Ken Jacobs Collection Vol. 1 {Kino Classic Blu-ray Review}

Reviewed by Jason Lockard

Ken Jacobs was born May 25, 1933 in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his experimental filmmaking. He is an award winning filmmaker winning both the American Film Institute's Maya Deren Award in 1994 and in 2012 he received a Creative Capital Moving Image grant award.

Ken Jacob's would share his unique vision of film making with the next generation, when he would become a professor. From 1969 to 2002 he taught at the Cinema Department at Harpur College at Binghamton University.

His amazing vision for film is now collected on a 3 disc Blu-ray set all thanks to the fine folks at Kino Lorber. Let's take a looks at the films included in "Ken Jacobs Collection Vol. 1".

DISC 1: Orchard Street (1955) / The Whirled (1961) / Little Stabs at Happiness (1963) / Blonde Cobra (1963) / The Sky Socialist (1963-‘64/2019) / Window (1964)

DISC 2: The Sky Socialist: Environs and Outtakes (1964-‘66/2019) / Tom Tom the Piper's Son (1969) / The Georgetown Loop (1996) / A Tom Tom Chaser (2002) / Capitalism: Child Labor (2006) / Capitalism: Slavery (2006) / Movie that Invites Pausing (2021)

Ken Jacobs films had a very expressionism to them! The are more moving pieces of art than motion pictures that we movie fans know. Ken Jacob could be the Edvard Munch of films. One of the most visually stunning film to me in this collection was The Georgetown Loop.

It should be noted that there are many themes that could be upsetting in these films including, capitalism, Child labor, slavery as well as some scenes that could be offensive to sensitive viewers. Also if you have epilepsy it is best not to watch the film, Movie that invites pausing, as it includes throbbing light.

These films have been transferred in 1080p in their original aspect ratios and in 2.0 mono audio. The films range in quality from nice to a little rough. But that is to be expected from from films that were not big studio releases.All in all these films look pretty good for their age.

Now for the bonus features. There is a very interesting and in-depth conversation between Ken Jacobs and film historian Tom Gunning. They go into detail on his thoughts on his filmmaking style. This conversation was a great addition and makes this collection something special. Included in this Blu-ray set is a booklet featuring an essay entitled "Ken Jacobs Film Philosopher" by J. Hoberman.

Now I must be honest this collection is not going to be for the average film fan. This is more for fans of film history or independent film makers. And if that is you your are going to want to add this Blu-ray to your collection.

If you would like to add the Ken Jacobs Collection Volume 1 to your Blu-ray collection you can head over to Amazon.com and order your copy today.

If you really like the films of Ken Jacobs Kino Lorber will be releasing additional films not found on this collection on the streaming service KinoNow.com.

Out of 4 Film reels (4 being the best) Kino Classic's Blu-Ray of the Ken Jacobs Collection Volume 1 receives...