Found on the Web: Ernie Kovacs's Mini-Film Noir

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of television genius Ernie Kovacs's untimely death, and the blog Dangerous Minds remembered the occasion by sharing an astonishing piece I had never seen before, Kovacs's take on film noir from his legendary 1961-1962 series on ABC:

http://www.dangerousminds.net/comments/Ernie_Kovacs_six_minute_film_noir



I wouldn't call this comedy - rather, it is a miniature meta-noir, a commentary, a distillation, utterly knowing but poetic rather than snarky. What struck me immediately about the piece is how dreamily, eerily beautiful it is - a deconstruction that respects the power of the originals. The noir images alone are beautiful, and the pairing of the images with the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra - inspired choice! - is sublime. I am impressed.