- Ron Rice
"For the
American football player seeRon Rice (American football) "Ron Rice (
1935 ,New York City -1964 ,Mexico ) was an American experimental filmmaker.Rice collaborated with future Warhol superstar
Taylor Mead for two films, including his first, and most famous film, "The Flower Thief ", completed in 1960. Theno budget film was produced in 1959 for less than $1,000, using16mm 50' film cartridges left over from aerial gunnery equipment used during World War II, which was donated to Rice by Hollywood producerSam Katzman .Rice says of the film, "In the old Hollywood movie days studios would keep a man on the set who, when all other sources of ideas failed (writers, directors) was called upon to 'cook up' something for filming. He was called The Wild Man. "The Flower Thief" has been put together in memory of all the dead wild men who died unnoticed in the field of stunt." (1). Rice also worked with underground filmmaker Jack Smith, who appears in "
Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man " with Taylor Mead, and in "Chumlum". Rice was inspired to make "Chumlum" while working with Smith on the props for Smith's film "Normal Love". The film also starsMario Montez , the star of both of Smith's films as well as several ofAndy Warhol 's films, andWarhol superstar Gerard Malanga .Rice's films can still be rented from
The Filmmaker's Cooperative . His work paved the way for other experimental filmmakers of the 1960's, including the Kuchar brothers. All but forgotten today, Rice was a major figure of theNew American Cinema , and his deeply personal, anarchic films are the work of a true cinematic visionary. More information about Ron Rice's work can be found inWheeler Winston Dixon 's book "The Exploding Eye", a history of experimental film in the 1960s.The Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man
"The film describes, poetically, a way of living. The film is a protest which is violent, childish, and sincere-a protest against an industrial world based on the cycle of production and consumption."--Albert Moravia, Rome L'Espresso.
Filmography
*"Chumlum" (1964)
*"Queen of Sheba Meets the Atom Man " (1963)
*"Senseless" (1962)
*"The Flower Thief " (1960)References
1. [http://www.anthologyfilmarchives.org/schedule/?start=2006-4-220&end=2006-4-30&submit=Search Anthology Film Archives]
External links
* [http://www.villagevoice.com/film/0511,trackingshots,62060,20.html Village Voice on "The Flower Thief"]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0723534/ Ron Rice] atInternet Movie Database
* [http://people.wcsu.edu/mccarneyh/fva/r/RRice_bio.html Short Biography of Ron Rice]
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