Addendum to "Berlin Alexanderplatz" exhibition-review

Derek's review of the screening of Berlin Alexanderplatz at PS1 may be taken as my opinion on the matter, as well. A 15-hour film is not an occasion for gimmicks which have the opposite effect of the film's monumental length: to produce tape loops only of the most "artsy" and irrelevant sections, to de-narrativize it into a wall of stills or a kaleidoscopic panopticon. I object to treating a great film as an occasion for misunderstanding it, and for misunderstanding cinema. It is my belief that opera *exists* only in the opera house, that theater exists only onstage, and that cinema exists only on the movie screen. There is no Platonic or Shelleyan "true" version of, say, Berlin Alexanderplatz, other than what happens in a movie theater. The original German TV broadcast was marred by the black & white TV sets of the time, and the DVD (while very nice) does not supply what is missing. Suffice it to say, the exhibit is insufficient, despite its claims of thoughtfulness and the purported "room which simulates a movie theater" (nothing could be farther from the truth). This is no place to start watching this movie--it does not start at a set time, the seats are uncomfortable, and the ambient sound and lighting from the museum are distracting. However, I am in truth obliged to print that the projection difficulties which Derek reported have been fixed, and the projection was fine yesterday. Nonetheless, I do not recommend the exhibit unless one knows the film already, in which case the jumbled presentation may be stimulating. If one has seen the movie already, watching it unfold simultaneously on 14 different screens is a great experience. But, as this exhibit is meant to introduce the film to American audiences, it comes across as poorly thought-out and a wasted opportunity. One looks to MoMA's screening practices as rather more exemplary.