Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1985 • United States
Starring Ornette Coleman
This freewheeling documentary captures Ornette Coleman’s evolution over three decades. Documentary footage, dramatic scenes, and some of the first music-video-style segments ever made chronicle his boyhood in segregated Texas and his subsequent emergence as an American cultural pioneer and world-class composer and performer. Among those who contribute to the film are William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Buckminster Fuller, Don Cherry, Yoko Ono, Charlie Haden, Robert Palmer, Jayne Cortez, and John Rockwell.
Up Next in Directed by Shirley Clarke
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Dance in the Sun
Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1953 • United States
Director Shirley Clarke’s first film displays the dancing expertise of choreographer Daniel Nagrin as he performs in a studio and in the sun. Drawing upon her own dance training, Clarke fluidly follows Nagrin as he moves across the interior and e...
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In Paris Parks
Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1954 • United States
An early work by director Shirley Clarke, this short film displays the dynamic movement of people (including Wendy Clarke, the director’s daughter) as they enter and exit parks in Paris. Observing how crowds flow through an urban setting, the fil...
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Bullfight
Directed by Shirley Clarke • 1955 • United States
Starring Anna SokolowShirley Clarke’s fascination with dance is on full display in this short film featuring a moving performance by Anna Sokolow. A reinterpretation of a bullfight, Sokolow’s choreographed piece illustrates the dramatic exchange...
