Surrealist cinema

Last updated

Surrealist cinema is a modernist approach to film theory, criticism, and production, with origins in Paris in the 1920s. The Surrealist movement used shocking, irrational, or absurd imagery and Freudian dream symbolism to challenge the traditional function of art to represent reality. Related to Dada cinema, Surrealist cinema is characterized by juxtapositions, the rejection of dramatic psychology, and a frequent use of shocking imagery. Philippe Soupault and André Breton’s 1920 book collaboration Les Champs magnétiques [1] is often considered to be the first Surrealist work, [2] but it was only once Breton had completed his Surrealist Manifesto in 1924 that ‘Surrealism drafted itself an official birth certificate.’ [3]

Contents

Surrealist films of the twenties include René Clair's Entr'acte (1924), Fernand Léger's Ballet Mécanique (1924), Jean Renoir's La Fille de l'Eau (1924), Marcel Duchamp's Anemic Cinema (1926), Jean Epstein's Fall of the House of Usher (1928) (with Luis Buñuel assisting), Watson and Webber's Fall of the House of Usher (1928) [4] and Germaine Dulac's The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928) (from a screenplay by Antonin Artaud). Other films include Un Chien Andalou (1929) and L'Âge D'Or (1930), both by Buñuel and Salvador Dalí; Buñuel went on to direct many more films, never denying his surrealist roots. [5] Ingmar Bergman said "Buñuel nearly always made Buñuel films". [6]

Theory

In his 2006 book Surrealism and Cinema, Michael Richardson argues that surrealist works cannot be defined by style or form, but rather as results of the practice of surrealism. Richardson writes: "Within popular conceptions, surrealism is misunderstood in many different ways, some of which contradict others, but all of these misunderstandings are founded in the fact that they seek to reduce surrealism to a style or a thing in itself rather than being prepared to see it as an activity with broadening horizons. Many critics fail to recognize the distinctive qualities that make up the surrealist attitude. They seek something – a theme, a particular type of imagery, certain concepts – they can identify as 'surrealist' in order to provide a criterion of judgement by which a film or artwork can be appraised. The problem is that this goes against the very essence of surrealism, which refuses to be here but is always elsewhere. It is not a thing but a relation between things and therefore needs to be treated as a whole. [7] Surrealists are not concerned with conjuring up some magic world that can be defined as 'surreal'. Their interest is almost exclusively in exploring the conjunctions, the points of contact, between different realms of existence. Surrealism is always about departures rather than arrivals." [7] Rather than a fixed aesthetic, Richardson defines surrealism as "a shifting point of magnetism around which the collective activity of the surrealists revolves." [7]

Surrealism draws upon irrational imagery and the subconscious mind. Surrealists should not, however, be mistaken as whimsical or incapable of logical thought; [8] rather, most Surrealists promote themselves as revolutionaries. [8]

History

Surrealism was the first literary and artistic movement to become seriously associated with cinema, [9] though it has also been a movement largely neglected by film critics and historians. [10] However, shortlived though its popularity was, it became known for its dream-like quality, juxtaposition of everyday people and objects in irrational forms, and the abstraction of real life, places, and things. Highly influenced by Freudian psychology, surrealism sought to bring the unconscious mind to visual life. "Balanced between symbolism and realism, surrealist cinema commentated on themes of life, death, modernity, politics, religion, and art itself." [11]

The foundations of the movement began in France and coincided with the birth of motion pictures. France served as the birthplace of surrealist cinema because of a fortunate combination of easy access to film equipment, film financing, and a plethora of interested artists and audiences. [11] The Surrealists who participated in the movement were among the first generation to have grown up with film as a part of daily life. [9]

Breton himself, even before the launching of the movement, possessed an avid interest in film: while serving in the First World War, he was stationed in Nantes and, during his spare time, would frequent the movie houses with a superior named Jacques Vaché. [8] [12] According to Breton, he and Vaché ignored movie titles and times, preferring to drop in at any given moment and view the films without any foreknowledge. [8] [12] When they grew bored, they left and visited the next theater. [8] Breton's movie-going habits supplied him with a stream of images with no constructed order about them. He could juxtapose the images of one film with those of another, and from the experience craft his own interpretation. [8]

Referring to his experiences with Vaché, he once remarked, "I think what we [valued] most in it, to the point of taking no interest in anything else, was its power to disorient." [8] Breton believed that film could help one abstract himself from "real life" whenever he felt like it. [8]

Serials, which often contained cliffhanger effects and hints of "other worldliness," were attractive to early Surrealists. [9] Examples include Houdini's daredevil deeds and the escapades of Musidora and Pearl White in detective stories. [9] What endeared Surrealists most to the genre was its ability to evoke and sustain a sense of mystery and suspense in viewers. [9]

The Surrealists saw in film a medium which nullified reality's boundaries. [13] Film critic René Gardies wrote in 1968, "Now the cinema is, quite naturally, the privileged instrument for derealising (sic) the world. Its technical resources... allied with its photo-magic, provide the alchemical tools for transforming reality." [12]

Surrealist artists were interested in cinema as a medium for expression. [10] As cinema continued to develop in the 1920s, many Surrealists saw in it an opportunity to portray the ridiculous as rational. [10] [14] "Surrealist artists realized that the film camera could capture the real world in a dreamlike way that their pens and paintbrushes could not: superimpositions, overexposures, fast-motion, slow-motion, reverse-motion, stop-motion, lens flares, large depth of field, shallow depth of field, and more bizarre camera tricks could transform the original image in front of the lens into something new once exposed on the film plate. For surrealists, film gave them the ability to challenge and mold the boundaries between fantasy and reality, especially with space and time. Like the dreams they wished to bring to life, film had no limits or rules." [11] Cinema provided more convincing illusions than its closest rival, theatre, [10] and the tendency for Surrealists to express themselves through film was a sign of their confidence in the adaptability of cinema to Surrealism's goals and requirements. [8] They were the first to take seriously the resemblance between film's imaginary images and those of dreams and the unconscious. [12] [14] Luis Buñuel said, "The film seems to be the involuntary imitation of the dream." [12]

Surrealist filmmakers sought to re-define human awareness of reality by illustrating that the "real" was little more than what was perceived as real; that reality was subject to no limits beyond those mankind imposed upon it. [8] Breton once compared the experience of Surrealist literature to "the point at which the waking state joins sleep." [8] His analogy helps to explain the advantage of cinema over books in facilitating the kind of release Surrealists sought from their daily pressures. [8] The modernity of film was appealing to as well. [12]

Critics have debated whether "Surrealist film" constitutes a distinct genre. Recognition of a cinematographic genre involves the ability to cite many works which share thematic, formal, and stylistic traits. [15] To refer to Surrealism as a genre is to imply that there is repetition of elements and a recognizable, "generic formula" which describes their makeup. [13] Several critics have argued that, due to Surrealism's use of the irrational and on non-sequitur, it is impossible for Surrealist films to constitute a genre. [15]

While there are numerous films which are true expressions of the movement, many other films which have been classified as Surrealist simply contain Surrealist fragments. Rather than "Surrealist film" the more accurate term for such works may be "Surrealism in film." [15]

Surrealist films and filmmakers

Films of the Parisian Surrealist Group

Later films

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), directed by Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid

Joseph Cornell produced surrealist films in the United States in the later 1930s (such as Rose Hobart in 1936). Antonin Artaud, Philippe Soupault, and Robert Desnos wrote screenplays for later films. Salvador Dalí designed a dream sequence for Alfred Hitchcock's film Spellbound (1945). It was one of the first American films to use psychoanalysis as a major element of the story. Hitchcock wanted to capture the vividness of dreams as never before and felt that Dalí was the person to help him do so. Given the importance of the dream sequence, the director gave the artist free rein to bring to the screen an innovative vision of the way dreams could be represented. [16]

Maya Deren made numerous silent short films, among them the renowned Meshes of the Afternoon replete with surreal, dreamlike scenes and encounters. [17] [ circular reference ]

Jan Švankmajer, a member of the still-active Czech Surrealist Group, continues to direct films. [18]

In 1946, Dalí and Walt Disney began work on a film called Destino ; the project was finally finished in 2003. [19]

Many of the films of David Lynch, such as Eraserhead (1977), [20] Lost Highway (1997), [21] Mulholland Drive (2001) and Inland Empire (2006), have been considered surrealist. [22] [23] Other directors whose films have been considered surrealist include: Spanish writer, director, playwright, and member of Breton's Surrealist Group, Fernando Arrabal ( I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse ); Chilean writer and director Alejandro Jodorowsky ( El Topo , [24] The Holy Mountain [25] ); and American directors Stephen Sayadian ( Dr. Caligari ) [26] and Brian Patrick Butler ( Friend of the World ). [27] Another filmmaker and writer known to create surrealist films is Charlie Kaufman. Some of these films include Being John Malkovich (1999), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Anomalisa (2015) and most recently I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020). [28] [29]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Surrealism</span> International cultural movement active from the 1920s to the 1950s

Surrealism is an art and cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists aimed to allow the unconscious mind to express itself, often resulting in the depiction of illogical or dreamlike scenes and ideas. Its intention was, according to leader André Breton, to "resolve the previously contradictory conditions of dream and reality into an absolute reality, a super-reality", or surreality. It produced works of painting, writing, theatre, filmmaking, photography, and other media as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salvador Dalí</span> Spanish surrealist artist (1904–1989)

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol, known as Salvador Dalí, was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in his work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André Breton</span> French co-founder of Surrealism (1896–1966)

André Robert Breton was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism".

<i>Meshes of the Afternoon</i> 1943 silent short film

Meshes of the Afternoon is a 1943 American experimental silent short film directed by and starring wife-and-husband team, Maya Deren and Alexandr Hackenschmied.

<i>Un Chien Andalou</i> 1929 film

Un Chien Andalou is a 1929 French- Spanish surrealist silent short film directed, produced and edited by Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí. Buñuel's first film, it was initially released in a limited capacity at Studio des Ursulines in Paris, but became popular and ran for eight months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Buñuel</span> Spanish-Mexican filmmaker (1900–1983)

Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish and Mexican filmmaker who worked in France, Mexico, and Spain. He has been widely considered by many film critics, historians, and directors to be one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Buñuel’s works were known for their avant-garde surrealism which were also infused with political commentary.

<i>LAge dOr</i> 1930 French surrealist comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel

L'Age d'Or, commonly translated as The Golden Age or Age of Gold, is a 1930 French surrealist satirical comedy film directed by Luis Buñuel about the insanities of modern life, the hypocrisy of the sexual mores of bourgeois society, and the value system of the Catholic Church. Much of the story is told with title cards like a predominantly silent film. The screenplay is by Buñuel and Salvador Dalí. L'Age d'Or was one of the first sound films made in France, along with Miss Europe and Under the Roofs of Paris.

The Surrealist Manifesto refers to a collection of several publications between Yvan Goll and André Breton, prior leaders of the rival Surrealist groups. Goll and Breton had both originally published manifestos in October 1924 titled Manifeste du surréalisme. Breton later wrote a second in 1929, publishing it the following year, with his third manifesto in 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dream art</span> Art based on dreams or meant to resemble dreams

Dream art is any form of art that is directly based on a material from one's dreams, or a material that resembles dreams, but not directly based on them.

The paranoiac-critical method is a surrealist technique developed by Salvador Dalí in the early 1930s. He employed it in the production of paintings and other artworks, especially those that involved optical illusions and other multiple images. The technique consists of the artist invoking a paranoid state. The result is a deconstruction of the psychological concept of identity, such that subjectivity becomes the primary aspect of the artwork.

<i>La Révolution surréaliste</i> French surrealist publication (1924–1929)

La Révolution surréaliste was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929.

<i>The Seashell and the Clergyman</i> 1928 experimental French film

The Seashell and the Clergyman is a 1928 French experimental film directed by Germaine Dulac, from an original scenario by Antonin Artaud. It premiered in Paris on 9 February 1928. The film is associated with French Surrealism.

Le Surréalisme au service de la révolution was a periodical issued by the Surrealist Group in Paris between 1930 and 1933. It was the successor of La Révolution surréaliste and preceded the primarily surrealist publication Minotaure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women surrealists</span> Women involved with the Surrealist movement

Women Surrealists are women artists, photographers, filmmakers and authors connected with the surrealist movement, which began in the early 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme</span> 1938 Paris exhibition by surrealist artists

The Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme was an exhibition by surrealist artists that took place from January 17 to February 24, 1938, in the generously equipped Galérie Beaux-Arts, run by Georges Wildenstein, at 140, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. It was organised by the French writer André Breton, the surrealists' brain and theorist, and Paul Éluard, the best known poet of the movement. The catalogue listed, along with the above, Marcel Duchamp as generator and arbitrator, Salvador Dalí and Max Ernst as technical advisers, Man Ray as head lighting technician and Wolfgang Paalen as responsible for the design of the entrance and main hall with "water and foliage". The exhibition was staged in three sections, showing paintings and objects as well as unusually decorated rooms and mannequins which had been redesigned in various ways. With this holistic presentation of surrealist art work the movement wrote exhibition history.

<i>Dalis Mustache</i> 1954 book by Salvador Dalí

Dali's Mustache is an absurdist humorous book by the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí (1904–1989) and his friend, the photographer Philippe Halsman (1906–1979). The first edition was published in October 1954 in New York; slightly modified French editions followed in the 1980s and 1990s.

André Thirion was a French writer, a member of the group of surrealists, a theorist and political activist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Filmmaking technique of Luis Buñuel</span>

Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish filmmaker who worked in Spain, Mexico and France. Buñuel is noted for his distinctive use of mise-en scene, distinctive sound editing, and original use of music in his films. Often Buñuel applies the techniques of mise-en-scène to combine multiple single scenes within a film directed by him to represent more encompassing aspects of the film when viewed as a whole.

<i>Avida</i> (film) 2006 film by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern

Avida is a 2006 French black comedy film written and directed by Benoît Delépine and Gustave Kervern. Shot in black-and-white, the film uses surreal humour and features little dialogue.

References

  1. ↑ André Breton, Complètes, T. I, ed. Marguerite Bonnet (Œuvres Paris: Gallimard, 1988), 51-105.
  2. ↑ Breton, André; Parinaud, André (1993). Conversations: The Autobiography of Surrealism. Translated by Polizzotti, Mark. Paragon House. p. 43. ISBN   978-1-55778-423-0.
  3. ↑ As agreed by interviewer and interviewee. Breton and Parinaud, 71
  4. ↑ Em Gee Film Library, Catalog 83 (no date) Murray Glass, Editorial assistant Rhoda Friedman
  5. ↑ Buñuel, Luis (2003). My Last Sigh. University of Minnesota Press. ISBN   978-0-8166-4387-5.
  6. ↑ "Commentary: Bergman on Filmmakers". Bergmanorama. Archived from the original on 2012-11-02.
  7. 1 2 3 Richardson, Michael (March 2006). Surrealism and Cinema. Berg Publishers. ISBN   978-1-84520-226-2.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Matthews, John Herbert (1971). Surrealism and Film. University of Michigan Press. ISBN   978-0-608-16941-5.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Kovács, Steven (1980). From Enchantment to Rage: The Story of Surrealist Cinema. Fairleigh Dickinson. ISBN   978-0-8386-2140-0.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Matthews, John Herbert (1971). "Preface". Surrealism and Film. University of Michigan Press. pp. vii–ix. ISBN   978-0-608-16941-5.
  11. 1 2 3 Ezzone, Gina Marie (July 21, 2014). "Surrealist Cinema and the Avant-Garde". Facets Features Blog. Facets Features.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Short, Robert (2003). The Age of Gold: Surrealist Cinema. Creation Books. ISBN   978-1-84068-059-1.
  13. 1 2 Gould, Michael (1976). Surrealism and the cinema: (open-eyed screening). A. S. Barnes. ISBN   978-0-498-01498-7.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Williams, Linda (1981). Figures of desire: a theory and analysis of surrealist film. University of Illinois Press. ISBN   978-0-252-00878-8.
  15. 1 2 3 Moine, Raphaëlle; Taminiaux, Pierre (2006). "Surrealist Cinema to Surrealism in Cinema: Does a Surrealist Genre Exist in Film?". Yale French Studies (109): 98–114. JSTOR   4149288.
  16. ↑ "Spellbound". Salvador Dalí Foundation. Archived from the original on 20 July 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link), Fundació Gala-Salvador Dalí, VEGAP, 2014
  17. ↑ Meshes of the Afternoon
  18. ↑ "Czech Filmmaker Jan Svankmajer Launches Indiegogo Campaign for Final Film 'Insects'". 25 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Eggener, Keith L (1993). "'An Amusing Lack of Logic': Surrealism and Popular Entertainment". American Art. 7 (4): 31–45. doi:10.1086/424200. JSTOR   3109152. S2CID   193225170.
  20. ↑ Sobczynski, Peter (11 Apr 2016). "Defying Explanation: The Brilliance of David Lynch's "Eraserhead"". Roger Ebert Demanders Archive.
  21. ↑ "Lost Highway at 20 Years". www.thefourohfive.com. Archived from the original on 2017-05-11.
  22. ↑ Connelly, Thomas (March 2011). "Twin Peaks: Surrealism, Fandom, Usenet and X-ray Television" (PDF). Culture Critique. Claremont, California: Claremont Graduate University. 2 (1): Preface, 1–28. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Ebert, Roger (June 2001). "Mulholland Drive". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  24. ↑ "El Topo". BFI Film & TV Database. London: British Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 22, 2013. Retrieved December 30, 2012.
  25. ↑ "10 Reasons Why "The Holy Mountain" is the Best Surreal Movie Ever".
  26. ↑ Cavett Binion (2016). "Dr. Caligari". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . Archived from the original on 2016-03-05.
  27. ↑ Davidson, Douglas (2022-05-05). "Paranoia seeps through every frame of surrealist, absurdist sci-fi thriller "Friend of the World."". Elements of Madness. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  28. ↑ Daily, Max Michalsky For the (30 October 2017). "Artist spotlight: The touching surrealism of Charlie Kaufman". The Michigan Daily. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
  29. ↑ "Charlie Kaufman: exploring existential concepts through mindfuck surrealism". HERO magazine. Retrieved 2020-12-09.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.