Jorgen Leth was born in Aarhus, Denmark on June 14, 1939 where he studied literature and anthropology. Since 1959, Leth worked as a journalist who critiqued film, theater, and jazz for a respected Danish newspaper. Leth worked as a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute. Leth was a professor of the Danish National Film School in Copenhagan, and has lectured in the United States at UCLA, Harvard, NYU, and Berkeley. He has made over forty films throughout his career, he was also one of the founding members of the Avant-Garde film group Abincema in the sixties.
Jorgen Leth is best known for his work in "The Five Obstructions" which he made in 2003. The script was written by Lars Von Trier, and then later they directed it together. In 1967 Jorgen Leth made a film called "The Perfect Human" which documented human behavior. Lars Von Trier was a great admirer of this film and approached Leth in 2000 challenging him to remake it five times. Leth is still making films at the age of 71, his latest. film "The Erotic Human" is still in production.
I took a look at his film "The Perfect Human" and I couldn't help but think it was an instruction manual on humans that aliens could look at. In the film, the narrator explains the concept of a perfect human, how they look, how they act, where the sleep, how the feel, and how they respond to eachother. The film ends with the male actor saying "Today, too, I experienced something I hope to understand in a few days." So maybe i'll understand it better in a few days, but it was an interesting look at basic human functionality, things that we never take into consideration because of their everyday occurrences.
Bio Jorgen Leth was born June 14th, 1939 in Aarhus Denmark. He originally began studying anthropology and literature in Aaruh and Copenhagen, and has worked as a journalist and film critic for Danish news papers since 1959. Leth has made over 40 films since the beginning of his career, and has lectured at some of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. Leth is also know as a pioneer in experimental documentary filmmaking. Aside from all of that Jorgen has also published over 20 books and have had two films released about his life. Leth has a daughter and three sons, and has been a part time resident of Hait since 1991.
Work Two of his biggest films are "The Perfect Human" (1968) and "The Five Obstructions" (2003). The reason I only chose to talk about these two films is purely because of the story behind them. Jorgen Leth is a friends and mentor to Lars Von Trier. "The Perfect Human" is Von Trier's favorite film by Leth. So Von Trier challenged Leth to remake "The Perfect Human" five times, where Von Trier would give a new obstruction each time. Although the films are years apart, and have so many different looks, for some reason it still feels the same. Leth and Von Trier both did a great job in the recreation and obstruction of the perfect human.
Reflection When I first began watching "The Perfect Human" I really didn't know what to expect. This was probably because I have never seen any of his work before. "The Perfect Human" was a bit confusing at first but had a really unique style of editing. I'm not sure if thats how everything was done in 1968 but I still thought it was noteworthy. Then I went on to watch "The Five Obstructs". As mentioned before this was a movie containing five remakes of "The Perfect Human". I really loved that idea and in result really loved "the Five Obstructions". Both of them were done with a unique sense of style and all, even the original worked well together.
Jorgen Leth was born in 1939 in Denmark. He is one of Denmark’s most successful filmmakers, making over 40 films in his career. He was a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute and also the chairman for it. He has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School and has lectured many times in the US at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard, and NYU.
Some of his most well known films have been “The Perfect Human”, “A Sunday In Hell”, and “The Five Obstructions” with Lars Von Trier. Jorgen is also a very big writer. He has published over 20 books and does many live performances around Denmark for the past few years. He has also collaborated with well known musicians in Denmark to go along with his poetry. He is also a announcer for Denmark TV for most famously the Tour De France.
The piece of his that I watched was “The Perfect Human”. It showed two human beings, a man and a woman who basically were described to be the perfect human. The two people were average looking, the man being really tall and bold, the woman being very dainty and beautiful. It showed them doing things that us normal people do. They are confined to one large white room as if they were in a cage of some sort, but made due of what was around them. I think what Jorgen was trying to show is that all humans can be perfect, it doesn’t matter what you do in life. He also could have meant that no one is perfect and he did so by showing the things they do are imperfect. This whole short film was confusing to me but it gave me a better outlook on life. To me he was showing the imperfections of a perfect human stating that even if you are perfect, there are some quirky and weird things that you do no matter what you are, and I like that about it. I felt "The Perfect Human" was really well put together and I felt as though it gave us normal kids hope to not be so hard on ourselves.
Jorgen Leth was a Danish film director and poet who was a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Leth has produced over 40 films since 1963 including his epic works of A Sunday in Hell and The Perfect Human. Leth took up sport commentating for the Danish television company Sunset Productions. Leth was born June 14, 1973 in Denmark. He studied litrature, anthropology, Jazz,film, and theater. He traveled world wide including Africa, India, South America, and Southeast Asia. The Perfect Human which was his most acclaimed piece was featured and augmented in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions. Controversy was spread over the publication of Leth's autobiography Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Man) because of its sexual connotations in reference to a 17 year old girl. Due to this he resigned as the Danish consul in Haiti in 2005.
Leth's most accomplished work The Perfect Human is a 9 minuet black and white short. In it a man and a woman are in a boundless white room doing normal human tasks. What is fascinating about the piece is found in the narration. Leth takes the human for and deconstructs it so that it become many pieces instead of a whole. He focuses on parts of the human like the ear, knees, feet, ect. and because of this interferes with the views perspective of the human body.
In a reflective documentary filmmaker Lars Von Trier works together with Jorgen to create the film The Five Obstructions. Lars gives Leth the task of reconstruction the perfect human, but give Leth five obstacles which he must overcome. The documentary goes over the process and journey one takes when deconstructing such a task but the overall outcome is far greater then the original piece in my regard.
Jorgen Leth, born June 14th, 1937, is a very talent artist from Denmark. He is a poet, journalist, filmaker, sports commentator, and Denmark's Honorary Consul in Haiti. Some of his early and well known works include: The Perfect Human (1967), Good and Evil (1975), and Notes on Love (1989). Leth sets his own rules and principles for himself when working on a project. He recreates his own manifesto within his art that cna be depicted by his followers. He has a unique style that is beloved by man and inspired the Dogme movement. Lars von Trier, a Danish filmaker, screen writer, and author of the Dogme manifesto, is a good friend to Jorgen Leth. The two worked together on a documentary film called The Five Obstructions. Trier challenged Leth to remake his Perfect Human film five times with obeying Lars rules, or 'obstructions'. Leth is to overcome these obstructions and reproduce the values of his original film. It is interesting to see the dialogue between the two, commenting on the success of Leth's original film, and discussing his recreations. Leth's work is astonishing. The final production of each of the assignments was better than I had imagined it. It kept true to the perfect human and revealed many other takes from one idea, that I thought was very interesting.
Leth is a Danish poet and director, most known for his work in the field of experimental documentary film. He has written 10 volumes of poetry and 8 non-fiction books. His most famous work was a short made in 1967 entitled "The Perfect Human. Leth has worked with others such as filmmaker Lars on Trier and journalist Jorn Mader.
His works have been highly experimental and have attracted much attention from all around the world. From his partnership with Lars on Trier in "The Five Obstructions," he turned many heads in an innovative film with many guidelines, and an interesting plot. Through this film, Leth showed the world a new way of looking at film, and a new way to reach different levels of filmmaking. While I have not personally sent eh film, from the description it would be an entertaining, visually stimulating, and thought provoking film to view.
What I am most interested in, however, is not "The Five Obstructions," but rather the short "The Perfect Human." In this piece, a man and a woman are in a whire boundless room, and are seen as though they were subjects in a zoo. While this is not as experimental in the same sense as "The Five Obstructions," it does raise interesting and stimulating questions, such as what makes the human perfect, can there be a perfect human, and do we want to be perfect anyway.
Jorgen Leth was born in Denmark on June 14, 1937. He is a poet and film director who has been making films for nearly 50 years. He worked for the Danish Film institute during the 1970's and has taught and lectured at several educational institutes including Harvard and UCLA. His most notable film being The Perfect Human in 1967. Leth has also been a sports caster in his home country of Denmark along with being the Danish Honorary Consul in Haiti. During his time in he wrote an autobiography called The Imperfect Human which includes writings on his relations with the 17yr old daughter of his cook in Haiti. This created a media frenzy in Denmark and ultimately led to his resignation of Danish Consul. Shooting for the movie The Erotic Human which is based on The Imperfect Man was scheduled to be done shooting by the end of 2009 with the release being sometime in 2010.
Like I said before his most notable film being The Perfect Human in 1967. This film sparked the attention of filmmaker and screenwriter Lars von Trier who studied under Leth. Trier challenged Leth to recreate The Perfect Human five times over each with a different obstruction. The subsequent film being a documentary called The Five Obstructions. These being his most notable works however he has published numerous books and poems. His upcoming film The Erotic Man may very weel be his most recognized after it's release because of the controversy over his autobiography which the film is based on.
The movie A Perfect Human is a film that shows two people at their most basic functions of the day. These people, a man and a woman, they get dressed, do daily tasks like shaving or putting on make up. They eat and go to bed and then towards the end of the film the woman leaves the man and he is lonely. The story is told by a narrator during most of it but also has the main character, the man, talking with subtitles. He even sings a song at the end about the girl and where she has gone. He depicts basic functions of what some may see as the perfect human. Noting that this is all during the mid to late 1960's. This human eats, stays clean, sleeps, and has feelings towards the opposite sex. I understand completely why Trier challenged Leth on The Five Obstructions because a lot of things have changed since 1967. I emphasize that this is what some may see as the perfect human. Chances are most people have their own vision of a perfect human. Some people may have the same "perfect human" that they envy like a movie star or model. But if everyone was challenged to dream up the perfect human that was unique in that it wasn't souly based on some other person then everyone would see someone different.
Danish film director Jorgen Leth is one of the greatest documentary film makers of all time. In his life time he has written eight non-fiction books and distributed over forty films world wide. He has been a creative consultant at the Danish Film Institute and has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School. Leth has also been a commentator for the Tour de France. In his novel The Imperfect Man, he admits to having sexual relations with the seventeen year old daughter of one of his cooks in Haiti.
Leth’s most recognized piece was a short film he created called The Perfect Human, which can also be seen in his documentary The Five Obstructions. The Perfect Human is a short film in black and white. It is about a man and a women who are said to be perfect and some believe that they are depicted as though they are animals in the zoo.
After watching a clip from The Five Obstructions, the 12 frames cut from Cuba I was very intrigued. What I noticed that worked really well was the repetition of frames, especially the ones with the words. This is because the first time you saw it, it was hard to read, but with repetition of it, the message was still able to get across without having to go over 12 frames. I also thought the sound was very crisp and really drew attention to the piece, especially in the shaving scene the sound was very strong. While using only 12 frames the movements had to be quick, or else the whole movement wasn’t captured, and the movements he choose to use were very creative.
Bio: Jorgen Leth is a Danish documentary film maker, born in 1937. He started his career in writing, as a theater and music critic, and then moved on to write several books after traveling a large portion of the globe. He began creating films in 1963. He was also a creative consultant and Chairman of the Board for the Danish Film Institute.
Works: Leth's most acclaimed work is a documentary called "The perfect Human". This is a film in black and white, depicting the human species in all of its glory. The film is shot in a style consistant with many animal and biological documentaries, giving the viewer the impression that they are looking at the human species as an animal, rather than a person. Leth is also known for a run-off of "The Perfect Human," called "The Five Obstructions" which he created with fellow film maker Lars von Trier. This work shows the film "The Perfect Human" under five sets of rules and constraints.
Respond: After viewing several works from Leth, the one that stood out the most to me was the first installment of the "Five Obstructions" piece. In this work, Leth had to create his Perfect Human movie in Cuba, with no set, and could only use 12 consecutive frames of film at a time. These restraints create a very interesting composition, as a long shot cannot exist. Leth is forced to come up with some very interesting ways of showing us what he wants us to see, and it really pays tribute to his creative ability that he was able to accomplish these feats. This piece also reminds me of the Left Channel / RJD2 piece on media storm called 1976 http://www.mediastorm.org/0001.htm
Jorgen Leth was born in Arhus Denmark on June 14th 1937. He seems to be a man of many talents including being a film maker, a poet, an author, and a sports commentator. He's also worked as a professor at the Danish National Film School, and lectured at many American Universities. He is still living and active in his many fields today.
One of his most well known works is called "The Perfect Human." It is a short film made in 1967 in black and white. It is about two humans that are refered to as "perfect" and are in a room with no end. Just the two of them.
After watching "The Perfect Human" I found myself wondering what "perfect" really is and why we all strive to become perfect. If anyone really was perfect would we lock them up in a white room, and watch them much like in the film? Or would we search hard for what we consider to be "flaws" and in turn decide they are infact not perfect. I also found the camera angles, and just how the film was shot to be incredibly interesting. The voice of the narator was so monotone and boring I would have expected to be far less interested but because the figures on the screen where much more interesting I was quite alert through the whole thing.
Jorgen Lethe Bio Jorgen Lethe was born on June fourteenth, 1939 in denmark. Leth traveled the world, worked as a cultural critic for leading Danish Newspapers, wrote 10 volumes of poetry, and produced over 40 works of film. The most well known and acclaimed work of Leths would be The Perfect Human, a work so influential that almost 50 years later it was featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions, made by Leth and Lars Von Trier.
Review of Works Jorgen Lethe is most famous for the short film The Perfect Human and it's subsequent remake by Lethe and Von Trier. Lethe has worked on many other famous films however, starting perhaps with Stopforbud in 1963. Lethe is well known for his powerful sports films and documentaries which help to capture the spirit and majesty of the games they portray in a way few other film makers could.
Reflection Having watched The Perfect Human I was left wondering what to think. On the one hand the films satirical take on human perfection is clearly intended. Likely meant to provoke thought on just what a perfect human could look like or how one would act. The acting takes a turn for the dramatic however, neither actor moves with any true spirit, and lines are stated intentionally monotone, perhaps to further distance the viewer from the perfection displayed on screen. Finally the humans displayed seemed unhappy, perhaps as a distinct counter to their status as perfection personified.
BIO Jorgen Leth is a Danish Poet and Film Director who is considered the leading figure in experimental Documentary film making. Born in Denmark, he studied Literature and Anthropology in Aarhus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic for danish papers for about 10 years. He made his first film in 1963 and has made 40 others. His most acclaimed short, The Perfect Human, was also featured in the 2003 film "The Five Obstructions" made with Lars Von Treir.
WORK Being both a film director and a poet has made Jorgen Leth a strong portfolio of work. Having written 10 volumes of poetry and 8 non-fiction books, he's also created well over 40 films, all of which he's distributed world-wide. His most famous piece, The Perfect Human, was what felt like a study of a perfect male and female, kept in a white room like animal's caged at the zoo. In 2003, Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth created a documentary called The Five Obstructions, in which Treir challenges Leth to recreate "The Perfect Human" 5 times, each with a different Obstruction given by von Treir. The documentary went over in a huge success, and became one of his and Von Treir's best productions.
Reflection: Having heard such raves about "The Perfect Human", i went and checked it out. For a 1965 documentary about human actions, i felt this was a very well created documentary. Filming style reminded me of the original shooting of Clerks by Kevin Smith (who obviously is a more recent director) while maintaining the look of an overall clean film. The film got droll at the end, so it felt, then i realized the video was longer than i had originally thought. Having watched that, i went on to see the trailor for The 5 Obstructions, and i have to say i want to watch the entire movie now that i've seen the trailer. The idea was genious, creating a challenge for Leth to re-create "The Perfect Human" with obstructions created by longtime mentee and friend Lars von Treir. The film documents what happens, and from the looks of it turns into an amazing documentary. I'll be looking on netflix to see if they have a copy of this, if i don't find it online sooner.
Jorgen Leth is a poet, writer and experiential filmmaker from Denmark. Not only considered a pioneer in experimental filmmaking by creating dozens of pieces but he also has worked as a journalist for a Danish newspaper, published 10 volumes of poetry and wrote eight non fiction works.
His more famous works: “The Perfect Human” and “The Five Obstructions”. Challenged by Lar Von Trier, Leth made 5 variations of the “The Perfect Human” with a different obstruction every time.
“The Perfect Human” demonstrates the everyday routine of a human- dressing, shaving, eating etc. One of the obstructions restricted Leth to 12 consecutive frames of film at one time. When he remade this film, it showed how much can be shown in so little amounts of frames. The composition changed but the narrative remained the same.
Born in Arhus, Denmark on June 14, 1937 Jorgen Leth is one of the more famous and well-known figures in experimenting with documentary film making. From 1959-1968 he was a critic in such areas as film, theatre, and jazz and also studied anthropology and literature. During this time, he also traveled to countries such as India and South America.
His works are as varied as his study and travel portfolios: 10 volumes of poetry, 8 non-fiction books, and over 40 films. His most famous work to date is "The Perfect Human" which also appears in his 2003 collaboration with Lars von Trier "The Five Obstructions". One of his most controversial works is the "The Imperfect Man" in which he admits to and depicts his sexual relations with the underaged daughter of his cook in Haiti.
While watching "The Perfect Human" I initially found myself thinking how absurd it was; afterall, all it does is depict a man and woman performing mundane actions. However, the more I watched it the more that I realized that the point of the movie isn't as direct as I had initially anticipated. Instead, it's a very simple piece that shows the viewer the everyday actions of both themselves and everyone they know without any distractions. While some may ask the question, "is there such a thing as a perfect human?", I found myself thinking that the film instead raises the idea that if you can experience (or even relate to) what is being experienced in the movie than you are somehow perfect by how the movie defines "perfect". In this light, I found that all of the critical acclaim of the movie was very fitting because what the film lacks in flashy effects and even plot, it more than makes up for this in its effect on the viewer. It causes its audience to ponder and think about deep and philosophical issues both during and after the film finishes. In my opinion, it is this very effect that is the hallmark of a legendary film.
Jorgen Leth is a danish film maker born in 1937. He began his career in anthropology, learning about many different culture before publishing books of both non-fiction and poetry. He then began making films in 1963. and has become well know as an experimental film maker. He has done sports documentaries, as well as live TV commentary. His films range from the commentary on the human condition in "The Perfect Human" to the sports documentary. "A sunday in Hell." Even his documentaries focus more on the athletes, and what drives them.
I watched "The Perfect Human," as did Ethan Welner. I feel that the conversation we had, here following, best represents my reaction
ethan have you seen this one already?
Dylan Watt
perfect human? ethan yeah Dylan Watt yeah ethan they dont seem particularly appreciative of their perfection Dylan Watt so their ungrateful? but that means their not perfect ethan i dunno, perfect is by definition totally relative to the standards being judged Dylan Watt well perfection is the true sense isn't relative, but it's used colloquially now ethan flaws and defects are relative by nature
the concept upon which the idea of perfection is predicated is situationally fluid
thus perfection itself is dynamic Dylan Watt
nah, it's just that nothing produced by nature can be perfect, if it fails any definition of perfect, it cannot be ethan a flaw is not a wholly enclosed or described concept
a flaw can not exist without circumstance
and all flaws can inherently be beneficial by the same laws under which they are flaws in the first place Dylan Watt but a flaw, by definition is an imperfection
ethan essentially if a flaw can exist within a system it has to be quantified by that system as a flaw 9:37 but not cattegorially by existance 9:37 a flaw ceases to be such dynamically 9:38 thus a flawless being can only be such in a situation wherein no flaws exist 9:38 change the setting and perfection ceases or happens
Dylan Watt
so, your argument is any and every attribute can be a boon or a bane solely upon the context? ethan yes Dylan Watt if that is the case, than i agree, but contend that this fact merely reinforces my postulate that perfection cannot exist 9:41 that the only way to be perfect is to have no attributes, which is to say only nothing in itself can be perfect ethan perfection can certainly exist 9:41 it just exists within a framework 9:42 something is perfect by definitive standards Dylan Watt you argue for subjective perfection, i speak of objective perfection 9:44 i would contend that it if it exists, perfection can take only one form, be only one truth, and any deviation from this would be an imperfection
ethan well i would contend that it's possibility would depend on a universal observer 9:45 without such objective perfection can not exist 9:46 so basically, god or whatever else you would call it Dylan Watt does it requirer an observer for it to be true? can something not be perfect if nothing knows it is? ethan well without a method by which to judge what is and is not a flaw then nothing can or can not be flaws do not inherently exist or have value they are a construct by which one describes something that is imperfect
Dylan Watt so you would argue there are no universal truths, only subjective ones?
ethan i would argue that a universal truth requires a universal observer 9:49 and a universal framework by which quality can be judged 9:50 thus by the definition of a universal impartial observer said observer would need to exist outside of the universal framework its judging 9:50 i would argue that we ourselves can not percieve or describe what is perfect 9:50 only that we can describe what is not by our limited ken
Jorgen Leth was born in Aarhus, Denmark on June 14, 1939 where he studied literature and anthropology. Since 1959, Leth worked as a journalist who critiqued film, theater, and jazz for a respected Danish newspaper. Leth worked as a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute. Leth was a professor of the Danish National Film School in Copenhagan, and has lectured in the United States at UCLA, Harvard, NYU, and Berkeley. He has made over forty films throughout his career, he was also one of the founding members of the Avant-Garde film group Abincema in the sixties.
ReplyDeleteJorgen Leth is best known for his work in "The Five Obstructions" which he made in 2003. The script was written by Lars Von Trier, and then later they directed it together. In 1967 Jorgen Leth made a film called "The Perfect Human" which documented human behavior. Lars Von Trier was a great admirer of this film and approached Leth in 2000 challenging him to remake it five times. Leth is still making films at the age of 71, his latest. film "The Erotic Human" is still in production.
I took a look at his film "The Perfect Human" and I couldn't help but think it was an instruction manual on humans that aliens could look at. In the film, the narrator explains the concept of a perfect human, how they look, how they act, where the sleep, how the feel, and how they respond to eachother. The film ends with the male actor saying "Today, too, I experienced something I hope to understand in a few days." So maybe i'll understand it better in a few days, but it was an interesting look at basic human functionality, things that we never take into consideration because of their everyday occurrences.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteBio
ReplyDeleteJorgen Leth was born June 14th, 1939 in Aarhus Denmark. He originally began studying anthropology and literature in Aaruh and Copenhagen, and has worked as a journalist and film critic for Danish news papers since 1959. Leth has made over 40 films since the beginning of his career, and has lectured at some of the most prestigious universities in the U.S. Leth is also know as a pioneer in experimental documentary filmmaking. Aside from all of that Jorgen has also published over 20 books and have had two films released about his life. Leth has a daughter and three sons, and has been a part time resident of Hait since 1991.
Work
Two of his biggest films are "The Perfect Human" (1968) and "The Five Obstructions" (2003). The reason I only chose to talk about these two films is purely because of the story behind them. Jorgen Leth is a friends and mentor to Lars Von Trier. "The Perfect Human" is Von Trier's favorite film by Leth. So Von Trier challenged Leth to remake "The Perfect Human" five times, where Von Trier would give a new obstruction each time. Although the films are years apart, and have so many different looks, for some reason it still feels the same. Leth and Von Trier both did a great job in the recreation and obstruction of the perfect human.
Reflection
When I first began watching "The Perfect Human" I really didn't know what to expect. This was probably because I have never seen any of his work before. "The Perfect Human" was a bit confusing at first but had a really unique style of editing. I'm not sure if thats how everything was done in 1968 but I still thought it was noteworthy. Then I went on to watch "The Five Obstructs". As mentioned before this was a movie containing five remakes of "The Perfect Human". I really loved that idea and in result really loved "the Five Obstructions". Both of them were done with a unique sense of style and all, even the original worked well together.
Jorgen Leth
ReplyDelete1-17-10
Jorgen Leth was born in 1939 in Denmark. He is one of Denmark’s most successful filmmakers, making over 40 films in his career. He was a creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute and also the chairman for it. He has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School and has lectured many times in the US at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard, and NYU.
Some of his most well known films have been “The Perfect Human”, “A Sunday In Hell”, and “The Five Obstructions” with Lars Von Trier. Jorgen is also a very big writer. He has published over 20 books and does many live performances around Denmark for the past few years. He has also collaborated with well known musicians in Denmark to go along with his poetry. He is also a announcer for Denmark TV for most famously the Tour De France.
The piece of his that I watched was “The Perfect Human”. It showed two human beings, a man and a woman who basically were described to be the perfect human. The two people were average looking, the man being really tall and bold, the woman being very dainty and beautiful. It showed them doing things that us normal people do. They are confined to one large white room as if they were in a cage of some sort, but made due of what was around them. I think what Jorgen was trying to show is that all humans can be perfect, it doesn’t matter what you do in life. He also could have meant that no one is perfect and he did so by showing the things they do are imperfect. This whole short film was confusing to me but it gave me a better outlook on life. To me he was showing the imperfections of a perfect human stating that even if you are perfect, there are some quirky and weird things that you do no matter what you are, and I like that about it. I felt "The Perfect Human" was really well put together and I felt as though it gave us normal kids hope to not be so hard on ourselves.
Jorgen Leth was a Danish film director and poet who was a leading figure in experimental documentary film making. Leth has produced over 40 films since 1963 including his epic works of A Sunday in Hell and The Perfect Human. Leth took up sport commentating for the Danish television company Sunset Productions. Leth was born June 14, 1973 in Denmark. He studied litrature, anthropology, Jazz,film, and theater. He traveled world wide including Africa, India, South America, and Southeast Asia. The Perfect Human which was his most acclaimed piece was featured and augmented in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions. Controversy was spread over the publication of Leth's autobiography Det uperfekte menneske (The Imperfect Man) because of its sexual connotations in reference to a 17 year old girl. Due to this he resigned as the Danish consul in Haiti in 2005.
ReplyDeleteLeth's most accomplished work The Perfect Human is a 9 minuet black and white short. In it a man and a woman are in a boundless white room doing normal human tasks. What is fascinating about the piece is found in the narration. Leth takes the human for and deconstructs it so that it become many pieces instead of a whole. He focuses on parts of the human like the ear, knees, feet, ect. and because of this interferes with the views perspective of the human body.
In a reflective documentary filmmaker Lars Von Trier works together with Jorgen to create the film The Five Obstructions. Lars gives Leth the task of reconstruction the perfect human, but give Leth five obstacles which he must overcome. The documentary goes over the process and journey one takes when deconstructing such a task but the overall outcome is far greater then the original piece in my regard.
Jorgen Leth, born June 14th, 1937, is a very talent artist from Denmark. He is a poet, journalist, filmaker, sports commentator, and Denmark's Honorary Consul in Haiti. Some of his early and well known works include: The Perfect Human (1967), Good and Evil (1975), and Notes on Love (1989).
ReplyDeleteLeth sets his own rules and principles for himself when working on a project. He recreates his own manifesto within his art that cna be depicted by his followers. He has a unique style that is beloved by man and inspired the Dogme movement.
Lars von Trier, a Danish filmaker, screen writer, and author of the Dogme manifesto, is a good friend to Jorgen Leth. The two worked together on a documentary film called The Five Obstructions. Trier challenged Leth to remake his Perfect Human film five times with obeying Lars rules, or 'obstructions'. Leth is to overcome these obstructions and reproduce the values of his original film. It is interesting to see the dialogue between the two, commenting on the success of Leth's original film, and discussing his recreations. Leth's work is astonishing. The final production of each of the assignments was better than I had imagined it. It kept true to the perfect human and revealed many other takes from one idea, that I thought was very interesting.
Leth is a Danish poet and director, most known for his work in the field of experimental documentary film. He has written 10 volumes of poetry and 8 non-fiction books. His most famous work was a short made in 1967 entitled "The Perfect Human. Leth has worked with others such as filmmaker Lars on Trier and journalist Jorn Mader.
ReplyDeleteHis works have been highly experimental and have attracted much attention from all around the world. From his partnership with Lars on Trier in "The Five Obstructions," he turned many heads in an innovative film with many guidelines, and an interesting plot. Through this film, Leth showed the world a new way of looking at film, and a new way to reach different levels of filmmaking. While I have not personally sent eh film, from the description it would be an entertaining, visually stimulating, and thought provoking film to view.
What I am most interested in, however, is not "The Five Obstructions," but rather the short "The Perfect Human." In this piece, a man and a woman are in a whire boundless room, and are seen as though they were subjects in a zoo. While this is not as experimental in the same sense as "The Five Obstructions," it does raise interesting and stimulating questions, such as what makes the human perfect, can there be a perfect human, and do we want to be perfect anyway.
Jorgen Leth was born in Denmark on June 14, 1937. He is a poet and film director who has been making films for nearly 50 years. He worked for the Danish Film institute during the 1970's and has taught and lectured at several educational institutes including Harvard and UCLA. His most notable film being The Perfect Human in 1967. Leth has also been a sports caster in his home country of Denmark along with being the Danish Honorary Consul in Haiti. During his time in he wrote an autobiography called The Imperfect Human which includes writings on his relations with the 17yr old daughter of his cook in Haiti. This created a media frenzy in Denmark and ultimately led to his resignation of Danish Consul. Shooting for the movie The Erotic Human which is based on The Imperfect Man was scheduled to be done shooting by the end of 2009 with the release being sometime in 2010.
ReplyDeleteLike I said before his most notable film being The Perfect Human in 1967. This film sparked the attention of filmmaker and screenwriter Lars von Trier who studied under Leth. Trier challenged Leth to recreate The Perfect Human five times over each with a different obstruction. The subsequent film being a documentary called The Five Obstructions. These being his most notable works however he has published numerous books and poems. His upcoming film The Erotic Man may very weel be his most recognized after it's release because of the controversy over his autobiography which the film is based on.
The movie A Perfect Human is a film that shows two people at their most basic functions of the day. These people, a man and a woman, they get dressed, do daily tasks like shaving or putting on make up. They eat and go to bed and then towards the end of the film the woman leaves the man and he is lonely. The story is told by a narrator during most of it but also has the main character, the man, talking with subtitles. He even sings a song at the end about the girl and where she has gone. He depicts basic functions of what some may see as the perfect human. Noting that this is all during the mid to late 1960's. This human eats, stays clean, sleeps, and has feelings towards the opposite sex. I understand completely why Trier challenged Leth on The Five Obstructions because a lot of things have changed since 1967. I emphasize that this is what some may see as the perfect human. Chances are most people have their own vision of a perfect human. Some people may have the same "perfect human" that they envy like a movie star or model. But if everyone was challenged to dream up the perfect human that was unique in that it wasn't souly based on some other person then everyone would see someone different.
Jorgen Leth
ReplyDeleteDanish film director Jorgen Leth is one of the greatest documentary film makers of all time. In his life time he has written eight non-fiction books and distributed over forty films world wide. He has been a creative consultant at the Danish Film Institute and has also been a professor at the Danish National Film School. Leth has also been a commentator for the Tour de France. In his novel The Imperfect Man, he admits to having sexual relations with the seventeen year old daughter of one of his cooks in Haiti.
Leth’s most recognized piece was a short film he created called The Perfect Human, which can also be seen in his documentary The Five Obstructions. The Perfect Human is a short film in black and white. It is about a man and a women who are said to be perfect and some believe that they are depicted as though they are animals in the zoo.
After watching a clip from The Five Obstructions, the 12 frames cut from Cuba I was very intrigued. What I noticed that worked really well was the repetition of frames, especially the ones with the words. This is because the first time you saw it, it was hard to read, but with repetition of it, the message was still able to get across without having to go over 12 frames. I also thought the sound was very crisp and really drew attention to the piece, especially in the shaving scene the sound was very strong. While using only 12 frames the movements had to be quick, or else the whole movement wasn’t captured, and the movements he choose to use were very creative.
Bio:
ReplyDeleteJorgen Leth is a Danish documentary film maker, born in 1937. He started his career in writing, as a theater and music critic, and then moved on to write several books after traveling a large portion of the globe. He began creating films in 1963. He was also a creative consultant and Chairman of the Board for the Danish Film Institute.
Works:
Leth's most acclaimed work is a documentary called "The perfect Human". This is a film in black and white, depicting the human species in all of its glory. The film is shot in a style consistant with many animal and biological documentaries, giving the viewer the impression that they are looking at the human species as an animal, rather than a person.
Leth is also known for a run-off of "The Perfect Human," called "The Five Obstructions" which he created with fellow film maker Lars von Trier. This work shows the film "The Perfect Human" under five sets of rules and constraints.
Respond:
After viewing several works from Leth, the one that stood out the most to me was the first installment of the "Five Obstructions" piece. In this work, Leth had to create his Perfect Human movie in Cuba, with no set, and could only use 12 consecutive frames of film at a time. These restraints create a very interesting composition, as a long shot cannot exist. Leth is forced to come up with some very interesting ways of showing us what he wants us to see, and it really pays tribute to his creative ability that he was able to accomplish these feats.
This piece also reminds me of the Left Channel / RJD2 piece on media storm called 1976
http://www.mediastorm.org/0001.htm
Jorgen Leth was born in Arhus Denmark on June 14th 1937. He seems to be a man of many talents including being a film maker, a poet, an author, and a sports commentator. He's also worked as a professor at the Danish National Film School, and lectured at many American Universities. He is still living and active in his many fields today.
ReplyDeleteOne of his most well known works is called "The Perfect Human." It is a short film made in 1967 in black and white. It is about two humans that are refered to as "perfect" and are in a room with no end. Just the two of them.
After watching "The Perfect Human" I found myself wondering what "perfect" really is and why we all strive to become perfect. If anyone really was perfect would we lock them up in a white room, and watch them much like in the film? Or would we search hard for what we consider to be "flaws" and in turn decide they are infact not perfect. I also found the camera angles, and just how the film was shot to be incredibly interesting. The voice of the narator was so monotone and boring I would have expected to be far less interested but because the figures on the screen where much more interesting I was quite alert through the whole thing.
Jorgen Lethe
ReplyDeleteBio
Jorgen Lethe was born on June fourteenth, 1939 in denmark. Leth traveled the world, worked as a cultural critic for leading Danish Newspapers, wrote 10 volumes of poetry, and produced over 40 works of film. The most well known and acclaimed work of Leths would be The Perfect Human, a work so influential that almost 50 years later it was featured in the 2003 film The Five Obstructions, made by Leth and Lars Von Trier.
Review of Works
Jorgen Lethe is most famous for the short film The Perfect Human and it's subsequent remake by Lethe and Von Trier. Lethe has worked on many other famous films however, starting perhaps with Stopforbud in 1963. Lethe is well known for his powerful sports films and documentaries which help to capture the spirit and majesty of the games they portray in a way few other film makers could.
Reflection
Having watched The Perfect Human I was left wondering what to think. On the one hand the films satirical take on human perfection is clearly intended. Likely meant to provoke thought on just what a perfect human could look like or how one would act. The acting takes a turn for the dramatic however, neither actor moves with any true spirit, and lines are stated intentionally monotone, perhaps to further distance the viewer from the perfection displayed on screen. Finally the humans displayed seemed unhappy, perhaps as a distinct counter to their status as perfection personified.
BIO
ReplyDeleteJorgen Leth is a Danish Poet and Film Director who is considered the leading figure in experimental Documentary film making. Born in Denmark, he studied Literature and Anthropology in Aarhus and Copenhagen and was a cultural critic for danish papers for about 10 years. He made his first film in 1963 and has made 40 others. His most acclaimed short, The Perfect Human, was also featured in the 2003 film "The Five Obstructions" made with Lars Von Treir.
WORK
Being both a film director and a poet has made Jorgen Leth a strong portfolio of work. Having written 10 volumes of poetry and 8 non-fiction books, he's also created well over 40 films, all of which he's distributed world-wide. His most famous piece, The Perfect Human, was what felt like a study of a perfect male and female, kept in a white room like animal's caged at the zoo. In 2003, Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth created a documentary called The Five Obstructions, in which Treir challenges Leth to recreate "The Perfect Human" 5 times, each with a different Obstruction given by von Treir. The documentary went over in a huge success, and became one of his and Von Treir's best productions.
Reflection:
Having heard such raves about "The Perfect Human", i went and checked it out. For a 1965 documentary about human actions, i felt this was a very well created documentary. Filming style reminded me of the original shooting of Clerks by Kevin Smith (who obviously is a more recent director) while maintaining the look of an overall clean film. The film got droll at the end, so it felt, then i realized the video was longer than i had originally thought. Having watched that, i went on to see the trailor for The 5 Obstructions, and i have to say i want to watch the entire movie now that i've seen the trailer. The idea was genious, creating a challenge for Leth to re-create "The Perfect Human" with obstructions created by longtime mentee and friend Lars von Treir. The film documents what happens, and from the looks of it turns into an amazing documentary. I'll be looking on netflix to see if they have a copy of this, if i don't find it online sooner.
Jorgen Leth is a poet, writer and experiential filmmaker from Denmark. Not only considered a pioneer in experimental filmmaking by creating dozens of pieces but he also has worked as a journalist for a Danish newspaper, published 10 volumes of poetry and wrote eight non fiction works.
ReplyDeleteHis more famous works: “The Perfect Human” and “The Five Obstructions”. Challenged by Lar Von Trier, Leth made 5 variations of the “The Perfect Human” with a different obstruction every time.
“The Perfect Human” demonstrates the everyday routine of a human- dressing, shaving, eating etc. One of the obstructions restricted Leth to 12 consecutive frames of film at one time. When he remade this film, it showed how much can be shown in so little amounts of frames. The composition changed but the narrative remained the same.
Born in Arhus, Denmark on June 14, 1937 Jorgen Leth is one of the more famous and well-known figures in experimenting with documentary film making. From 1959-1968 he was a critic in such areas as film, theatre, and jazz and also studied anthropology and literature. During this time, he also traveled to countries such as India and South America.
ReplyDeleteHis works are as varied as his study and travel portfolios: 10 volumes of poetry, 8 non-fiction books, and over 40 films. His most famous work to date is "The Perfect Human" which also appears in his 2003 collaboration with Lars von Trier "The Five Obstructions". One of his most controversial works is the "The Imperfect Man" in which he admits to and depicts his sexual relations with the underaged daughter of his cook in Haiti.
While watching "The Perfect Human" I initially found myself thinking how absurd it was; afterall, all it does is depict a man and woman performing mundane actions. However, the more I watched it the more that I realized that the point of the movie isn't as direct as I had initially anticipated. Instead, it's a very simple piece that shows the viewer the everyday actions of both themselves and everyone they know without any distractions. While some may ask the question, "is there such a thing as a perfect human?", I found myself thinking that the film instead raises the idea that if you can experience (or even relate to) what is being experienced in the movie than you are somehow perfect by how the movie defines "perfect". In this light, I found that all of the critical acclaim of the movie was very fitting because what the film lacks in flashy effects and even plot, it more than makes up for this in its effect on the viewer. It causes its audience to ponder and think about deep and philosophical issues both during and after the film finishes. In my opinion, it is this very effect that is the hallmark of a legendary film.
Jorgen Leth is a danish film maker born in 1937. He began his career in anthropology, learning about many different culture before publishing books of both non-fiction and poetry. He then began making films in 1963. and has become well know as an experimental film maker. He has done sports documentaries, as well as live TV commentary.
ReplyDeleteHis films range from the commentary on the human condition in "The Perfect Human" to the sports documentary. "A sunday in Hell." Even his documentaries focus more on the athletes, and what drives them.
I watched "The Perfect Human," as did Ethan Welner. I feel that the conversation we had, here following, best represents my reaction
ethan
have you seen this one already?
Dylan Watt
perfect human?
ethan
yeah
Dylan Watt
yeah
ethan
they dont seem particularly appreciative of their perfection
Dylan Watt
so their ungrateful? but that means their not perfect
ethan
i dunno, perfect is by definition totally relative to the standards being judged
Dylan Watt
well perfection is the true sense isn't relative, but it's used colloquially now
ethan
flaws and defects are relative by nature
the concept upon which the idea of perfection is predicated is situationally fluid
thus perfection itself is dynamic
Dylan Watt
nah, it's just that nothing produced by nature can be perfect, if it fails any definition of perfect, it cannot be
ethan
a flaw is not a wholly enclosed or described concept
a flaw can not exist without circumstance
and all flaws can inherently be beneficial by the same laws under which they are flaws in the first place
Dylan Watt
but a flaw, by definition is an imperfection
ethan
essentially if a flaw can exist within a system it has to be quantified by that system as a flaw
9:37
but not cattegorially by existance
9:37
a flaw ceases to be such dynamically
9:38
thus a flawless being can only be such in a situation wherein no flaws exist
9:38
change the setting and perfection ceases or happens
Dylan Watt
so, your argument is any and every attribute can be a boon or a bane solely upon the context?
ethan
yes
Dylan Watt
if that is the case, than i agree, but contend that this fact merely reinforces my postulate that perfection cannot exist
9:41
that the only way to be perfect is to have no attributes, which is to say only nothing in itself can be perfect
ethan
perfection can certainly exist
9:41
it just exists within a framework
9:42
something is perfect by definitive standards
Dylan Watt
you argue for subjective perfection, i speak of objective perfection
9:44
i would contend that it if it exists, perfection can take only one form, be only one truth, and any deviation from this would be an imperfection
ethan
well i would contend that it's possibility would depend on a universal observer
9:45
without such objective perfection can not exist
9:46
so basically, god or whatever else you would call it
Dylan Watt
does it requirer an observer for it to be true?
can something not be perfect if nothing knows it is?
ethan
well without a method by which to judge what is and is not a flaw then nothing can or can not be
flaws do not inherently exist or have value
they are a construct by which one describes something that is imperfect
Dylan Watt
so you would argue there are no universal truths, only subjective ones?
ethan
i would argue that a universal truth requires a universal observer
9:49
and a universal framework by which quality can be judged
9:50
thus by the definition of a universal impartial observer said observer would need to exist outside of the universal framework its judging
9:50
i would argue that we ourselves can not percieve or describe what is perfect
9:50
only that we can describe what is not by our limited ken