Done To (1974)
By Lawrence Weiner
Writes Alice Weiner: "Done To (sometimes called It Is, Done To) consists of simple camera frames which are silent and/or unconnected to a complex soundtrack running parellel to the images. There are brief instances where image and sound meet; however, the majority of the images are overtaken by at times symphonic, at times cacophonous soundtracks which displace the normal filmic viewing experience. The standard film format for going from frame to frame — and then and then and then — is what the film is concerned with. The film begins with a silent close-up of a woman's face (Sharon Haskell). The sound track then begins: a male voice says 'AND THEN..,' followed by a female voice saying 'A TREATMENT OF THE DISSONANCES...,' 'AND THEN...' 'AN INDICTMENT OF THE DISSONANCES...' This pattern of male/female, female/male query/response switching back and forth continues throughout the film. Kathryn Bigelow is sitting on a couch, reading a book. Haskell joins her and they begin a conversation which cannot be heard; instead the soundtracks of works become more and more dense. The voices echo and overlap, then untangle and become clear. The two women talk with someone off-screen, behind the…
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