Manifesto
When it opened on December 1, 1970, Anthology Film Archives issued the
following manifesto, which summarized its polemical position:
The cinematheques of the world generally collect and show
the multiple manifestations of film: as document, history,
industry, mass communication. . . . Anthology Film Archives
is the first film museum exclusively devoted to the film as
an art. What are the essentials of the film experience?
Which films embody the heights of the art of cinema? The
creation of Anthology Film Archives has been an ambitious
attempt to provide answers to these questions; the first of
which is physical — to construct a theater in which films
can be seen under the best conditions; and second critical
– to define the art of film in terms of selected works
which indicate its essences and parameters.One of the guiding principles of this new film museum is
that a great film must be seen many times. For that reason
the entire collection will be presented in repeated cycles.
With three different programs each day, an anthology of one
hundred programs (approximately equivalent to our present
collection) can be repeated monthly. In this way frequent
periodic viewing will be possible for the dedicated
spectator. The cycle will also provide a unique opportunity
for students of the medium to see a concentrated history of
the art of film within a period of four or five weeks. One
would have to travel extensively and spend a few years in
film museums to acquire the cinematic education of equal
magnitude.– The Essential Cinema: Essays on the films in the collection of Anthology Film
Archives, edited by P. Adams Sitney
AN UPDATE: Our present physical and financial conditions do
not permit us to screen the Essential Cinema Repertory as it was initially
presented. Our projection is still far from perfect, and 3 programs per
day is a far dream. But the Repertory itself is intact and it will remain
so, a heroic statement of the art of Cinema.
– Jonas Mekas, 1975