Ontic Antics Starring Laurel and Hardy: Bye, Molly

Ken Jacobs, the erstwhile master of experimental celluloid filmmaking, fully embraces video technology in this reworking of the 1929 Laurel and Hardy film Berth Marks. Prior to this digital version, Jacobs presented this film as one of his live “nervous system” performances, projecting identical overlapping frames in a slightly asynchronous manner to create the illusion of three-dimensional effects. This creation carries the filmmaker’s live performances into the digital realm through a patent-pending “Eternalism” technique, which doesn’t require Jacobs’ physical presence at each projection. In Ontic Antics, Jacobs extends his ongoing exploration of the teeming depths of life contained within individual frames of film.