A musical starring 3 Japanese pop music and TV stars.

Oh Yoko!

January 1973 •English

Animation by japanese artist Keiichi Tanaami for John Lennon's song "Oh Yoko!" -- the song was released in 1971, and the animation made in 1973. Keiichi Tanaami (田名網 敬一, Tanaami Keiichi, born in 1936 in Tokyo) was one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan, and was active as multi-genre artist since the 1960s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist until his death in 2024.

Devin Townsend - Empath - The Ultimate Edition (5.1 Surround Sound Mix)

June 2020 •English

‘Empath – The Ultimate Edition’ is the definitive version of Devin Townsend’s acclaimed 2019 album Empath. Featuring the original album & bonus disc, it also includes 2 Blu-Ray discs, the first of which contains a brand new 5.1 surround sound mix by Devin, as well as visuals for each track on the main album, plus a visualizer for the stereo version of the album. The second blu-ray disc contains ‘Acoustically Inclined – Live in Leeds’, a live show filmed during the April 2019 acoustic tour, as well as the Empath Documentary, ‘Genesis’ 5.1 mixing lesson, acoustic gear tour, a full Empath album commentary, and a video for the bonus track ‘King’. This is all contained within a hardback artbook with expanded artwork and photos, as well as new liner notes by Dave Everley.

Idea

December 1968 •English

The Bee Gees preform in this special created for German TV. Also featured are Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger, and the Trinity, and Lil Lindfors.

Night Flight: Born Again

April 2016 •English

Documentary tribute to what VH1 called “the single greatest rock omnibus program ever aired” and Brooklyn Vegan named “the most consistently weird and awesome thing on cable television in the ’80s.” This ‘Best Of’ episode features some of the most memorable moments of Night Flight's near-decade long run including restored interviews and segments from Kate Bush, New Wave Theatre, David Lynch, Prince, Wendy O Williams, Divine, Billy Idol, Johnny Rotten, and much more Night Flight treasures from the archive.

Head Rag Hop

June 1970 •English

A proto-music video: three minutes of experimental animation set to the tune of Romeo Nelson's 'Head Rag Hop'.

Roundabout Art

May 2020 •German

In Europe, road junctions have become public art galleries. A road trip across France, Switzerland, the Canary Islands, Greece and Germany exploring the glorious world of roundabout art.

Crazy Love

September 1968 •Japanese

Correlated with Susan Sontag's theorization of kitsch as well as employing the queer lingo of "camp," this film's relentless equal opportunity pop-art montage shattered the foundations of conventional cinema, making it a true document of the Shinjuku underground scene. Director Okabe himself appears recreating his favorite roles from Bonnie and Clyde to Spaghetti Westerns, as well as incorporating quotations by inserting stills of Godard, Kennedy’s assassination and the Vietnam War.

Isabel & Roy

March 2023 •English

Prior to his Pop-art fame in New York, Roy Lichtenstein struggled to find work and raised a family in Cleveland. His wife Isabel helped support him as he developed his signature style. But, before he could establish his career, she had to give up hers.

Bunny & Non-Bunnyness

July 2018 •English

When the Easter Bunny discovers nobody believes in him anymore, he has an existential crisis.

Art and the Cold War. Esthetic Resistance

May 2024 •Estonian

A story about the relationship between independent Soviet art and the West. It recalls a time when art was larger and more important than life itself. On one side, there are independent Soviet artists who lack not only the output but also the finances to complete their works. On the other side, there is the tempting West whose ambassadors (in the literal sense) take active interest in the Soviet underground art market. Selling one’s works to the West is a tricky business since the almighty KGB stands between the two mutually interested parties. Nevertheless, an incredible quantity of mainly Estonian and Moscovian visual art is sold and taken across the border. This is facilitated mainly by Western diplomats, behind whose coordinated actions stands none other than the CIA.

I'm Too Sad to Tell You

March 1971 •English

This short film is part of a mixed media artwork of the same name, which also included postcards of Ader crying, sent to friends of his, with the title of the work as a caption. The film was initially ten minutes long, and included Ader rubbing his eyes to produce the tears, but was cut down to three and a half minutes. This shorter version captures Ader at his most anguished. His face is framed closely. There is no introduction or conclusion, no reason given and no relief from the anguish that is presented.

Broken Fall (Organic)

February 1971 •English

Bas Jan Ader hangs from the branch of a tall tree, until he loses his grip and falls into a river below.

Nightfall

March 1971 •English

Shot in his garage-studio, the camera records Ader painstakingly hoisting a large brick over his shoulder. His figure is harshly lit by two tangles of light bulbs. He drops the brick, crushing one strand of lights. He again lifts the brick, allowing tension to accrue. The climax inevitable—the brick falls and crushes the second set of lights. Here the film abruptly ends, all illumination extinguished.

Robotica Destructiva

January 2023 •English

A trio of android warrior sisters are awakened after a 10,000-year sleep to do battle with a series of mechanized warlords that threaten their world.

The Family Fang

April 2016 •English

A brother and sister return to their family home in search of their world famous parents who have disappeared.

The Great Ice-Cream Robbery

August 1971 •English

Two screens of film about - and sometimes shot by - Claes Oldenburg, detailing his inspiration, his methods and his relationship with his partner Hannah Wilke.

The Paper-Man

May 2018 •Portuguese

Soup Cans and Superstars: How Pop Art Changed the World

August 2015 •English

Alastair Sooke champions pop art as one of the most important art forms of the twentieth century, peeling back pop's frothy, ironic surface to reveal an art style full of subversive wit and radical ideas. In charting its story, Alastair brings a fresh eye to the work of pop art superstars Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein and tracks down pop's pioneers, from American artists like James Rosenquist, Claes Oldenburg and Ed Ruscha to British godfathers Peter Blake and Allen Jones. Alastair also explores how pop's fascination with celebrity, advertising and the mass media was part of a global art movement, and he travels to China to discover how a new generation of artists are reinventing pop art's satirical, political edge for the 21st century.