Double feature
Painters Painting, 1972, 116 min.
Mr. Hoover and I, 1989, 90 min.
In Painters Painting, de Antonio and cinematographer Ed Emshwiller chronicle the work of 13 painters in New York through interviews and substantial studio observation. De Antonio’s final film, Mr. Hoover and I, is a combination personal essay and documentary exposé of J. Edgar Hoover. Without collage or biting juxtaposition, the filmmaker takes us through his own 10,000-page FBI file, rounding out the picture with a variety of supplemental footage: a conversation with John Cage about art, a college speaking engagement on Joseph McCarthy and the Iran-Contra hearings, and a haircut by his wife Nancy. “Mr. Hoover and I is made of poor means,” de Antonio wrote, “but it is ambitious – more ambitious than Batman.” The second film begins at 3:00 p.m.