John Baldessari Five 1968 Films

On Friday morning I was given a sneak screening of John Baldessari's 2000 installation video piece called 'Five 1968 Films'. The basis of the installation is the selection of 4 films, made in the US and showing in Los Angeles on 20th August 1968, the day Russian tanks entered Prague. Baldessari considers this day the end of a Utopian period and each film represents 4 genres: The Green Berets (war), Planet of the Apes (sci-fi), Rosemary's Baby (horror) and Thomas Crown Affair (love story). A 5th projection shows a quarter of each film, with the soundtracks mixed together. It was a pretty interesting piece of work, really made me want to watch 'Planet of the Apes' and 'Thomas Crown Affair' again but the biggest thrill was being in the subterranean oil tanks where it was being shown.