Joseph Cornell's entire body of film work numbers some thirty-odd pieces, encompassing the complete and the fragmentary. It can be said that Cornell made two kinds of films in two distinct periods of activity: collage films, made by recombining found materials, and directed films, where he worked with cinematographers (including Stan Brakhage, Rudy Burckhardt, and Lawrence Jordan) to document his fantasy/experience of wandering in New York. Though rarely exhibited during his lifetime, these mysterious works nonetheless have had a deep and lasting influence on various prominent avant-garde makers.