Crossroads (1976)

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Movie
Original title Crossroads
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1976
length 36 minutes
Rod
Director Bruce Conner

Crossroads is a 36-minute short film produced in 1976 by the American avant-garde artist Bruce Conner .

The film shows in extremely slow motion footage of the atomic bomb explosion that was detonated in Bikini Atoll on July 25, 1946 during Operation Crossroads . The test, code-named "Baker", was recorded simultaneously for research purposes with five hundred cameras, from unmanned aircraft, high-altitude reconnaissance vehicles, boats in the vicinity of the explosion and from more distant locations around the atoll. The location for the explosion was chosen, among other things, because the surrounding islands encircled it in an almost complete ellipse, which made it possible to document the event comprehensively from numerous angles.

The music is by Terry Riley and has been provided with additional sound effects by Patrick Gleeson . The first section of the film is accompanied by a soundtrack that seems to have been recorded synchronously at the scene. At first it is not evident that the original soundtrack does not belong to the pictures it accompanies. Conner raises initial doubts about his simulation as soon as he removes the delay in the sound and lets the bang of the explosion sound at the same time as the visible event. During the first few recordings you can hear the explosion a few moments after you see it. This is explained by the much slower speed of sound compared to light . When the visible and audible events occur simultaneously, the representation becomes more of an aesthetic simulation than documentation. This is a purposely used film aesthetic means of expression.

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