FIVE TOMORROWS – On February 5th 1970, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. hosted an NET Playhouse presentation of five short films which presented grim visions of the future. Vonnegut was interviewed and offered comments on the international shorts from the high flux beam reactor in Brookhaven (NY) National Laboratories’ center for advanced experimental research.
As NET itself described the 90-minute production, the theme was “the shape of our daily lives should the present trend toward conformity, violence and mindless motion continue unabated.” The films:
L’urlo (The Scream) – This 1966 Italian short – later remade in 2019 – was directed by Camillo Bazzoni. In L’urlo a man of the future struggled to maintain his identity in a super-state which demanded total suppression of the individual. Emotions were forbidden, but a defiant young man (Francesco Barilli) tried to express his love only to wind up a fugitive. Continue reading
Balladeer's Blog 