Star Spangled to Death

Ken Jacobs

1956-60/2003-04, 440 min, b&w and color, sound, DVD

"Almost 50 years in the making — filming began in 1956 — Ken Jacobs's 440-minute avant-garde epic was named the best film of 2004 by J. Hoberman of The Village Voice. A history of 20th-century politics and culture communicated through a crazy quilt of found film, including a dancelike performance...