Cage / Cunningham on AllMovie

If they've heard of him at all, most people assume that they have heard none of avant-garde musician John Cage's compositions. However, many of his works have been used in film scores, and (in the 1990s) he has even composed directly for films. His music remains uncompromisingly innovative, and is considered avant-garde even today. In this documentary, the composer's longtime collaboration (from 1942 to the 1990s) with the modern dance innovator, choreographer Merce Cunningham, is explored, and between interviews with the principals and with performers in the Cunningham Dance Foundation, samples of their collaborative efforts are shown. As staples on the New York arts scene, they have also collaborated with many well-known modern artists, including Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg.