Filmmaker Jack Bond tagged along with Dali for two Christmas weeks in 1965. Dali was in town to stage several artistic manifestations/manipulations as well as attend and promote a showing of his works at the Hartford Gallery of Modern Art. Dali's manipulations involved such things as having a Michelangelo statue turned on it's side, laid onto a cart, then rolled through a public street before finally stopping so Dali could pose with it, kissing it, embracing it, etc. He also stages a (later considered fairly famous) photo session where he lies in a coffin stuffed with gold coins and money, an ocelot inquisitively sniffing at him, culminating when an ant-filled egg is held and broken in his mouth. The films final staging has Dali do a large oil?, ink? sketch painting while a flamenco singer and guitar accompaniment plays.

While the art stagings are fantastic, garnering nearly as much screentime is actress/writer/director/and feminist Jane Arden, who was on hand to interview Dali throughout the week. Bond spends quite a bit of time on her and subsequently it should come as no surprise that the two would collaborate on later projects like Seperation, Anti-Clock, and The Other Side of Underneath. Most of the footage where Dali is being interviewed is with Arden and one of the film's highlight moments occurs when Arden questions Dali about all of his sycophantic handlers and crew. He contemptuously blares that everyone is his slave. When an semi-amused Arden says that she is not, Dali petulantly storms off in a huff and apparently (if the edited timeline is correct) refuses to have much to do with her anymore.

Bond's camera is really just there as an observer and it feels as if he was tethered behind just trying to keep up with Dali's manic world. It has the typical 60's, verite doc feel, lots of shaky, wonky, handheld camerawork and some strange audio edit choices. Probably the most amusing thing to me wasn't so much Dali but the snobbish rumblings of the art patrons. For instance, there is a great bit between Arden and a friend in her hotel room. The way they speak about Dali, we realize, despite professing a love for surrealism and experimenting with the world of unconscious expressionism, Arden isn't even a fan of the man. Her friend agrees and haughtily snips a great line about how she doubts Dali will considered a great painter a century from now. Laughable stuff, really. Dali is one of the few artists to be considered a unique master while living and remains just as popular and a tremendous influence after his death. Arden, on the other hand, is all but forgotten, a tiny footnote in the British film and feminist history books.

The DVD: Cinema Epoch

Picture: The film is presented in standard fullscreen. A big missive for this doc is that it was filmed in black and white (I assume 16 mm because of the look and the era). I understand it was common and cost effective in the 60's- hindsight kills- but when the film goes into its several sequences that highlight Dali's paintings, exploring their details, it just seems absolutely ridiculous to do so with a complete lack of color.

Technically, no problems to speak of, just that source material and age wear and tear.

Sound: The audio is basic mono. Again another big missive is the lack of subtitles on the doc, either on the original print or from the DVD producers. While Dali speaks English I found his accent almost impenetrably thick and despite several rewinds there were large passages that I couldn't decipher at all. It's a real shame because, despite his flamboyant gestures, he actually gives a good rant when asked questions.

Extras: The sole extra on this disc (which doesn't even have a menu other than a static, buttonless screen) is a small liner note excerpt from Jack Bond's autobiography.

Conclusion: There isn't much meat on Dali in New York. You are basically just along for the ride, 75 mins worth of footage from two crazy weeks with the surreal master artist and self promoter. An interesting doc for Dali fanatics. Casual viewers will also likely find it rewarding. Replay value isn't high and the disc is extremely basic, making this one a good rental.