Things I Read Off the Screen in “The Cool World”
A brief selection:
FALLOUT SHELTER
THIS HOUSE HAS NO FALLOUT SHELTER
LOST CHILDREN
YOUR HANDWRITING IS THE KEY TO YOUR SUCCESS
ROYAL PYTHONS
It’s a very text-intense film, since New York is a very advertising-intense city. Clarke’s shorts show an interest in using posters and billboards and ad imagery as montage elements, so it’s natural that this film’s action should take place against a backdrop of placards and signage. And some of the consumer dreams being pushed have a heart-breaking resonance with the impoverished lives going on in front of them.
shadowplay 
June 25, 2008 at 1:17 pm
The Cool World also boasts an especially dramatic opening as we ride the bus with our hero and his school class and watch as the people on the city streets go from black to white.
June 25, 2008 at 1:49 pm
That sounds great. Where/how did you see it? Imdb says it’s not out on dvd.
June 25, 2008 at 3:55 pm
It’s not out on DVD because producer Frederick Wiseman believes it should only be seen on the big screen. Which would be fine if it WAS. The print we saw was not in the best of nick. So sadly we may have to wait for Wiseman to die so that a DVD release can be used to pay for a restoration.
The movie screened as part of Edinburgh Film Festival’s Shirley Clarke retrospective which hopefully will be the first of many. But several of her shorts are also in poor condition — faded completely to pink, prints snapping… it’s an oevre on the brink of extinction…
June 25, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I saw The Cool World when it came out. Jacques Rivette is a big fan of it too. It’s the heart of Shirley’s art — and much of her life as well. Carl Lee who plays the charismatic pimp in it was her S.O. for a good many years.
June 25, 2008 at 6:40 pm
I have THE COOL WORLD as a vhs>DVD rip and the source, annoyingly, was from a DVD, but the lecturer wouldn’t lend me his copy so I had to settle for the vhs copy he made for the department, only to be lent out to students for “educational purposes”. Are they showing PORTRAIT OF JASON? One of the best excursions in self-destruction, using no more than a 16mm camera, a single location (room), some alcohol and a deeply fascinating character.
Wiseman may be an arsehole irl but I’ve recently discovered his work and what a find! TITICUT FOLLIES and HIGH SCHOOL are *exactly* the type of aggressive political filmmaking I feel is lacking today (unless someone can supply recommendations?). MEAT and HOSPITAL are lined up next.
June 25, 2008 at 8:21 pm
Yes portait of jason is showing and I think The Cool World is beingshown again at best of the fest on sunday so get on down as they say !
June 26, 2008 at 12:10 am
They are showing seemingly everything that exists, plus a lecture to put it in context. The Connection was fabulous, the most “beat” thing ever, but without a trace of self-indulgence or ham (although it’s very theatrical). Today I saw Skyscraper which is a marvellous piece, seemingly directed by everybody who was around, including Clarke. Wiseman’s cronies seem to have had a beautifully casual attitude to directoril credits. “You want your name on it? Sure, you helped, you can be co-director!”
June 26, 2008 at 12:15 am
David E — Carl Lee turns up in The Connection, memorably, and one of the short films too. Rivette turns up in the fascinating Cinema Du Notre Jours episode on Clarke, along with Yoko Ono (disappearing under a blanket and inadvertently inventing bagism). I guess the improv qualities of The Cool World make it a natural influence for him. One would have thought for Scorsese too — Mean Streets is like a less-extreme Italianamerican version of the same kind of thing.
June 26, 2008 at 1:55 pm
Oh yeah, Marty knows The Cool World quite well.
June 26, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Good! It would be CRAZY if he didn’t.
HOOKER! FUZZ! JUNK! RUMBLE!
December 7, 2008 at 2:03 am
i wish i could see this movie again. the last time i saw this was in 1966.can this be bought?wow i wish i could see this film.
December 7, 2008 at 2:07 am
It’s hard to get but just about possible — no official release, but copies are floating around: try eBay. I can download it, but not very good quality.