UNDERGROUND - INTERMEDIA 1967-72

AVANT-GARDE FILMS, INTERMEDIA FILM CO-OP, EXHIBITIONS, IMAGE EXCHANGE, POEMS / PROSE

These histories concern 1967 - 1971 underground film and poetry activities by Al Razutis in California, and at Intermedia (Vancouver), and in other Vancouver, Canada locations.

For those unfamiliar with the use of the term "UNDERGROUND", this was a common expression in the 1960's designating a form of 'cinema' which came without any censorship, open to all, and specifically supported by what was then known as 'counter-culture'. This term was NOT common to Canada in the 1960's, and the American 'expatriate' Al Razutis brought this term into use in Vancouver with his weekly 'underground cinema' at Intermedia, Vancouver. During this period at Intermedia, we had the emergence of such film screenings, a film distribution coop, and film catalog, and a standard was set for future distribution, exhibition practices showing what would later be known as 'experimental film' or 'art film' or even 'independent film'.

For 'post-Intermedia' emergence of organizations like "Pacific Cinematheque Pacifique", "CFMDW - Moving Images", and "Cineworks" (Vancouver), see the page Beyond Intermedia.   For synaesthetic cinema and early video see Synaesthetic and Expanded Cinema. For early psychedelic pioneers and light shows see Psychedelic Cinema because a lot of this synaesthetic cinema started from here. And where does it continue? Perhaps with Holographic Cinema.

N.B.   Due to the scarcity of 1960's - 70's documentation by Razutis (he was at first opposed to such), this archive is an in-progress work and is intended as a factual supplement to the other stories penned by others. We gratefully acknowledge the public domain archives of "Intermedia Catalogue" assembled by Michael de Courcy - also under the title 'Vancouver Art in the 60's' from which we have obtained a few photos and news articles, and importantly the audio-recordings of interviews, and have placed credit where appropriate.

BIO INTERVIEWS WITH RAZUTIS

'Three Decades of Rage' (Hoolboom)   -----   'Backbone Extended Interview' (Martin)
3 Decades of Rage - Mike Hoolboom interview with Al Razutis                    

UNDERGROUND FILMS - INTERMEDIA VANCOUVER

In 1968, after conducting underground film screenings in California (1967-68) and producing / exhibiting his first films, Al Razutis moved to Vancouver Canada and began working out of INTERMEDIA (Vancouver). Here he continued presenting weekly (weekend) public underground film screenings (which he curated), created a underground film co-op with local filmmakers, assembled and printed the film catalogues (with Ed Varney) and managed the organization along with his wife Kathy Razutis -- during this time Razutis made his own flms.

TESTIMONIAL: DAVID RIMMER ON INTERMEDIA FILM & RAZUTIS

click for 3 min. video - excerpt from Rimmer 2005 interview by Michael de Courcy with David Rimmer

3 min. excerpt of audio interview with David Rimmer by Michael de Courcy
on the subject of underground film screenings at Intermedia 1960's.
Full 20 min. audio interview is found at http://intermedia.vancouverartinthesixties.com/mp3/interview-RIMMER-A.mp3

TRANSCRIPT:

Michael de Courcy: I remember film showings at Intermedia that I saw, Bunuel's L'Age d'Or, Godard films and stuff like that. In the Intermediate building, I guess it was the third floor, or the second floor...

David Rimmer: Well, Razutis, Al Razutis had just come up from California.

Michael de Courcy: Was he a draft dodger?

David Rimmer: Yeah. And he brought films up from from California and showed them at Inrtermedia.   So that's how the first real showings got started... (showings) of current avant garde films. It had been possible before to see the classic dada, surrealist films at UBC and Vancouver Film Club, I think it was called... but Razutis brought the more contemporary stuff. So then I realized that there was something going on there in cinema that interested me much more than English as a trade or something to do.

Michael de Courcy: So did he have, did Razutis actually own copies of these films?

David Rimmer: No, he rented them.

Michael de Courcy: So he knew where to rent them?

David Rimmer: Yeah, he knew where to rent them.

Michael de Courcy: Where was he coming from? Was he a filmmaker?

David Rimmer: He was coming from science really. He had studies I think in chemistry and physics and things like that in in the States, and probably in LA, and got disillusioned with everything, and particularly with the war in Vietnam. And he come up to see what he could do up here.

Michael de Courcy: So he wasn't necessarily making films?

David Rimmer: He making films too. Yeah, he was... we were both kind of about the same point in our filmmaking career developed both trying to figure out what to do, and both quite naively, I think, exploring the possibilities of film. I say naively, as a positive thing. And because I always say I'm very fortunate that I didn't go to art school, or didn't go to film school, because I was able to go in and make things which people would have told me were impossible to make out of this... a blessing, naivete, really. And that's something that has continued to influence me or affect me, from the Intermedia days. The idea that I can do anything I want in film. And so there's no rules, there's no theory, there's nothing, I can do everything. And I have the confidence to do everything from those Intermedia days, right? Because Intermedia was really my art school, because I didn't go to art school... spending four or five years working with Intermedia people taught me all I needed to know at that point about art and art making. It was exciting to those people too... those people who did know something about art were very accepting of the rest of us. We weren't, we weren't blocked from entering into the scene... We were, you know... we would do great extravaganzas at the Vancouver art gallery. And everybody was participating at an equal level. Yeah, there was nobody saying 'oh, you can't come in and you can come in' and you know, 'we got to shape a show .... It's just got to reflect some kind of theory.' It was just, we all just went in and did it.


HOW THE PRESS REVIEWED INTERMEDIA / UNDERGROUND FILMS

click to enlarge pdf Vancouver News Article 1969     click to enlarge pdf Vancouver News Article 1969     click to enlarge pdf Vancouver News Article 1969

60's SCREENINGS & NEWS ARTICLES & FILM CATALOGS

'EAST-WEST UNDERGROUND FILMS' 1967-8 California, and 1968-70 INTERMEDIA Vancover, Canada

click to enlarge Intermedia Film Coop Marathon at Vancouver Art Gallery 1969     click to enlarge Rimmer, Razutis, Rodan underground films poster Vancouver showing 1969     click to enlarge pdf Vancouver News Article 1969


INTERMEDIA FILM CO-OP - Vancouver, 1968-71:

Underground Film Distribution Co-Op (Co-founded by Al Razutis)

INTERMEDIA FILM CATALOG COVER & SAMPLE PAGE:

click for FILM CO-OP CATALOG COVER & SAMPLE PAGES ENLARGEMENT     click for FILM CO-OP CATALOG COVER & SAMPLE PAGES ENLARGEMENT

click for INTERMEDIA FILM CATALOGUE 1968-1972 SAMPLE PAGES ENLARGEMENT

Intermedia Film Catalogue - complete - PDF

Intermedia Film Co-Op Catalogue Cover - Supplement - Vancouver, 1970-71


'UNDERGROUND' / EXPERIMENTAL FILMS by Al Razutis - 1967-1969:

Screened at 'underground cinemas' in Davis, CA, and Vancouver, BC Canada, and toured and distributed.
Pictures and links lead to page with details on the films linked.

'2 X 2', (19 min.)
click for film page with description
POEM: ELEGY FOR ROSE (3 min.)
click for film page with description
BLACK ANGEL FLAG...EAT, (12 min.)
click for film page with description
INAUGURATION (12 min.)
click for film page with description
SIRCUS SHOW FYRE , (7 min.)
click for film page with description

1967-1969, (12 min.)
click for film page with description

"Called a 'MAGNUM OPUS',
this film was born of a 'dream machine' called an 'optical printer' which was custom made for this dream.
" -- A.R.

AAEON 1968-70, (28 min.)

to image frames strips from AAEON by Al Razutis     click enlarge - Al Razutis 1970 studio Crescent Beach with optical printer and animation stand

>> AAEON FILM PAGE - PICS - HISTORY / TEXTS

1960's Vancouver Avant-Garde Film History by Razutis:

'Recovering Lost History: Vancouver Avant-Garde Cinema 1960-1969'
Printed in Vancouver Art and Artists, pp. 160-173, Vancouver Art Gallery, 1983



INTERMEDIA PUBLIC POETRY READINGS & RAZUTIS

At Intermedia Razutis engaged with other Intermedia poets (below) in poetry readings and other public presentations. These underground film activities, co-op and screenings would become the precedesors for the creation of other independent film distributors and the Vancouver Cinematheque.



NEWS ARTICLES & SAMPLES

click to enlarge pdf Vancouver News Article 1969     click to enlarge pdf prose poem page by Al Razutis 1969

Poet Bill Bissett reading 2017 at the Ossington

click for Bill Bissett reading 2017 at the Ossington - video by David Bateman

Video by David Bateman - photo is link to FaceBook page / video


PROSE POEMS (unpublished novels) by Al Razutis:

PROSE POEM: 'ILIUM: EXPRESS' (1968-70, rev. '77) by Al Razutis

PROSE POEM: 'THE BEAST' (1968-70, rev. '78) by Al Razutis

INTERMEDIA POETRY READINGS (1969-70) - SAMPLE PAGE (.PDF ACROBAT FILE)


FILM INTERPRETATION OF PROSE POEM: 'THE BEAST'

Click for enlargement of frames from Excerpt from MS: The Beast

YouTube video 90 sec. clip: Excerpts from MS: The Beast

16mm FILM page: EXCERPT FROM MS: THE BEAST Film Archives description


FILM IMAGE EXCHANGE at Visual Alchemy, Vancouver, 1971-77:

Stock Footage 'Image Exchange' - Co-founded by Al Razutis and Gary Lee-Nova 1971

INTERMEDIA Stock Footage 'Help Yourself Library'
1968

click for INTERMEDIA stock footage 4th floor room
'IMAGE EXCHANGE' COVER & GUIDELINES
1971 - 77

click for IMAGE EXCHANGE COVER SHEET - GUIDELINES

Main reference pages - 'back to':

History of Visual Alchemy                 Psychedelic Cinema

'Forward to':

Intermedia & Beyond                 Synaesthetic Cinema                 Holographic Cinema - 1970's

Drawing on Film - Video Archives:

click for AL RAZUTIS FILM ARCHIVES page

Historical texts as reference:

'Recovering Lost History: Vancouver Avant-Garde Cinema 1960-1969' (Al Razutis)


Al Razutis chronologies:

'Three Decades of Rage' .PDF (Mike Hoolboom)



Post 1972 Studio > Studio Photo Archives from the 70's / 80's

>> Film - Video Archives from the 60's / 70's / 80's / 90's


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