Vormittagsspuk

It took German filmmaker Hans Richter a number of years to begin to use film as its own medium - and not merely as a continuation of his expressionistic paintings. That's all his first films were, as evidenced by the Rhythmus series that used moving shapes instead of inanimate objects to create abstraction, making them more like cartoons and less like the abstract films later created by the likes of Stan Brakhage. By the time Richter made "Ghosts Before Breakfast", his most famous work, he had really hit his stride and learned all the interesting things he could do with film not applicable to painting. Looking at his later work, one would never guess he had been a painter - this is how much he had deviated from his previous work.

According to some sources, "Ghosts Before Breakfast" is not a complete film today, likely due to the efforts of the Nazis who considered it anti-German art and attempted to destroy every copy. It's hard to imagine exactly what they had in mind by labeling it as such - to everyone else, the film is a six-to-nine minute short (depending on which copy you view) that features inanimate objects rebelling against humans in a rather abstract manner. The title is suggestive of a greater narrative regarding ghosts, but the film has no indication of this as it uses multiple gimmicks including negative photography, stop motion and mirror images to make the abstract events all more chaotic. There is a playful but frantic tone to the imagery on display, with remarkable photography edited the right way to get the desired effect, illustrating the fact that Richter was brilliant both as a painter and a filmmaker.

Hans Richter and his crew must have had a lot of fun making this film. It's equal parts slapstick and Dada. I saw it in a theater as part of a program of 20s surrealist/Dadaist films, and this one was definitely the crowd favorite. It had everybody laughing. I wouldn't be surprised if this film were a big influence on a lot of modern music video directors. For some reason, the imagery put me somewhat in mind of a certain old Devo song. Would go well with the Talking Heads, too.

Dada. Surreal. Experimental. Avant garde. Weird. Yet I couldn't stop watching. Watching. Watch. Stop watch. Stopwatch moving in time lapse photography; is the message here that time flies when one is having fun? Are we supposed to be having fun here? Bowler hats flying through the air turn into tea cups immediately before they land and crash into pieces.

Bow ties and handguns and x-rays of handguns with minds of their own.

I like the bits with the fire hoses, and the concentric circles, bull's eyes, which don't want to be shot at. And who can blame them? Bearded men stroking their beards and their negative images doing likewise.

Is the plot everyday items rebelling against everyday routine, or just excuses to show trick photography? Making art out of something ugly? Anti art? The clock strikes twelve, splits into two even pieces. Ende. Ende. Ende neu.

Hans Richter, noted for his abstract shorts, has everyday objects rebelling against their daily routine.

This film was apparently destroyed by the Nazis, with only some copies escaping without sound. And what a strange film it is. Maybe not the sensually decadent picture the Nazis thought it was, but weird. I can see Dali or Lynch finding a compatriot in Richter.

Is there a message here? I do not know. Looks more like just a man having fun with his actors and a camera, but what do I know? I do know one thing: I have to look more into the films of Hans Richter, because they are just my style.

I absolutely loved this short film. We viewed this in my Avant Garde class, and I laughed my butt off. This isn't your typical comedy, it was before its time. The dancing hats were great! This Dada comedy is one of the funniest I have seen. I am really enjoying learning about the Dada movement. If you get the chance to see this slip stick film, don't pass it up. There is a great rhythm to this film. Everything in the frames comes in the same numbers, the men, the hats, etc. It is just fun to watch. Wonderfuly funny German film, resembles a Charlie Chaplin film. Hans Richter did a great job with this slapstick. Jasmine OIP&T