The ballet "Relâche" ("Theatre Closed") premiered at the Théâtre des Champs Elyseés in Paris on December 4, 1924. Based on a book and with settings by Francis Picabia, it was a ballet in two acts commissioned and staged by the Ballets Suédois of Rolf de Maré, with choreography by Jean Börlin. As the title "Entr'acte" implies, this film was shown between the two acts, with music by Erik Satie.
The many techniques director René Clair used in this experimental film include jump cuts, multiple exposures, slow, fast, and reverse motion, printing images upside down, miniature effects, stop motion animation, split screens, glass shots, dissolves, superimposition, Dutch angles, p.o.v. shots, and parallel editing.
"Entr'acte" was shot in June 1924, but the editing and effects processing took so long that by the last week of October composer Erik Satie had yet to see it. With a short deadline to meet, Satie asked René Clair for timings of the action and turned out the 20-minute orchestral score in 15 days.
Restored in 1967 with the assistance of René Clair. The orchestra for the soundtrack was conducted by Henri Sauguet, who was a protege of Erik Satie in the 1920s.