Sonbert in the Seventies

Sonbert in the Seventies

Beginning in the 1970s, Warren Sonbert moved away from the pop music-inspired, quasi-narrative style of his early New York films towards a more sophisticated, silent filmmaking approach dubbed “polyvalent montage.” In the aftermath of Sixties’ communal hippiedom, which proved ecstatic and tragic in equal measure, many people turned inward and embraced introspection. Sociologists therefore dubbed the Seventies the “Me Decade.” While many artists followed that trend, Sonbert chose to look outward. The triptych of films he made during this enigmatic and politically-fraught decade — 1973’s CARRIAGE TRADE, 1976’s RUDE AWAKENING, and 1978’s DIVIDED LOYALTIES — intricately amalgamate footage from the artist’s many global travels.

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TUXEDO THEATRE (US, 1968, Warren Sonbert)

TUXEDO THEATRE (US, 1968, Warren Sonbert)

Filmed in 1968, Warren Sonbert considered THE TUXEDO THEATRE an early version of — or “dress rehearsal” for — the film he would ultimately regard as his magnum opus, 1973’s CARRIAGE TRADE. As in CARRIAGE TRADE, Sonbert traveled around the world to create a tightly-edited work of polyvalent montage in THE TUXEDO THEATRE. It was his first foray into this style of filmmaking following a series of short films, set to the popular music of the time, that documented his contemporaries (including Andy Warhol’s Factory scene) in mid-1960s New York.

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CARRIAGE TRADE (US, 1973, Warren Sonbert)

CARRIAGE TRADE (US, 1973, Warren Sonbert)

Warren Sonbert considered CARRIAGE TRADE (1973) his “magnum opus.” In this film, Sonbert interweaves footage taken from his journeys throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the United States, together with shots he removed from the camera originals of a number of his earlier films.

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