Castro Street (Bruce Baillie, 1966)

Blue swirling and industrial noise. Lamplights. Smoke from a refinery or factory. Sound of industrial machinery. Passing wires. Piping from a commerce city. Train moving. Chicks. Train sounds. “Rail Road” crossing sign. Train. Person walking. “3463” Steam release. Movement right to left. Smokestack in red while something is passing. Sound is such a major component of this film. Certainly not a film that is easy to. Southern Pacific 3463 out in a field. Negative image of the conductor. An orchestral loop. Yard. Riveting (literally). Swirls of smoke. Pipes. And constant movement. Layers of textures. Words from the sides of trains. Most movement is side to side. One shot about 2/3 way through is long tracking shot moving up. Followed by distorted blue and then cemebt. Man with hat. Rig. Flute sounds. Blue sky and workers, distorted as if through a spoon. Bell ringing. More layers of trains. What stands out is not the subject. “Good loving” Shapes. (Did Quay Brothers borrow from this look?) Man walking in inverse. Sign for “Castro Street.”