Robert Nelson Movies
- 1965
Oh Dem Watermelons
Oh Dem Watermelons5.91965HD
Commissioned by the San Francisco Mime Troupe as a short to be screened during intermission for its rather infamous 1965 Minstrel Show (Civil Rights...
![Oh Dem Watermelons]()
- 1967
The Off-Handed Jape... & How to Pull It Off
The Off-Handed Jape... & How to Pull It Off41967HD
The Off-Handed Jape is an afternoon’s lark made by Nelson and his artist friend William Wiley. The two men perform whimsical actions and poses...
![The Off-Handed Jape... & How to Pull It Off]()
- 1967
The Great Blondino
The Great Blondino4.11967HD
Shooting in 1966 without script, story, or any narrative preconception, Nelson and Wiley created a masterwork of ‘60s independent cinema. The...
![The Great Blondino]()
- 1973
Picasso
Picasso01973HD
“When Picasso died I wanted to make the first post-mortem documentary, as I knew would happen anyway, and cheaply. The film took four hours to...
![Picasso]()
- 1970
King David
King David01970HD
[1970/2003, color, 7.5 min] Experimental short film preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
![King David]()
- 1967
The Awful Backlash
The Awful Backlash01967HD
“In their starkly minimal film, The Awful Backlash, directors Robert Nelson and William Allan, focus solely on a pair of hands as they begin to...
![The Awful Backlash]()
- 1963
Plastic Haircut
Plastic Haircut01963HD
"Dada-inspired performance in which absurd actions take place in an environment of strange symbols and graphic forms." -Mark Webber. Design by...
![Plastic Haircut]()
- 1971
Bleu Shut
Bleu Shut5.51971HD
"Even when we know the game is an illusion, the experience of Bleu Shut is entirely a pleasure: the ‘game’ is fun, the Nelson/Wiley...
![Bleu Shut]()
- 1967
Penny Bright & Jimmy Witherspoon
Penny Bright & Jimmy Witherspoon01967HD
Nelson sets minimal, repetitive imagery against a looping recording of his daughter Oona, which goes gradually from sweet to curious to mysterious to...
![Penny Bright & Jimmy Witherspoon]()
- 1976
Suite California Stops & Passes Part 1: Tijuana to Hollywood via Death Valley
Suite California Stops & Passes Part 1: Tijuana to Hollywood via Death Valley01976HD
The first part of what was intended to be a three-part experimental travelog for Nelson’s home state of California, this film covers the...
![Suite California Stops & Passes Part 1: Tijuana to Hollywood via Death Valley]()
- 1970
Riverbody
Riverbody01970HD
A continuous dissolve of 87 male and female nudes. "The film's fascination lies with the suspense of that magic moment, halfway between two persons,...
![Riverbody]()
- 1965
Confessions of a Black Mother Succuba
Confessions of a Black Mother Succuba01965HD
Recurrent themes of violence, sex and TV commercials. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2004.
![Confessions of a Black Mother Succuba]()
- 1967
Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead01967HD
A chaotic film featuring the Grateful Dead. The songs that are included are Sitting on Top of the World, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl, Cold Rain...
![Grateful Dead]()
- 1974
Deep Westurn
Deep Westurn01974HD
A ‘film wake’. Though celebratory in mood, it has a mournful subtext… death and dying. We dedicated it to Dr. Sam West, departed...
![Deep Westurn]()
- 1965
Sixty Lazy Dogs
Sixty Lazy Dogs01965HD
A film by Robert Nelson
![Sixty Lazy Dogs]()
- 1969
Travelogue: Portraits – Images from a journey
Travelogue: Portraits – Images from a journey01969HD
A black-and-white travel journal, in which the themes of memories and their relationship to the past suddenly catch up and rush away from us. The...
![Travelogue: Portraits – Images from a journey]()
- 1967
Gourley in 67
Gourley in 6701967HD
A film by Robert Nelson
![Gourley in 67]()
- 1967
1/2 Bright, 1/2 Open, 1/2 Withered, 1/2 Lumpy
1/2 Bright, 1/2 Open, 1/2 Withered, 1/2 Lumpy01967HD
A film by Robert Nelson
![1/2 Bright, 1/2 Open, 1/2 Withered, 1/2 Lumpy]()
- 1967
Soup or Spread
Soup or Spread01967HD
A film by Robert Nelson
![Soup or Spread]()
- 1965
T.P.II
T.P.II01965HD
A film by Robert Nelson
![T.P.II]()
