Heaven and Earth Magic (also called Number 12, The Magic Feature, or Heaven and Earth Magic Feature) is an American avant garde feature film made by Harry Everett Smith. Originally released in 1957, it was re-edited several times and the final version was released in 1962. The film primarily uses cut-out-animated photographs.
The 66-minute cut of the film is now available on DVD and VHS from the Harry Smith Archives. It is sometimes screened at one-time cinema events, often with some kind of live music instead of the film's soundtrack (which consists solely of sound effects). A recent Ann Arbor Film Festival revival featured a score by laptop musician Flying Lotus.
This film is screened at John Zorn's Essential Cinema concerts, where a group of musicians perform behind the film. In the liner notes to Naked City's "Heretic" album it says "This record is dedicated to Harry Smith. Mystical Animator, Pioneer Ethnomusicologist, Hermetic Scholar, Creator of Heaven + Earth Magic, one of the greatest films of all time."
Read more about Heaven And Earth Magic: Plot
Famous quotes containing the words heaven and earth, heaven, earth and/or magic:
“There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Lift every voice and sing till earth and heaven ring,
ring with the harmonies of liberty.
Let our rejoicing rise high as the listening skies;
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea.”
—James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)
“O my true love, hold me.
In your every inch and glance is the globe of genesis spun,
And the living earth your sons.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“Religion differs from magic in that it is not concerned with control or manipulation of the powers confronted. Rather it means submission to, trust in, and adoration of, what is apprehended as the divine nature of ultimate reality.”
—Joachim Wach (1898–1955)