Viennale-Trailer 2001: Elvis

Mekas’ river of film (and video) was firmly rooted in the present moment, but simultaneously churned over his personal documentation of the past. This Viennale trailer revisits footage of Elvis Presley in concert, presumably filmed during the late 1960s or early ‘70s. Mekas, his finger on the 16mm Bolex button, zooms in and out to the beat, speeds up natural motion, and winds back in order to superimpose the now ghostly images of the performer. But the overlaid music is not Elvis: in a nod to the commissioning festival, it’s Johann Strauss’ “Tales from the Vienna Woods”. Neat! (Adrian Martin)