Cinema enjoyed high artistic status in France in the 1920s and a network of specialist cinemas and film clubs promoted innovative and challenging work for a discerning public. The significant overlap between film and the fine arts was acknowledged, presenting Man Ray with opportunities to experiment with moving images.
This series presents Man Ray's experimental films in the way they were shown at their first screenings in the 1920' s and 1930s. They were incorporated into dynamic programmes of experimental work, feature films and documentaries by a diverse range of filmmakers, yet all were unified by the dark energy of the Jazz Age.
Man Ray's experimental short films are juxtaposed with such diverse classics as Buñuel's L'Âge d'Or, von Sternberg's The Blue Angel, Vigo's L'Atalante and Lacombe's La Zone.
Programme
25 February & 29 February
Les Mystères du Château du Dé (The Mysteries of the Dice Chateau)
Dir: Man Ray 1929
27 mins 35mm B&W
Restored from 35mm Nitrate original.
Filmed in and around Vicomte de Noailles' villa, this exploration of an art connoisseur's "modern" chateau is infused by Man Ray with a mixture of mysterious atmosphere and playfulness. Soundtrack reconstituted from 78rpm records owned and used by Man Ray. Imported print.
L'Age d'Or (The Golden Age)
Dir: Luis Buñuel 1930
64 mins 35mm B&W Rated PG
Provoking riots during its original screening and banned for almost four decades, this experimental Surrealist film juxtaposes a series of shocking scenes and images that satirize religion and the social order.
Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, the film Paris la Belle will not be shown. The Art Gallery regrets any inconvenience.
3 March & 7 March
L'Etoile de Mer (The Starfish)
Dir: Man Ray 1928
17 mins 16mm B&W
Kiki, the famous Paris model, plays a leading role in this Surrealist film based on a poem by Robert Desnos. Screened with La Zone and A Girl in Every Port at the Studio des Ursulines premiere in Paris on 13 May 1928. Soundtrack reconstituted from 78rpm records owned and used by Man Ray. Imported print.
La Zone: Au Pays des Chiffonniers (The Zone: The Rag-pickers' Country)
Dir: Georges Lacombe 1928
25 mins 35mm B&W Silent
Silent documentary painting a portrait of the second-hand dealers and rag-traders inhabiting a narrow strip of land between Paris and the suburbs in the 1920' s. Imported print.
A Girl in Every Port
Dir: Howard Hawks 1928
79 mins 16mm B&W Musical Soundtrack. Rated PG
Cast: Victor McLaglen, Robert Armstrong
Two sailors travel the world, brawling and making love to women. Louise Brooks, a celebrated "It" girl of the '20s and '30s, plays a conniving circus trickster and it was this performance that caused Pabst to cast her as Loulou in Pandora's Box.
Jean-Michel Bouhours, former head of the film collection at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, (1992-2003) and currently developing a new museum in Monaco, will introduce the Sunday 7 March 2.30pm session. Bouhours' visit has been kindly sponsored by the Embassy of France in Australia.
10 March & 14 March
Emak Bakia - A Cinépoem
Dir: Man Ray 1926
20 mins 16mm B&W
Named after the Basque villa where some of the footage was shot, this Dada/Surrealist film combines a variety of images which Man Ray described as "tricks that might annoy certain spectators". Soundtrack reconstituted from 78rpm records owned and used by Man Ray. Imported print.
The Blue Angel
Dir: Josef von Sternberg 1930
106 mins 16mm B&W Rated PG
Cast: Marlene Dietrich, Emil Jannings.
German with English subtitles
This story of a professor's infatuation with a nightclub singer is one of Marlene Dietrich's most famous films. Demonstrates Sternberg's interest in atmosphere and expressive decor and lighting over surface realism.
Jean-Michel Bouhours, former head of the film collection at Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (1992-2003) and currently developing a new museum in Monaco, will introduce the Wednesday 10 March 7.15pm pm session. Bouhours' visit has been kindly sponsored by the Embassy of France in Australia.
17 March & 21 March
Rue Campagne-Première
Dir: Man Ray 1923-29
48 secs 35mm B&W Silent
Imported print.
Poison
Dir: Man Ray 1933-35
4 mins 35mm B&W Silent
Imported print.
L 'Atalante
Dir: Jean Vigo 1934
87 mins 35mm B&W Rated PG
A dark and intoxicating love story between a young captain and his new bride, set on board a river barge. One of the great, atmospheric films of the 1930' s, it moves from lyrical but austere actuality into psychologically-motivated symbolism and dreamscape, a film far in advance of its time.
24 March & 28 March
L'Etoile de Mer (The Starfish)
Dir: Man Ray 1928
17 mins 16mm B&W
Based on a poem by Robert Desnos. Screened with Opus and The Adventures of Prince Achmed at a film club in Geneva in 1929. Soundtrack reconstituted from 78rpm records owned and used by Man Ray. Imported print
Opus
Dir: Walter Ruttman 1921
7 mins 16mm B&W
Ruttman was one of the earliest avant-garde filmmakers and evidence suggests that this was the first abstract animated film to be shown publicly.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Dir: Lotte Reiniger 1926
71 mins 16mm B&W Tinted Rated G
German intertitles with English subtitles
Using silhouettes inspired by Chinese shadow theatre, this pioneering work, created by one of the first female animators, is often hailed as the first full-length animation in the history of cinema.
31 March & 4 April
Le Violoncelle
Dir: Adam Sèbire 2004
4 mins 35mm Colour
Cast: Jade Alexander
A recent, Australian/experimental work playing with light, poetry and music - a micro-voyage into the creative worlds of Man Ray, Erik Satie and Kiki of Montparnasse.
Two Men and a Wardrobe
Dir: Roman Polanski 1958
15 mins 16mm B&W
A darkly comic fable with surreal overtones made while Polanski was studying at the Polish Film School. The film was a winner at the 2nd International Competition of Experimental Film in Brussels in 1958 where Man Ray was a member of the jury....."I insisted that the first prize be given to a marvellous film by Polanski!"
Pandora's Box
Dir: G.W. Pabst 1928
109 mins 16mm B&W Rated M
Cast: Louise Brooks, Fritz Kortner
Intertitles
The story of Loulou - the beautiful innocent who drives the weak men who adore her to the point of self destruction - was shocking in 1928. With an atmosphere of sexual delirium and a commentary on the social hypocrisy of the time, the film shimmers with the dark energy of the Jazz Age. Imported print.
A 112 minute program of Man Ray's known films and film fragments is running continuously on DVD within the Man Ray exhibition on the upper level - 6 February to 18 April, 2004.
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