Razor Blades

Razor Blades is a double screen 16mm work by one of cinema's most radical innovators Paul Sharits. His work emphasizes on the physical qualities of film and the structuring process of making films, applying certain schemes comparable with writing a score. Sharits has an analytical approach to the medium using the single frame as a modular element building linear strips of film that can be projected but also exists as a non linear object.
When he applied with his work for the legendary experimental film festival Knokke-Le Zoute in 1967, Sharits wrote in his director's statement: “I wish to abandon imitation and illusion and enter directly into the high drama of: celluloid two-dimensional strips/individual rectangular frames/the three-dimensional light beam/environmental illumination/the two-dimensional reflective screen surface/the viewer’s retina screen, optic nerve and individual psycho-physical subjectivities of consciousness.”
Does this sound ambitious? Yes it does, because Sharits actually was aiming for a completely new conception of cinema that has nothing to do with pleasing an audience. A cinema of flashes, with empty, monochromatic frames, photos, illustrations and letters producing a rapid-fire-anti-illusionist 'all at once' experience. 
Because of the double projection Razor Blades has an out of sync musicality. The accumulation of short, distinct loops are a true attack on the eyes, but also contain a wry sense of humor. Try to catch some of the phrases and you'll encounter sentences like A-R-E-Y-O-U-D-E-A-D-?-H-U-H-?