Robert Gardner: Making "Dead Birds" - Chronicle of a Film, Limited Edition (with Print)

GARDNER, Robert, LOPATE, Phillip

ISBN 10: 087365823X / ISBN 13: 9780873658232

Published by Peabody Museum Press / Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2007

About this Item

First edition, first printing. Limited edition of 100 copies (this being number 33), with an inkjet print of Gardner's 1961 photograph "Ritual War II," signed and numbered in pencil on the lower margin by Gardner. The print, which was produced by Steven Stinehour, measures 10 x 10 inches on 11 x 11-inch Hahnemeule rag paper and is contained in a numbered white paper sleeve, a photographically illustrated and numbered card-stock sleeve and an additional clear vinyl envelope. The book is signed and numbered in black ink on the final page by Gardner. Soft cover. Photographically illustrated French-fold wrappers; no dust jacket as issued. Photographs and text by Robert Gardner. Foreword by Phillip Lopate. Designed by Jeannet Leendertse. Includes a glossary of terms, place names and people and a list of relevant texts, films and websites. 156 pp., with extensive color and black-and-white illustrations finely printed in Singapore by Tien Wah Press. 10-1/2 x 7-3/8 inches. New. From the publisher: "Robert Gardner's classic 'Dead Birds' (1965) is one of the most highly acclaimed and controversial documentary films ever made. This detailed and candid account of the process of making Dead Birds, from the birth of the idea through filming in New Guinea to editing and releasing the finished film, is more than the chronicle of a single work. It is also a thoughtful examination of what it meant to record the moving and violent rituals of warrior-farmers in the New Guinea highlands and to present to the world a graphic story of their behavior as a window onto our own. Letters, journals, telegrams, newspaper clippings, and over 50 images are assembled to recreate a vivid chronology of events. Making Dead Birds not only addresses the art and practice of filmmaking, but also explores issues of representation and the discovery of meaning in human lives. Gardner led a remarkable cast of participants on the 1961 expedition. All brought back extraordinary bodies of work. Probably most influential of all was Dead Birds, which marked a sea change in nonfiction filmmaking. This book takes the reader inside the creative process of making that landmark film and offers a revealing look into the heart and mind of one of the great filmmakers of our time." Signed by Author.

Seller Inventory # 105157

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Robert Gardner: Making "Dead Birds" - Chronicle of a Film, Limited Edition (with Print)
• Publisher: Peabody Museum Press / Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 087365823X
• ISBN 13: 9780873658232
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: New
• Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket as issued
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • War
  • Animal
  • Cinema

About this title

Synopsis

Robert Gardner’s classic Dead Birds is one of the most highly acclaimed and controversial documentary films ever made. This detailed and candid account of the process of making Dead Birds, from the birth of the idea through filming in New Guinea to editing and releasing the finished film, is more than the chronicle of a single work. It is also a thoughtful examination of what it meant to record the moving and violent rituals of warrior-farmers in the New Guinea highlands and to present to the world a graphic story of their behavior as a window onto our own. Letters, journals, telegrams, newspaper clippings, and over 50 images are assembled to recreate a vivid chronology of events. Making Dead Birds not only addresses the art and practice of filmmaking, but also explores issues of representation and the discovery of meaning in human lives.

Gardner led a remarkable cast of participants on the 1961 expedition. All brought back extraordinary bodies of work. Probably most influential of all was Dead Birds, which marked a sea change in nonfiction filmmaking. This book takes the reader inside the creative process of making that landmark film and offers a revealing look into the heart and mind of one of the great filmmakers of our time.

About the Author

Robert Gardner was a nonfiction filmmaker, author, and founder of the Film Study Center at Harvard. His films include Dead Birds and Forest of Bliss.