Viktor Kertanov · Video installation, 2 hours · digital film archive, code, sound
“1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”
The work is assembled from films made between 1902 and 2021. A purpose-built algorithm compresses the cinema archive into two hours of non-human viewing at high speed — a thousand times faster than normal.
At that speed, cinema stops being narrative and is no longer legible to a viewer: actors, editing, genres, and stories dissolve into a dense stream of light, colour, sound, and rhythmic flashes. What was made for human perception turns into material accessible to a machine rather than to a viewer.
The project confronts human perception with machine time and treats the cinema archive as technical memory — a non-human body of culture that goes on reproducing itself even when watching it has become impossible.
1900s
1 film
1910s
5 films
The Vampires or, The Arch Criminals of ParisIMDb ↗
Les Vampires · 13 November 1915 ·
1920s
40 films
The Adventures of Prince AchmedIMDb ↗
Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed · 2 May 1926 ·
Berlin: Symphony of a Great CityIMDb ↗
Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt · 23 September 1927 ·
1930s
63 films
Olympia Part One: Festival of the NationsIMDb ↗
Olympia - Fest der Völker · 20 April 1938 ·
1940s
77 films
Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' PlotIMDb ↗
Иван Грозный. Сказ второй: Боярский заговор · 1 February 1946 ·
1950s
119 films
1960s
162 films
Muriel, or the Time of ReturnIMDb ↗
Muriel, ou le Temps d'un retour · 1 October 1963 ·
The Gospel According to St. MatthewIMDb ↗
Il vangelo secondo Matteo · 4 September 1964 ·
The Taking of Power by Louis XIVIMDb ↗
La Prise de pouvoir par Louis XIV · 10 September 1966 ·
The Good, the Bad and the UglyIMDb ↗
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo · 23 December 1966 ·
2 or 3 Things I Know About HerIMDb ↗
2 ou 3 choses que je sais d'elle · 17 March 1967 ·
Chronicle of Anna Magdalena BachIMDb ↗
Chronik der Anna Magdalena Bach · 3 February 1968 ·
The Sorrow and the Pity: The Film That Shocked FranceIMDb ↗
« Le Chagrin et la Pitié » : La France de Vichy dynamitée · 18 September 1969 ·
1970s
158 films
The Bitter Tears of Petra von KantIMDb ↗
Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant · 25 June 1972 ·
The Discreet Charm of the BourgeoisieIMDb ↗
Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie · 15 September 1972 ·
The Enigma of Kaspar HauserIMDb ↗
Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle · 1 November 1974 ·
Backstage on the Set of Salò, or the 120 Days of SodomIMDb ↗
Backstage sul set di Salò · 22 November 1975 ·
In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden · 17 November 1978 ·
The Marriage of Maria BraunIMDb ↗
Die Ehe der Maria Braun · 20 February 1979 ·
From the Clouds to the ResistanceIMDb ↗
Dalla nube alla resistenza · 7 November 1979 ·
1980s
113 films
Women on the Verge of a Nervous BreakdownIMDb ↗
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios · 14 March 1988 ·
1990s
114 films
Leonard Maltin's Animation Favorites from the Film Board of CanadaIMDb ↗
Luc Besson
14 September 1994
2000s
97 films
As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of BeautyIMDb ↗
5 November 2000 ·
Das weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte · 21 May 2009 ·
2010s
49 films
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past LivesIMDb ↗
ลุงบุญมีระลึกชาติ · 21 May 2010 ·
Blue Is the Warmest ColorIMDb ↗
La Vie d'Adèle - Chapitres 1 et 2 · 23 May 2013 ·
