The Dante Quartet (1987)
- 1987
- ·6 min
A visual representation, in four parts, of one man's internalization of The Divine Comedy.
Hell is a series of multicolored brush strokes against a white background; the speed of the changing images varies.
Hell Spit Flexion, or springing out of Hell, is on smaller film stock, taking the center of the frame.
Montages of color move rapidly with a star and the edge of a lighted moon briefly visible.
Purgation is back to full frame; blurs of color occasionally slow down then freeze.
From time to time, an image, such as a window or a face, is distinguishable for a moment.
In existence is song, colors swirl then flash in and out of view.
Behind the vivid colors are momentary glimpses of volcanic activity.
- Directed by
- Stan Brakhage
- Genre
- Short
- Language
- English
- Country
- USA
- Director
- Stan Brakhage
Stan Brakhage made "The Dante Quartet" almost 30 years ago and this was already in the later years of his career. The film runs for 6 minutes and looks very similar to most of his other works.
Don't ask me to describe 'The Dante Quartet (1987),' because I wouldn't know where to start. Painted over six years, an inordinately long time for the prolific Stan Brakhage, the film is a six-minute representation of the afterlife inspired by Dante's "The Divine Comedy" {a work I'm not very familiar with, so please forgive any inaccuracies}.
