Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One & 2 1/2 (1968 - 2005) Blu-ray

In his one-of-a-kind fiction/documentary hybrid Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, the pioneering William Greaves presides over a beleaguered film crew in New York’s Central Park, leaving them to try to figure out what kind of movie they’re making. A couple enacts a breakup scenario over and over, a documentary crew films a crew filming the crew, locals wander casually into the frame: the project defies easy description. Yet this wildly innovative sixties counterculture landmark remains one of the most tightly focused and insightful movies ever made about making movies, expanded thirty-five years later by its unconventional follow-up, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2½. The “sequel” sees Take One actors Audrey Henningham and Shannon Baker reunited in a more personal, metatheatrical exploration of the effects of the passage of time on technology, the artistic process, and relationships—real and fabricated.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

High-definition digital transfers of both films, approved by director William Greaves, with uncompressed monaural soundtracks on the Blu-ray

SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM TAKE ONE (1968 • 75 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.33:1 aspect ratio)

SYMBIOPSYCHOTAXIPLASM TAKE 2½ (2005 • 99 minutes • Color • Monaural • 1.78:1 aspect ratio)

Discovering William Greaves (2006), a documentary on the director’s career, featuring Greaves, his wife and coproducer Louise Archambault Greaves, actor Ruby Dee, filmmaker St. Clair Bourne, and film scholar Scott MacDonald

Interview from 2006 with actor Steve Buscemi

Trailer

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

PLUS: An essay by critic Amy Taubin and production notes by William Greaves for Take One