James Benning Movies

  • 2014
    signs

    signs

    signs

    02014HD

    signs is a sobering continuation of Benning’s career-long interest with the written word as image, text as vision: a silent parade of stills...

    signs
  • 2024
    Breathless

    Breathless

    Breathless

    02024HD

    "On November 28, 2023 I woke up early and drove down to the Upper Kern River. I came to film a tree. It's leaves were orange. The shot would be 87...

    Breathless
  • 1995
    Panama: Exploring the Panama Canal

    Panama: Exploring the Panama Canal

    Panama: Exploring the Panama Canal

    01995HD

    Exploring the Panama Canal is a fascinating journey through the land of mystery and adventure and the Canal that divides it. Through rare archival...

    Panama: Exploring the Panama Canal
  • 2022
    TEN YEARS LATER

    TEN YEARS LATER

    TEN YEARS LATER

    02022HD

    James Benning returns to the location of his 2012 film Nightfall, this time at daybreak.

    TEN YEARS LATER
  • 2020
    Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación

    Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación

    Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación

    02020HD

    After having shared a common experience in Cuba, twelve filmmakers say goodbye to return to their countries and make a pact: to make a collective...

    Dancing in the Street, 11 grados de separación
  • 2010
    John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971

    John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971

    John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971

    02010HD

    James Benning appropriates a 14-second excerpt from his own film Time and a Half (second entry in his filmography), dissects the scene into its...

    John Krieg Exiting the Falk Corporation in 1971
  • 2014
    HF

    HF

    HF

    42014HD

    HF is Benning’s tribute in miniature to legendary filmmaker Hollis Frampton, known for his materialist dissection of the cinema apparatus and...

    HF
  • 2020
    On Paradise Road

    On Paradise Road

    On Paradise Road

    02020HD

    Filmed at Benning's home in Val Verde during the first month of the pandemic, the film is a portrait of that time.

    On Paradise Road
  • 2011
    The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes

    The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes

    The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes

    02011HD

    The Fitzgerald classic as you've never seen it, transposed to a Los Angeles of sleek modern architecture and strip-mall foot clinics.

    The Great Gatsby in Five Minutes
  • 1974
    I-94

    I-94

    I-94

    5.41974HD

    Intercourse between two people who never appear on the screen at the same time. An exploration of sex and male/female identities.

    I-94
  • 2015
    Perimeter

    Perimeter

    Perimeter

    02015HD

    Short by James Benning.

    Perimeter
  • 2016
    Fresh Air

    Fresh Air

    Fresh Air

    02016HD

    Last week I made a film of 49 of my T-shirts called Fresh Air. It was to be purely structural. For sound I recorded (in sync) the quiet ambience of...

    Fresh Air
  • 1984
    American Dreams (Lost and Found)

    American Dreams (Lost and Found)

    American Dreams (Lost and Found)

    7.21984HD

    Scrolling excerpts from the diary of George Wallace's would-be assassin Arthur Bremer at screen bottom, Hank Aaron cards and ephemera from his entire...

    American Dreams (Lost and Found)
  • 2009
    Fire & Rain

    Fire & Rain

    Fire & Rain

    82009HD

    Fire & Rain
  • 1985
    O Panama

    O Panama

    O Panama

    61985HD

    O Panama features a man confined to his apartment on a winter day as he suffers through an illness. Built on the polarity between hot and cold, the...

    O Panama
  • 2011
    Two Cabins

    Two Cabins

    Two Cabins

    72011HD

    Between July, 2007 and June, 2008, veteran independent film-maker,James Benning built replicas of two iconic American Cabins in a remote part of the...

    Two Cabins
  • 2014
    Natural History

    Natural History

    Natural History

    5.42014HD

    In 54 static shots, Benning provides a picture of the Natural History Museum in Vienna. With the exception of the first three shots, he chooses areas...

    Natural History
  • 2010
    Among Enemies: Jeonju Digital Project 2010

    Among Enemies: Jeonju Digital Project 2010

    Among Enemies: Jeonju Digital Project 2010

    02010HD

    Six soldiers wandering in search of enemies in the forest where they can't see an inch ahead. While gathering on the island to prepare Shakespeare's...

    Among Enemies: Jeonju Digital Project 2010
  • 1976
    Chicago Loop

    Chicago Loop

    Chicago Loop

    01976HD

    In three virtuosic sequences created entirely in-camera, Benning alternates contrary camera movements in a trio of Chicago locations with increasing...

    Chicago Loop
  • 2021
    From Bakersfield to Mojave

    From Bakersfield to Mojave

    From Bakersfield to Mojave

    02021HD

    A document of one of the most famous 66 miles of railroad track in the world including the Tehachapi Loop.

    From Bakersfield to Mojave