Dog Star Man: Part I

Dog Star Man: Part I

1962
Drama
Short Film
30m
One of the key works of the American avant-garde of the 1960s, DOG STAR MAN is no less than an abstract vision of the creation of the universe, an epic work consisting of a prelude and four parts (Rotten Tomatoes)
Your probable score
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Dog Star Man: Part I

1962
Drama
Short Film
30m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 58.89% from 242 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(242)
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Rated 14 Aug 2007
90
72nd
A full length collection of silent eye candy, with various bits of film spliced, scratched, and colored over to create fast moving patterns. No real plot (at least that two or more people could agree upon) but if you enjoy fractals and media player visuals, or even liquid light show style material for that matter, this will likely appeal to you. The Prelude section is the strongest in terms of consistent trip quality. Stan himself said that his films were made silent because music always seemed to override the film's visual rhythm, but I have found the album Permutation by Amon Tobin to go perfectly with it - fast-paced, hectic, jazzy, yet highly ordered.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
72
41st
Watching Brakhage is somewhat like getting your brain reorganized, like the most intense part of a heavy acid trip. Confusing images linger onscreen, sometimes coalescing into something recognizable, sometimes not. At other times, they flicker past in a mad rush, to the point where your eyes no longer try to process them but simply let them invade you. What the films really mean is ultimately irrelevant. To me, his movies are gateways to rarely-visited areas of the mind.
Rated 06 Jul 2008
69
23rd
The prelude is creative but too abstract and nonsensical for my tastes. Part 1 was interesting but got pretty tedious and repetitive. Part 2 was the highlight, short and sweet, meditative and creative. Part 3 was like a blend of Part 2 and the prelude which was pretty cool. Part 4 was interesting but I didn't get much out of it. I can't really say I loved it since the prelude and Part 1 made up 2/3 of the whole thing, but it was a unique experience and it's worth at least giving it a shot.
Rated 16 Mar 2007
69
17th
I loved the beautiful Colorado imagery and there were some really cool images, but I couldn't exactly get into it, even though I'm an advocate of experimental film. It has its moments though. I will say I thoroughly enjoyed the Prelude.
Rated 02 Mar 2008
54
26th
# 911
Rated 06 May 2008
100
99th
A perfect film.
Rated 21 Jan 2009
40
12th
The world and man in close-up, rush movement and silence... I didn't much care for it; far too hectic. Still probably need to let it sink in for a while. It do seem visionary and I kinda admire its ruthless personality, but this pace aint for me...
Rated 22 Mar 2009
93
98th
I tried it with pieces from Supersilent's first album (order: 1.1, 3.4, 2.5) as soundtrack and I think it's really fit in there.
Rated 02 Dec 2009
80
68th
I don't know if this is about the creation of the universe (according to the summary), but it's definitely abstract, all right. Somehow, this manages to be experimental -- seemingly almost random at some points -- yet consistently compelling, without seeming like the nonstop wankery that so many "art" films come across as being. I think I could watch Stan Brakhage films all day
Rated 13 Dec 2009
71
63rd
An abstract vision of the creation of the universe -- an epic work consisting of a prelude and four parts, making brilliant use of superimpositions, painting on film, distorting lenses, and rhythmic montage. This feature makes for hypnotic experimenting in silent filmmaking.
Rated 15 Jan 2010
54
8th
927
Rated 02 Dec 2011
51
2nd
#984
Rated 19 Dec 2011
95
93rd
Nothing like it before or after, Dog Star Man is an avant garde masterpiece.
Rated 06 Jun 2013
95
97th
An excellent combination of concrete images (man climbing snowy mountain with dog) and the abstract deconstruction of film that Brakhage is known for -- he even eliminates the wall between performer and filmmaker, showing footage of himself adjusting and manipulating the camera, pre-dating the YouTube DIY video generation close to half a century later.
Rated 20 Aug 2014
80
62nd
Less frenzied than the prelude, maybe a bit more "focused", if that term can even apply here. I like how the more decipherable images (the man struggling to get up the snowy hill) are juxtaposed with closeups of less discernible organic gory things. There might be a story here somewhere, but I'll be damned if I know what it is. Though I must say I was rooting for that fellow to make it up that hill.
Rated 06 Nov 2014
4
52nd
more bodies and solar flares, but this is the journey of a man who is struggling very much to climb a snowy hill with his dog. he encounters many troubles along the way. maybe this is the fabled dog star man! ranked as one film.
Rated 19 Jul 2015
70
51st
A man struggles uphill in a forest in winter, carrying a lethal tool of survival, while his dog frolics about, carefree. Easy enough to see the meaning in that but there may be something deeper and bigger I'm missing. Not an obvious knockout like the Prelude, but interesting. (As a trivial aside, I'm intrigued by Brakhage's(?) Dave Grohl-esque shaggy hair and beard--certainly a rare sight in Colorado of 1962?)
Rated 05 Sep 2015
80
75th
Amazing to watch solely on the basis of the various techniques Brakhage helped pioneer (e.g., superimposition, rapid cutting) and take to their formal limits, all of which have had a profound impact on film aesthetics in the decades since its creation. The complete absence of sound allows for greater contemplation of the images shown, becoming a sort of antithesis to oral storytelling; here, we create the sounds in our head. *I AM RATING EACH PART THE SAME, AS I RATE 'DSM' AS A SINGLE FILM*
Rated 03 May 2022
65
64th
*My rating and review of Prelude, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4 is the same* Simultaneously travelling through the solar system and cell system without bearings and guided only by a man and his dog. Brakhage throws images at you at such a rate that he is always a split second ahead of your capacity to process these images in an interpretative way, which leaves you with just impressions, but as you soon realise these impressions are highly stimulating and you crave more.

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