THE MAGIC BOX: The films of Shirley Clarke. 1929-1987.
Project Shirley: Volume 4. Three Disc Deluxe Set.
Eight hours of documentaries, shorts, home movies, and experimental films.

“There's deep discrimination against women artists that is still very strong. I was a representative of tokenism. I was relied on to be ‘the’ woman filmmaker. No one person can carry that burden. There's no question that my career would have been different if I was a man, but if I was a man, I would be a different human being.” — Shirley Clarke (in a 1985 interview with DeeDee Halleck)

Disc one highlights Clarke’s brilliant experimental films. Disc two compiles her gorgeous dance projects and other short films, including the charming In Paris Parks. Disc three features Robert Frost: A Lover’s Quarrel With the World, Christopher and Me, and a wealth of home movies from every stage of Clarke’s long life.

Shirley Clarke was brilliant, scandalous, bold, and incredibly talented. Had she been a man, film historians would have long ago placed in the pantheon of great auteurs, alongside Orson Welles and John Cassavetes. A true artist, Clarke combined her innate impishness and sense of adventure with a dancer’s aesthetic and her tremendous drive to battle injustice to make films that dazzle, challenge, and beguile the audience.

The Magic Box is a celebration of Shirley Clarke’s courage and creativity, with hopes that it will inspire future generations.

A MILESTONE FILM RELEASE PRODUCED BY DENNIS DOROS and AMY HELLER DIRECTED BY SHIRLEY CLARKE STARRING SHIRLEY CLARKE VIVA ROBERT FROST WENDY CLARKE UDAY SHANKAR DANIEL NAGRIN AGNES VARDA JOSEPH CHAIKIN NEW ORIGINAL SCORES BY DONALD SOSIN JONATHAN SWEENEY B&W and COLOR • Aspect ratio 1.33:1 • Run time 480 minutes © 2016 Milestone Film & Video and the Shirley Clarke Estate