Program Series: Available Space
Harry Smith’s Film #18, Mahagonny in 4K
Introduction by Hilary Staff, Harry Smith Archives.
Thu, Sep 12, 2024 | 7:30pm PT
Introduction by Hilary Staff, Harry Smith Archives.
“You have to live Mahagonny, in fact be Mahagonny in order to work on it.” — Harry Smith
Experimental filmmaker, anthropologist, painter, and musicologist Harry Smith’s final film, Mahagonny, was an epic four-screen projection. Smith worked on this cinematic transformation of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny for over ten years and considered it his magnum opus. Mahagonny explores the needs and desires of man amid the rituals of daily life in New York City. Much of the film takes place within the Chelsea Hotel and contains cameos of important avant-garde figures such as Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, and Jonas Mekas, intercut with... installation pieces from Robert Mapplethorpe’s studio, New York City landmarks of the era, and Smith’s visionary animation. This screening represents the completion of an ambitious preservation project by the Harry Smith Archives with the assistance of Anthology Film Archives. The artist’s original intention was to screen the film with four 16mm projectors; the original masters have been optically printed onto a single “tiled” 35mm film negative. This presentation is a new restoration of the film.
Programmed by Hyesung ii and K.J. Relth-Miller. Note by Rani Singh, Harry Smith Archives.
Thanks to Rani Singh and Hilary Staff.
DIRECTED BY: Harry Smith. 1970–80. 141 min. USA. Color. 4K DCP.
Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation.
Explore our current quarterly print Film Calendar and browse the archive.
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Location
The Academy Museum and its theaters are located at 6067 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036
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Self-parking, accessible parking, and electric vehicle charging options are available. See below for our parking structure information and view the parking page for further details.
Ride-Share Drop Off
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LACMA's Pritzker Parking Garage
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$24 (first 15 min. free)
Accessible spots on P1 only; no garage elevator
EV charging stations on P1Accessibility
Audio Description
For visitors who are blind or partially-sighted, audio description devices are available for some digital film screenings on a first-come, first-served basis.
Real-time audio descriptions are available for some performances upon request with at least three weeks’ notice, subject to the availability of describers. Email academymuseum@oscars.org to submit your request.
Closed Captioning
For visitors who are deaf or hard of hearing, in-seat closed captioning or descriptive audio-devices are available for some digital film screenings on a first-come, first-served basis. Please confirm availability at academymuseum@oscars.org before planning your visit.
Real-time captioning is available for programs upon request with at least three weeks’ notice, subject to the availability of captioners. Email academymuseum@oscars.org to submit your request.
Please see our Accessibility page for complete information, including details on our Visual Description Tours, Calm Mornings, and Covid-19 policies.
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