Symphonie diagonale

Found this rare experimental animated short by one Viking Eggeling on the Internet Archive site. It's basically a series of lines-either straight or curved-that form then retreat. Appear then disappear. Repeat again and again before disappearing for something new to form. And there seems to be some kind to rhythm to the whole thing as if some kind of music that no one can hear, since this short is completely silent, is orchestrating the entire thing. Maybe Chuck Jones saw this and was inspired to make his Oscar-winning The Dot and the Line. Maybe other abstract animators like Len Lye were inspired with their own versions of what is depicted here. Symphonie diagonale is certainly one of the earliest of the fascinating abstract animated designs ever put on film. Highly worth a look for anyone interested in this sort of thing. Update: 10/16/08-I saw another, possibly longer version, on the Europa Film Treasures site. This version has a score added by Aidje Tafial with a woman's voice electronically coming in occasionally and some bells. With these enhancements, I'm now upping the rating to 9.

With this movie, Eggeling found a new way of artistic expression that was followed later by Hans Richter, Oskar Fishinger, Walter Ruttmann and Norman McLaren.

Eggeling was trying to explore new paths, new manners, and he really did it. This new media, cinema, brought something that painters such as Eggeling himself could never reach with their paintings: time. Including a new dimension in their artwork was something very challenging for them. It was like mobile paintings. And this is exactly what Eggeling built up in this Symphonie Diagonale.

Eggeling uses *only* images (some geometrical animation) to make music! Yes!, that's it! I know it sound rare but he did it! Just try to imagine how, without any sound, just by showing us moving drawings, Eggeling makes us feel rhythm, musical patterns and figures. I would say that, even if the viewer is not a musical expert, he/she will surely discover, at least, the basics of music (rhythm, for instance).

Eggeling's masterpiece is a trip into music, a magical illusion and a sensible picture of music through a different language. Something nobody should miss.

Diagonale Symphonie, what to expect? some strange movie, and indeed, it turned out to be a very strange light effects movie, where you keep wondering what you are looking at. is it a piano? is it a glass? is it a chicken? is it a wig? it's really hard to say, because the little differences with each picture of light you get to see, really change the global frame you get to see. is it the sun? is it a knife? actually, it's not quite that funny, because as a viewer, I want to know what I'm looking at. maybe the title means something... yes, it could be instruments. that would explain a lot. instruments, shown by light, maybe it means standing in the spotlights, to be famous, perhaps this movie is about being famous.

While this film practically defies description and is practically impossible to review, I decided to take this on simply because the opening made me laugh. There is a blurb that appears on the screen and indicates that this film by Viking Eggeling is simply a work of genius!! The summary above is taken from this self-congratulatory praise!! Never have a seen a film so quick to pat itself on the back!!

The entire silent film consists of art deco-style black & white shapes appearing and moving about--all with diagonals or with diagonals superimposed on it. Set to music this might have been mesmerizing, but as a silent it lacks a lot. I won't give it a score but would beg to differ that it is the best abstract yet conceived (at least by 1924)--something better must surely exist--something worth seeing to the average Joe.

1924 certainly was the year for avant-garde cinema what with the release of such classics of the genre as Entr'acte, Ballet mecanique, and this offering from the Swede Viking Eggeling. Presumably intended as a visual representation of a musical symphony, the films consists solely of various geometric shapes taking form only to then be erased and replaced by a successor. It grows tedious very quickly, and makes seven minutes seem like an eternity.