Arthur Fellig (1899-1968), known to the world as “Weegee”, was among the most unusual of American photographers and artists. Notorious for his crime photography, Weegee spent the 1930s and 40s depicting the seedy underbelly of New York City, generating vivid, gut-wrenching, and frankly sensational images of crime scenes, police activity, and the down-and-out. Exposed to a wide audience through his legendary photo book, Naked City, these images flew in the face of the comparatively staid “art photography” of the time. As Weegee’s fame grew, he increasingly turned his attention on Hollywood, documenting the celebrities, premiere events, and larger ecology of the movie industry, while also indulging his interest in developing expressionistically surreal camera techniques to create bizarrely manipulated images of reality. By the 1950s he had begun utilizing these techniques within his burgeoning interest in 16mm cinematography. While Weegee’s body of photographic work has long been celebrated, his 16mm experimental films of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s are virtually unknown.
That is poised to change now that Anthology – in collaboration with the International Center of Photography – has preserved five of Weegee’s short films. To celebrate these new preservations, and on the occasion of the ICP’s exhibition, Weegee: Society of the Spectacle, Anthology presents a series that brings together the newly-preserved films, WEEGEE’S NEW YORK, and a selection of other films that Weegee participated in, as actor, consultant, special effects designer, or set photographer.
Tickets
$14 General Admission
$10 Students and seniors
$8 ICP Members, AFA Members, and children (12 & under)
Please present your ICP Member card at the AFA box office when purchasing in person for discount. Non-discounted tickets can be reserved online in advance.
See Anthology Film Archives for more information.
Upcoming Screenings
WEEGEE'S SHORT FILM PGM
January 31 at 7:00 PM
February 1 at 8:00 PM
February 6 at 6:45 PM
Jules Dassin
THE NAKED CITY
January 31 at 9:15 PM
February 4 at 9:15 PM
Robert Wise
THE SET-UP
February 1 at 5:30 PM
February 3 at 7:30 PM
February 6 at 8:45 PM
Louis De Rochemont III & Bill Colleran
WINDJAMMER: THE VOYAGE OF THE CHRISTIAN RADICH
February 2 at 3:15 PM
Stanley Kubrick
DR. STRANGELOVE
February 2 at 6:15 PM
February 4 at 6:45 PM
February 5 at 9:00 PM
Sherman Price
THE ‘IMP’PROBABLE MR. WEE GEE
February 2 at 8:30 PM
February 5 at 6:45 PM
More About Weegee's Short Films
With the exception of WEEGEE’S NEW YORK, all films in this program have been preserved by Anthology Film Archives through the National Film Preservation Foundation’s Avant-Garde Masters Grant program and The Film Foundation. Funding provided by the George Lucas Family Foundation.
COCKTAIL PARTY ca. 1946, 5.5 min, 16mm
A home movie short capturing the raucous party celebrating the release of Weegee’s second photobook, “Weegee’s People”. The film features appearances by Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh, who is among the subjects of one of Weegee’s most celebrated photos, “The Critic”, as well as some of the only known footage of eccentric author Joe Gould.
BOAC ca. 1955-59, 5.5 min, 16mm
The neon lights of Time Square’s BOAC sign…in Kodachrome kaleidoscope.
ASSORTED SCENES/KALEIDOSCOPE ca. 1952-65, 16.5 min, 16mm
More urban kaleidoscopic experiments in color and B&W.
WEEGEE’S NEW YORK 1946-48/51, 21.5 min, 16mm. Edited by Amos Vogel.
“The famed press photographer creates a vividly impressionistic feature-length study of the metropolis, combining documentary and experimental techniques. (‘I am very excited about this film. Weegee has the eye of a Balzac.’ Robert Flaherty)” –Amos Vogel, CINEMA 16 notes, June 2, 1948
“One of the most under-recognized films of the 1950s.” –Scott Macdonald
ANIMATION MONA LISA, ETC. ca. 1955-65, 5 min, 16mm
Weegee’s experiments in distorted portraiture.
IDIOT BOX 1967, 5.5 min, 16mm
Weegee’s last film, a tribute to trash television and commercial culture.
Total running time: ca. 65 min.
