Sun Ra: Movies

Shot in 1966, while the Sun Ra Arkestra was still based in NYC (before relocating to Philadelphia in 1968), the composer and filmmaker Phill Niblock’s The Magic Sun is an obscure artifact of profound beauty. It features frenetic black and white footage of the band at play, and an incredible soundtrack – which to knowledge is not duplicated anywhere else.

This semi-documentary film was completed in 1958 in Chicago. Long before the concept of Black Culture existed, THE CRY OF JAZZ argued that Black American life shared a structural identity with jazz. Most of the music is composed and performed by Sun Ra and his Arkestra.

Points on a Space Age explores the recent activity of the remaining members of the Arkestra since the passing of its founder, Sun Ra, and examines their current work under the direction of Marshall Allen.