HALLELUJAH THE HILLS (US, 1963, Adolfas Mekas)

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“Next to the two big shots of the New York School, Clarke and Cassavetes, he seemed a poor relative, especially since people got him confused with his brother. HALLELUJAH THE HILLS proved clearly that Adolfas is someone to be reckoned with. He is a master in the field of pure invention, that is to say, in working dangerously — ‘without a net.’ His film, made according to the good old principle — one idea for each shot — has the lovely scent of fresh ingenuity and crafty sweetness. Physical efforts and intellectual gags are boldly put together. The slightest thing moves you and makes you laugh – a badly framed bush, a banana stuck in a pocket, a majorette in the snow. He shows life as defined by Ramuz: ‘As with a dance, such pleasure to begin, a piston, a clarinet, such sorrow to be done, the head spins and night has come.’” —Jean-Luc Godard, Cahiers du cinema

Born in Lithuania, Adolfas Mekas and his brother Jonas Mekas arrived in the United States in 1949. Together they studied with Hans Richter and, in 1954, founded Film Culture, the magazine of independent cinema. In 1961, Jonas co-founded the Film-Makers’ Cooperative in New York City, and in 1970, he co-founded Anthology Film Archives.

HALLELUJAH THE HILLS, Adolfas’ debut feature film, was selected for the first New York Film Festival in 1963, was the hit of the 'Out-of-Competition' section at the Cannes Film Festival, and won the Silver Sail at Locarno. Referencing Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, and Maya Deren, Mekas' film is a work that bears witness to his knowledge and love of cinema, as well as the immense freedom to be found in the films of the New American Cinema.

In 1971, Adolfas joined the then-newly formed film department of Bard College, which would come to be known as the "Peoples' Film Department" under his chairmanship. Adolfas continued to teach at Bard until his retirement in 2004. He died in June of 2011, at the age of 85.

“HALLELUJAH THE HILLS is a gloriously funny and far-out farce about two great big overgrown boy scouts who pratfall in love with the same girl.  The weirdest, wooziest, wackiest screen comedy is a slapstick poem, an intellectual hellzapoppin, a gloriously fresh experiment and experience in the cinema of the absurd, the first cubistic comedy of the new world cinema.” —Time Magazine, 1963

HALLELUJAH THE HILLS
(US, 1963)

Director: Adolfas Mekas

  • 82 minutes
  • 35mm
  • Color
  • Sound
Distribution Format/s: DVD, DSL/Downloadable 1080p .mp4 file on server

Published By: Re:Voir Video

Institutional Price: $500

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