Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) [The Criterion Collection]

In his one-of-a-kind fiction/documentary hybrid Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, the pioneering William Greaves presides over a beleaguered film crew in New York’s Central Park, leaving them to try to figure out what kind of movie they’re making. A couple enacts a breakup scenario over and over, a documentary crew films a crew filming the crew, locals wander casually into the frame: the project defies easy description. Yet this wildly innovative sixties counterculture landmark remains one of the most tightly focused and insightful movies ever made about making movies, expanded thirty-five years later by its unconventional follow-up, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½.



Extra:
– Discovering William Greaves (1:01:15) is a 2006 piece that features William Greaves and his wife and producing partner Louise Archambault Greaves, along with St. Clair Bourne, Ruby Dee, and Scott MacDonald. This is actually a superb starting point for anyone who is either unacquainted with Greaves (who has had a rather remarkable life and career) or especially the two films in this set.

Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 ...ras [The Criterion Collection]