Riddles of the Sphinx

In 1977, Mulvey and Wollen made their most widely seen and influential film, Riddles of the Sphinx. This film, which was their second collaborative work, is directly related to their independent intellectual work. It is comprised of seven discrete sections, arranged symmetrically, and features a number of stunning 360-degree panning shots. The motif of the circle, present in both the camera work and Mike Ratledge’s electronic soundtrack for the film, meshes neatly with the film’s overarching concerns: the circular nature of problems relating to motherhood in patriarchal society. Riddles of the Sphinx is widely regarded as one of the most important avant-garde films of the 1970s.