Bruce Williams
Rancid Acid
(16mm, 1969, 3:55 minutes)
When Rick Pedolsky and I finished editing MARVEL, spring semester of 1969, in a sort
of inertia, I kept on splicing together outs, black and white leader and 16mm film
from the trash can in the editing room in the basement of the Davison Art Center,
including the few frames that give the film its title, "Rancid Acid Filum."
At some point, I punched in the Beatles song Helter Skelter. I idolized
Bruce Connor's Cosmic Ray, and thought that if he could put film to
popular song, I could too. Something about Helter Skelter seemed to
speak to the zeitgeist. This was before there was any association
with the Tate murders. Later, whoever (whatever) owned the Beatles
had the film taken off the internet. Perhaps they thought I was making
tons of money off the Beatles. In 2021, therefore, I cut up Helter Skelter
and reposted the film as Rancid Acid Redux, as seen here, at least until
whoever owns the Beatles has it taken down again. I would be happy to give
whoever owns the Beatles all the proceeds from the film, 100%, down to the
last penny.
Bruce Williams films online
Bruce Williams filmography