Nathaniel Dorsky

Nathaniel Dorsky

Raised in New York on a steady diet of Westerns and Disney True-Life Adventures, Nathaniel Dorsky started shooting 8mm movies at the age of eleven. In 1963, when he had just turned 20, he made Ingreen, a boldly symbolic psychodrama about a young man’s sexual coming of age. At that film’s premiere, he met soon-to-be fellow filmmaker Jerome Hiler, who would become his partner in life and a major inspiration for his work. (“We were filming for one another,” Hiler recently said.) In 1971 the two moved to San Francisco, where they’ve lived ever since. Around the same time, Dorsky entered a decade-long creative silence. He returned in 1982 with Hours for Jerome, a 55-minute feature compiled from footage shot between 1966 and 1970. Like all of Dorsky’s subsequent work, it’s a kind of cinematic lyric poem, entirely silent and rooted in a centuries-old tradition of devotional art (in this case, medieval illuminated manuscripts and prayer books). The rest of the Eighties found Dorsky experimenting with new forms and materials: 1987’s Alaya was made up entirely of footage of shifting sand, and 1983’s Ariel, which had a rare public screening at this year’s New York Film Festival, is a beautiful hand-processed film full of thin, tremulous vertical lines and see-sawing horizontals. It was with 1996’s Triste—edited from over 20 years’ worth of footage—that Dorsky, as he once put it, fully arrived at “the level of cinema language that I have been working towards.” Since then, he’s made 16 luminous, description-defying short films, each with their own distinct tones and shadings. In films like Compline (09), August and After (12), and his two most recent titles, Spring and Song, Dorsky creates what he’s often called a “floating world,” in which street scenes, household interiors, meadows, rivers and forests are transformed into playgrounds for light, color and shadow. In a field often dominated by frenetic cutting and/or prolonged stasis, Dorsky’s films unfurl gradually but steadily in a kind of hushed suspension. They’re often attempts to do with light and texture what, in his book Devotional Cinema, Dorsky praised Mozart for having done in key changes and melodic lines: to “wed [a] style to the human metabolism in every detail".

  • Title: Nathaniel Dorsky
  • Popularity: 1.127
  • Known For: Directing
  • Birthday: 1943-01-01
  • Place of Birth: New York City, New York, USA
  • Homepage: http://nathanieldorsky.net/
  • Also Known As:
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Nathaniel Dorsky Movies

  • 2011
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    Interview with Nathaniel Dorsky

    Interview with Nathaniel Dorsky

    1 2011 HD

    During a tour with my films in Spain last spring, I had the pleasure of being honoured with the attention of three young people who offered me the...

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  • 1970
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    Library

    Library

    1 1970 HD

    Initially titled "Books for all". A moving institutional commission in which the filmmakers lovingly portray New Jersey's public library system.

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  • 1982
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    Hours for Jerome

    Hours for Jerome

    9.5 1982 HD

    "This footage was shot and edited from 1966 to 1970 and then edited to completion over a two year period ending in July 1982. Hours for Jerome (as in...

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  • 2012
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    New Shores

    New Shores

    1 2012 HD

    NEW SHORES is a sister film to IN THE STONE HOUSE in many ways. Like the latter film, it consists of earlier footage edited in recent years. It could...

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  • 1989
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    Rembrandt Laughing

    Rembrandt Laughing

    4.7 1989 HD

    This film is a portrait of the passage of one year in the lives of some San Francisco friends, circa 1988 (before the dot.coming of the city), a slow...

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  • 2014
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    Nathaniel Dorsky: An Interview

    Nathaniel Dorsky: An Interview

    1 2014 HD

    In his contribution to the On Art and Artists interview series, Nathaniel Dorsky (b.1943) begins by discussing his childhood love of the John Ford...

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  • 1978
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    Divided Loyalties

    Divided Loyalties

    1 1978 HD

    Warren Sonbert described Divided Loyalties as a film 'about art vs. industry and their various crossovers.' According to film critic Amy Taubin,...

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  • 1967
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    Letter to D.H. In Paris

    Letter to D.H. In Paris

    5 1967 HD

    Stoned people, music, movement, fields.

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  • 2021
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    Ember Days

    Ember Days

    1 2021 HD

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  • 1974
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    Look Park

    Look Park

    6 1974 HD

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  • 2021
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    Terce

    Terce

    1 2021 HD

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  • 2018
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    Arboretum Cycle

    Arboretum Cycle

    10 2018 HD

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  • 2006
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    Song and Solitude

    Song and Solitude

    6.5 2006 HD

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  • 2011
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    The Return

    The Return

    7 2011 HD

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  • 1982
    imgMovies

    Hours for Jerome

    Hours for Jerome

    9.5 1982 HD

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  • 2012
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    August and After

    August and After

    5.5 2012 HD

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  • 2012
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    April

    April

    1 2012 HD

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  • 2013
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    Spring

    Spring

    1 2013 HD

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  • 2013
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    Song

    Song

    1 2013 HD

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  • 2022
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    Naos

    Naos

    1 2022 HD

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  • 2019
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    Caracole (for Cecilia)

    Caracole (for Cecilia)

    1 2019 HD

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  • 2008
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    Winter

    Winter

    1 2008 HD

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  • 2013
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    Summer

    Summer

    1 2013 HD

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  • 2014
    imgMovies

    February

    February

    1 2014 HD

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  • 2009
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    Compline

    Compline

    6 2009 HD

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  • 2010
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    Aubade

    Aubade

    6 2010 HD

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  • 2014
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    December

    December

    1 2014 HD

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  • 2008
    imgMovies

    Sarabande

    Sarabande

    6 2008 HD

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  • 2014
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    Avraham

    Avraham

    1 2014 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    4.6 1976 HD

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  • 2000
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    Arbor Vitae

    Arbor Vitae

    1 2000 HD

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  • 2022
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    Interval

    Interval

    1 2022 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    4.6 1976 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2002
    imgMovies

    The Visitation

    The Visitation

    1 2002 HD

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  • 2004
    imgMovies

    Threnody

    Threnody

    6 2004 HD

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  • 1964
    imgMovies

    Ingreen

    Ingreen

    1 1964 HD

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  • 2015
    imgMovies

    Prelude

    Prelude

    1 2015 HD

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  • 2015
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    Intimations

    Intimations

    1 2015 HD

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  • 1966
    imgMovies

    Summerwind

    Summerwind

    1 1966 HD

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  • 2006
    imgMovies

    Kodachrome Dailies from the Time of Song and Solitude (Reel 1)

    Kodachrome Dailies from the Time of Song and Solitude (Reel 1)

    1 2006 HD

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  • 1965
    imgMovies

    A Fall Trip Home

    A Fall Trip Home

    1 1965 HD

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  • 2001
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    Love's Refrain

    Love's Refrain

    1 2001 HD

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  • 2023
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    O Death

    O Death

    1 2023 HD

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  • 1996
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    Triste

    Triste

    1 1996 HD

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  • 1996
    imgMovies

    Triste

    Triste

    1 1996 HD

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  • 2012
    imgMovies

    August and After

    August and After

    5.5 2012 HD

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  • 2012
    imgMovies

    August and After

    August and After

    5.5 2012 HD

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  • 2012
    imgMovies

    August and After

    August and After

    5.5 2012 HD

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  • 1970
    imgMovies

    Library

    Library

    1 1970 HD

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  • 1999
    imgMovies

    Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey

    Wayfinders: A Pacific Odyssey

    1 1999 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    The Dreamer

    The Dreamer

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2015
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    Autumn

    Autumn

    1 2015 HD

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  • 1998
    imgMovies

    Variations

    Variations

    6.8 1998 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Place d'or

    Place d'or

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2022
    imgMovies

    Dialogues

    Dialogues

    1 2022 HD

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  • 1987
    imgMovies

    Alaya

    Alaya

    8 1987 HD

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  • 2010
    imgMovies

    Pastourelle

    Pastourelle

    6 2010 HD

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Pneuma

    Pneuma

    4 1983 HD

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  • 1987
    imgMovies

    17 Reasons Why

    17 Reasons Why

    1 1987 HD

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  • 1983
    imgMovies

    Ariel

    Ariel

    9 1983 HD

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  • 2010
    imgMovies

    Music Makes a City: A Louisville Orchestra Story

    Music Makes a City: A Louisville Orchestra Story

    1 2010 HD

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  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Elohim

    Elohim

    1 2017 HD

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  • 2022
    imgMovies

    Caracole (for Mac)

    Caracole (for Mac)

    1 2022 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Pavane

    Pavane

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Abaton

    Abaton

    1 2017 HD

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  • 2000
    imgMovies

    Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles

    Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles

    6.2 2000 HD

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  • 2000
    imgMovies

    Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles

    Night Waltz: The Music of Paul Bowles

    6.2 2000 HD

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    What Happened to Kerouac?

    What Happened to Kerouac?

    5.7 1986 HD

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  • 1986
    imgMovies

    What Happened to Kerouac?

    What Happened to Kerouac?

    5.7 1986 HD

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  • 2004
    imgMovies

    Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America

    Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America

    6 2004 HD

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  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Ode

    Ode

    1 2017 HD

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  • 2017
    imgMovies

    Coda

    Coda

    1 2017 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    Caracole (for Izcali)

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    O Death

    O Death

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2023
    imgMovies

    O Death

    O Death

    1 2023 HD

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  • 2018
    imgMovies

    September

    September

    1 2018 HD

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  • 2018
    imgMovies

    Epilogue

    Epilogue

    1 2018 HD

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  • 2018
    imgMovies

    Monody

    Monody

    1 2018 HD

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  • 2014
    imgMovies

    Fortune

    Fortune

    1 2014 HD

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  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    4.6 1976 HD

    img
  • 1976
    imgMovies

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    Revenge of the Cheerleaders

    4.6 1976 HD

    img
  • 2018
    imgMovies

    Colophon (for the Arboretum Cycle)

    Colophon (for the Arboretum Cycle)

    1 2018 HD

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  • 2018
    imgMovies

    Calyx

    Calyx

    1 2018 HD

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  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Interlude

    Interlude

    1 2019 HD

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  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Apricity

    Apricity

    1 2019 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Ossuary

    Ossuary

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Lux Perpetua II

    Lux Perpetua II

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Lamentations

    Lamentations

    1 2020 HD

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  • 1989
    imgMovies

    Renga

    Renga

    1 1989 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Temple Sleep

    Temple Sleep

    1 2020 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Lux Perpetua I

    Lux Perpetua I

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2006
    imgMovies

    Kodachrome Dailies from the Time of Song and Solitude (Reel 2)

    Kodachrome Dailies from the Time of Song and Solitude (Reel 2)

    1 2006 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Death of a Poet

    Death of a Poet

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2016
    imgMovies

    Other Archer

    Other Archer

    1 2016 HD

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  • 2019
    imgMovies

    Canticles

    Canticles

    1 2019 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    William

    William

    1 2020 HD

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  • 2020
    imgMovies

    Emanations

    Emanations

    1 2020 HD

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  • 2013
    imgMovies

    Kodachrome Carl Rakosi in Golden Gate Park

    Kodachrome Carl Rakosi in Golden Gate Park

    1 2013 HD

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  • 1963
    imgMovies

    Catch A Tiger

    Catch A Tiger

    1 1963 HD

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  • 1995
    imgMovies

    Black Sheep Boy

    Black Sheep Boy

    6.2 1995 HD

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  • 1967
    imgMovies

    Fool’s Spring (Two Personal Gifts)

    Fool’s Spring (Two Personal Gifts)

    1 1967 HD

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