Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One Movie Review

William Greaves had some brass balls in making the obliquely-titled Symbiopyschotaxiplasm, namely by auditioning a bunch of film students and hiring a bunch of crew members for a movie that didn't exist. He then proceeded to screw with their heads, mixing things up on them and otherwise making life miserable, while filming everything that went on behind the scenes (rehearsals, complaining, homeless people interviewed). It's too bad that the film's production values scrape rock bottom -- even by low budget standards. Much of the movie is inaudible, and the scratched up film stock gives you a headache from the get-go. The editing is also surprisingly quite poor, considering how much of this experimental film hinges upon the way it is put together.

Fortunately, the technical flaws are fixed in the Criterion release of the film, a much-improved restored cut of the movie (my rating reflects this version). A documentary about Greaves is also included. A second disc comprises a sequel to the film (made in 2003 with what appears to be footage completely from the original shoot): Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2. More of the same stuff, really. This disc also includes an interview with Steve Buscemi, who executive-produced this sequel along with Steven Soderbergh.