In the Dryden Theatre on October 15, 2006, film curator and archivist Noel Lawrence presented several previously unknown films by the reclusive and mysterious avant-garde filmmaker J.X. Williams. Williams, an expatriate allegedly residing in Denmark made some of the most provocative pieces of low-rent underground cinema from the second half of the 20th Century, including Peep Show, a brilliantly sleazy tirade against the Chicago mob that reveals a plot to get Frank Sinatra addicted to heroin and also exposes the dark side of the JFK administration.
Since the screening, we’ve received several inquiries (well, o.k., one inquiry) about the validity of Lawrence’s claims. Some have argued that there is and never has been a J.X. Williams and that the films are Lawrence’s creations entirely. This controversy has been growing with each successive screening of Williams’ work, at such prestigious venues as New York’s Anthology Film Archives, Los Angeles Film Forum, Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley, CA), and numerous international film festivals.
To read more on the controversy, check out this New York Times article from October of 2005:
http://www.jxarchive.org/enigma2.html
Visit the J.X. Williams archive here:
If the Williams films are indeed an elaborate hoax, then Lawrence joins such esteemed cinematic company as Orson Welles and Peter Jackson. Reached for comment on the controversy, Noel Lawrence says, “”Do you believe in God? If so, you can believe in Mr. Williams. All it takes is a leap of faith.”
~Jim Healy, Assistant Curator, Exhibitions, Motion Picture Department
