The Old House, Passing

These notes are frankly an attempt to put The Old House Passing back on the map. It has been called a masterpiece by almost every serious critic on the American avant-garde Film. Yet it is rarely shown. I can do no better than to quote you some of the things that have been written about it.

"My own favorite of Jordan's films is THE OLD HOUSE, PASSING. It is, says Jordan, a 'ghost-film' in which 'mood predominates over plot'; in fact it may be the best ghost film ever made. I should make clear that it is not a conventional narrative; on a first viewing, it is somewhat difficult to find any clear story line. This, though, only adds to the film's sense of mystery. Rather than being given a clearly defined situation, we see character and locations recur mysteriously rather than for any verbally definable reason." - Fred Camper, The Soho Weekly News

"Larry Jordan's THE OLD HOUSE PASSING is, to me, more than just a 'great film'/'a work of art.' It is, as a matter of careful thought, the only motion picture drama I have ever seen which engenders vision, rather than cutting it back to 'sights' of minded hieroglyphs in movement and/or shifts of symbol stasis." - Stan Brakhage

"It is pure cinematic poetry. The powerful evocations of the dark forces in our lives are unfolded and displayed with absolute surety and absolute artistry. And the word for that is 'Masterpiece.'" - Robert Nelson

Collections: Anthology Film Archives; The Australian National Library.


1967
16 MM
Black & White
45 Minutes
Sound

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Available through Canyon Cinema