Bill Viola Movies

  • 1975
    Return

    Return

    Return

    7.0541975HD

    Return is a methodical construction of the approach of an individual towards an unseen goal, which assumes metaphorical significance. Viola moves...

    Return
  • 2013
    What Is Cinema?

    What Is Cinema?

    What Is Cinema?

    6.42013HD

    Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh,...

    What Is Cinema?
  • 2002
    Going Forth By Day

    Going Forth By Day

    Going Forth By Day

    02002HD

    The film is a five-part projection-based installation, which addresses the complexity of human existence through the themes of individuality,...

    Going Forth By Day
  • 2013
    The Dreamers

    The Dreamers

    The Dreamers

    02013HD

    Seven vertically mounted screens show seven fully clothed submerged people of different ages, genders and ethnicities floating beneath the surface of...

    The Dreamers
  • 2004
    The Raft

    The Raft

    The Raft

    02004HD

    A small crowd of people are gathered in wait when they are suddenly struck by a massive onslaught of water.

    The Raft
  • 2016
    Mary

    Mary

    Mary

    02016HD

    Moving through its five parts, the work describes a cycle of birth through to death, depicting both an eternal, universal Mary, and an earthly Mary...

    Mary
  • 1986
    I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like

    I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like

    I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like

    6.71986HD

    "I Do Not Know What It Is that I Am Like" juxtaposes images of animals, both wild and domestic, and natural environments with human activity as it...

    I Do Not Know What It Is I Am Like
  • 2018
    Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

    Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

    Wagner: Tristan und Isolde

    02018HD

    Motivated by the love that bound him to Mathilda Wesendonck, Richard Wagner’s composition of Tristan und Isolde goes far beyond any simple...

    Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
  • 2002
    The Voyage

    The Voyage

    The Voyage

    02002HD

    The fourth video in the five-part digital-image cycle project "Going Forth By Day" (2002), "The Voyage" features an elderly man who is dying,...

    The Voyage
  • 2017
    Bill Viola: The Road to St. Paul's

    Bill Viola: The Road to St. Paul's

    Bill Viola: The Road to St. Paul's

    5.22017HD

    Gerald Fox’s film documents Bill Viola and his wife and close collaborator Kira Perov’s odyssey to create two permanent video...

    Bill Viola: The Road to St. Paul's
  • 2000
    Ascension

    Ascension

    Ascension

    02000HD

    A man sinks down rapidly into the watery depths, but his inevitable and extended ascension's entire sequence, which was only a few seconds in real...

    Ascension
  • 2014
    Martyrs

    Martyrs

    Martyrs

    02014HD

    Created by Bill Viola and Kira Perov and opened in May 2014, Martyrs shows four individuals, across four colour vertical plasma screens, being...

    Martyrs
  • 1979
    The Reflecting Pool

    The Reflecting Pool

    The Reflecting Pool

    5.61979HD

    Viola's seminal piece, The Reflecting Pool, was made three decades ago on analogue video tape and yet could easily pass for a contemporary digital...

    The Reflecting Pool
  • 2001
    Surrender

    Surrender

    Surrender

    02001HD

    Installation on two screens where the two characters burst into tears, gradually lowering their heads until their faces touch the water.

    Surrender
  • 1992
    The Passing

    The Passing

    The Passing

    4.8891992HD

    Internationally acclaimed and award-winning video installation artist Bill Viola juxtaposes personal pictures of his mother's death with images of...

    The Passing
  • 1994
    Déserts

    Déserts

    Déserts

    61994HD

    Déserts was created to accompany a live performance of the work of avant-garde composer Edgard Varèse (1885-1965). The Ensemble Modern,...

    Déserts
  • 2003
    Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart

    Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart

    Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart

    72003HD

    Hailed as the "Rembrandt of the Video Age," renowned American artist Bill Viola became the first contemporary artist ever to be featured in a one-man...

    Bill Viola: The Eye of the Heart
  • 1975
    The Semi-Circular Canals

    The Semi-Circular Canals

    The Semi-Circular Canals

    01975HD

    The title of The Semi-Circular Canals refers to the portion of the human ear that regulates balance. Viola constructed a platform on which he and the...

    The Semi-Circular Canals
  • 1981
    Hatsu Yume (First Dream)

    Hatsu Yume (First Dream)

    Hatsu Yume (First Dream)

    6.41981HD

    With a title referring to Japanese folklore, wherein things done on the first day of a new year are significant, the film - an ardent dream entirely...

    Hatsu Yume (First Dream)
  • 1992
    The Sleepers

    The Sleepers

    The Sleepers

    01992HD

    The Sleepers is a startlingly dark vision of sleeping people suspended under water, unable to make contact with the world outside. Viola describes...

    The Sleepers