"Don't blink" — the most stressful 4 minutes of cinema you'll ever endure.
Ruth Ford has been placed in three-quarter profile against a white background, under instructions to keep still and try not to blink. With her head held high, she maintains her pose, only occasionally raising an eyebrow or blinking briefly. By the end her eyes are filled with tears from the effort.
Acting
Ford's micro-expressions betray everything she's trying to hide.
Direction
Warhol weaponizes boredom until it becomes unbearable tension.
Director
Andy Warhol
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Warhol's 'Screen Tests' series featuring 472 subjects, including Bob Dylan and Salvador Dalí, shot at his Factory between 1964-1966.
Warhol ran the camera at silent-film speed (24fps) but projected at sound speed (16fps), stretching each 3-minute reel to 4 minutes of visible strain.
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