Merce Cunningham

Merce Cunningham

Born: April 16, 1919
Died: July 26, 2009
in Centralia, Washington, USA
Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years.

Movies for Merce Cunningham...

Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
Title: Nam June Paik: Moon Is the Oldest TV
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: March 24, 2023
Type: Movie
The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today's world.
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Cunningham
Title: Cunningham
Character: Archival Footage
Released: December 13, 2019
Type: Movie
The iconic Merce Cunningham and the last generation of his dance company is profiled in Alla Kovgan's 3D documentary, through recreations of his landmark works and archival footage of Cunningham, John Cage, Robert Rauschenberg, and more.
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Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance
Title: Merce Cunningham: A Lifetime of Dance
Character: Self
Released: December 16, 2001
Type: Movie
A history of the work of Merce Cunningham.
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Title: Charlie Rose
Character: Self (Charlie Rose archive footage 4/6/95)
Released: September 30, 1991
Type: TV
Charlie Rose is an American television interview show, with Charlie Rose as executive producer, executive editor, and host. The show is syndicated on PBS and is owned by Charlie Rose, LLC. Rose interviews thinkers, writers, politicians, athletes, entertainers, businesspersons, leaders, scientists, and other newsmakers. The show premiered on September 30, 1991. It is presented by WNET, where it first aired as a local program. Funding for the show is primarily provided by donations from various corporations and charitable foundations. The show has been criticized for not disclosing the list of donors even if the show is considered "public" broadcasting. In 2007, the video archive of past interviews was added to the website for free viewing. In a partnership with Google, nearly 4000 hours of video was added to Google Video including complete hour-long episodes as they originally aired. The videos are now unavailable after Google Video shut down.
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John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It
Title: John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It
Character: Self
Released: September 18, 1990
Type: Movie
This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a great many aspects of Cage's work and thought. His love for mushrooms, his Zen beliefs and use of the I Ching, and basic bio details are all explained intelligently and dynamically. Black Mountain, Buckminster Fuller, Rauschenberg, Duchamp are mentioned. Yoko Ono, John Rockwell, Laurie Anderson, Richard Kostelanetz make appearances. Fascinating performance sequences include Margaret Leng-Tan performing on prepared piano, Merce Cunningham and company, and performances of Credo In Us, Water Music, and Third Construction. Demystifies the man who made music from silence, from all sounds, from life.
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All Star Video
Title: All Star Video
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 21, 1985
Type: Movie
A compilation of avant-garde artwork and talent of the mid to late 20th century hosted by Ryuichi Sakamoto.
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Good Morning, Mr. Orwell
Title: Good Morning, Mr. Orwell
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1984
Type: Movie
In his book "1984", George Orwell saw the television of the future as a control instrument in the hands of Big Brother. Right at the start of the much-anticipated Orwellian year, Paik and Co. were keen to demonstrate satellite TV's ability to serve positive ends-- Namely, the intercontinental exchange of culture, combining both highbrow and entertainment elements. A live broadcast shared between WNET TV in New York and the Centre Pompidou in Paris, linked up with broadcasters in Germany and South Korea, reached a worldwide audience of over 10 or even 25 million (including the later repeat transmissions).
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Robert Rauschenberg: Retrospective
Title: Robert Rauschenberg: Retrospective
Character: Self
Released: December 31, 1979
Type: Movie
This film includes important examples of the Robert Rauschenberg's diverse and extraordinary accomplishments, tracing his development from his student years and his earliest experiments to a retrospective of his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. It features Rauschenberg, John Cage and Merce Cunningham, and was released in 1979.
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Title: The Kennedy Center Honors
Character: Self
Released: December 28, 1978
Type: TV
The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual honor given to those in the performing arts for their lifetime of contributions to American culture.
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Merce by Merce by Paik
Title: Merce by Merce by Paik
Released: January 1, 1978
Type: Movie
Merce by Merce by Paik is a two-part tribute to choreographer Merce Cunningham and artist Marcel Duchamp. The first section, “Blue Studio: Five Segments”, is a work of video-dance produced by Merce Cunningham and videomaker Charles Atlas. The second part, produced by Paik and Shigeko Kubota, further queries the relationship between everyday gestures and formal notions of dance.
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Assemblage
Title: Assemblage
Released: November 3, 1968
Type: Movie
A feature length film from acclaimed dance choreographer Merce Cunningham.
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498 Third Avenue
Title: 498 Third Avenue
Character: Self
Released: March 5, 1968
Type: Movie
Observational documentary about the Merce Cunningham Dance Company rehearsing throughout the summer of 1967 in New York.
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John Cage
Title: John Cage
Released: November 25, 1966
Type: Movie
Experimental composer John Cage tours Europe with The Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 1966.
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Variations V
Title: Variations V
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1966
Type: Movie
A multi-media event with choreographed dance, mobile decor, variable lighting, multiple film projection, and live-electronic music activated by the dancers' movements.
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Night Wandering
Title: Night Wandering
Character: Dancer
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: Movie
Paradoxically described by Walter Sorell as "a tender lullaby of love" and by Richard Buckle as "cold and menacing, the courtship of the Macbeths," Night Wandering is a duet reminiscent of snowy landscapes. Cernovitch designed the original costumes: fur tunics that Cunningham wore over trousers, and Brown wore over tights. Continuing with the piece's Nordic theme, the music by Bo Nilsson was characterized by bursts of activity followed by moments of silence, evoking the feeling of traveling through the spacious, and seemingly endless Northern night.
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Antic Meet
Title: Antic Meet
Character: Dancer
Released: January 1, 1964
Type: Movie
Performed like a series of vaudeville scenes that overlap, Antic Meet consists of ten playful and comedic numbers. The curtains opened with Cunningham moving among the other dancers as a clown-like figure "who falls in love with a society whose rules he doesn't know," and concludes much in the same way, as he attempts to keep up with the dancers, each with their own movements, as they dance diagonally across the stage. Cage provided the musical accompaniment, using a version of Concert for Piano and Orchestra, and Rauschenberg designed the costumes, which included fur coats and parachute dresses over black leotards.
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Merce Cunningham
Title: Merce Cunningham
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1962
Type: Movie
The choreographer Merce Cunningham working with the musician John Cage and the painter Robert Rauschenberg.
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Appalachian Spring
Title: Appalachian Spring
Character: The Preacher
Released: March 15, 1944
Type: Movie
A multi-character dance drama
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Exchange
Title: Exchange
Released: December 31, 1969
Type: Movie
Atlas' 2013 film Exchange is based on the 1978 dance piece of the same name by legendary dancer/choreographer Merce Cunningham. Atlas created the newly completed film from never-before-seen footage that he shot in 1978 and that was only recently rediscovered by the Merce Cunningham Trust (MCT). The film captures a performance of Exchange by Cunningham and his company, with costumes and backdrop designed by Jasper Johns and music by David Tudor.