Ed Ruscha's Premium + Miracle

Director: Ed Ruscha

1971 / 52min / Digital

Best known as one of the foremost painters of the pop art movement, Ed Ruscha also made thrilling forays into cinema, two of the finest of these paired here.

“The premise of Miracle is so perfectly simple it feels stupid to spell out: a mechanic’s cramped, squalid garage transforms into a gleaming laboratory as he wrenches on a hotrod. Over the course of his project, he misses a hot date, alienates any friend who tries to offer him advice, and feeds a stray cat a tuna sandwich. It’s not about solving a problem, it’s about solving a problem your own way—which I guess feels like a miracle most of the time. I’ve never seen a better portrayal of the ‘creative process,’ or using your noggin or whatever, and it’s got pretty nice title cards too. At the end of the day, who doesn’t want to get clean?

Screens with Premium, a very macho (as typified by Ruscha and his cohort at Ferus Gallery, whose fellow alum Larry Bell also stars) adaptation of the Mason Williams short story ‘How to Derive the Maximum Enjoyment from Crackers.’”—Ted Gerike

4K Restoration Services for Premium + Miracle provided by Cineric, with Audio Restoration Services provided by Nick Bergh at Endpoint Audio