Aki Kaurismäki: music short films

Courtesy Sputnik and Pirkanmaan Elokuvakeskus, 35 mm prints in black and white (except L.A. Woman, Betacam, colour). Viewed at Cinema Orion, Helsinki, 8 Dec 2010.

Leningrad Cowboys: Rock'y VI (FI 1986) 9' - Cold War boxing match parody
Leningrad Cowboys: Thru The Wire (FI 1987) 6'- prison escape
Leningrad Cowboys: L.A. Woman (FI 1987) 5' Betacam [there never was a 35 mm print although it was shot on 35 mm] - live performance
Melrose: Rich Little Bitch (FI 1987) 6'- live performance - from Hamlet Goes Business
Leningrad Cowboys: Those Were The Days (FI 1992) 6' - the bar in Paris
Leningrad Cowboys: These Boots (FI 1992) 5' - the Leningrad Cowboys history of Finland

A top set of music shorts which Aki Kaurismäki refuses to call music videos. Aki was instrumental in the transition of The Sleepy Sleepers into Leningrad Cowboys. Laconic visuals, deadpan comic effects. The best music is in the early shorts. Aki's four conceptual Leningrad Cowboys music shorts are among the best of the golden age of the music video. Many prominent film directors have made music videos, but the results have almost always been forgettable. Aki is an exception.