Entr'acte

While not nearly as well-recognized or well-remembered as the Luis Bunuel classic "Un Chien Andalous" (1929), "Entr'acte" is a fairly known work in Dadaism of the 1920's, possibly one of the earliest shorts to focus on the avant-garde rather then attempt a story. Intended as an "entr'acte" (so the title suggests) for the French ballet "Relâche", the film appears to be a mere experimentation with effects while crafting a rather odd plot in the process--and more of a plot than most of the surrealistic works contain. Quite sadly, it was Rene Clair's only attempt at such a form of filmmaking, and had he gone on to lead the movement further he may have come up with even crazier material.

The image most of us remember when we think of this movie (if we do think of this movie, which many may not) is the shot of the bearded ballet dancer, reportedly played by Clair himself. This is a rather odd sight to see in a movie, and one you wouldn't normally see--likewise the rest of the short. Experimenting with slow motion, reverse motion, upside-down and side-to-side camera angles, and a number of dizzying double-exposures, the film's narrative is a rather odd one of a man shooting at a large egg only to be murdered by another man afterwards. This sets up the strange premise and the rest of the film is largely a crazy chase as the mourners of the man pursue his coffin after the hearse gets out of control. The ending, not to be spoiled, (although already spoiled by IMDb's summary) is a weird one to boot.

As others have commented, this short is hardly dark and is more of a comedy to watch than the later surrealist efforts. Plus, the opening sequences (such as the balloon dolls) hardly have anything to do with the rest of the short and the ballet dancer is entirely unconnected to the rest of it. It feels as though they were taking the first few minutes to experiment with other visuals before progressing with the true 'narrative', if one could call it that. Not to be considered a surrealist film, however; the wonderfully dizzying use of exposures is pure Dada all the way. A very creditable early effort in its exceedingly memorable imagery, and every bit as deserving to be a landmark classic as "Un Chien Andalou".

This is it, for me! Absolute pure cinematic fun! This movie is not trying to tell you a story, although there is a plot about a funeral that ends up transforming into some unexpected events. I just had to laugh, and also marvel at some images that are simply beautiful, like some sort of silent visual music.

What the director does is basically a collage of absurd images and some camera tricks. These involve some artists of the time. I must say I am quite surprised by its freshness even today. Now I know where musical video clips come from! The first time I saw it, I was going to see some old silent movies, and this one was shown first, and I had no idea what it was all about. In a way, I still don't, and that's even better! Stop making sense for a while and start the fun!

Originally played as an intermission with no sound, this film is now a must for any fan/historian of fine art. Featuring cameos by Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, and other notables, Clair and Picabia's dada collage of different narratives, experimental use of the camera, and surrealist and absurdist images is the best example of experimental or dadaist films from the period. As unusual as it is to watch a film with no sound, the images created by the artists provide an extremely unique experience for the viewer. Fun for anyone, and especially interesting for those acquainted with the artists or the art movements themselves.

This short film was conceived (hence the title) by René Clair as a diversion for the interval of the absurdist-Dadaist ballet "Relâche", with screenplay by Francis Picabia and music by Erik Satie, both artists at the forefront of the contemporary Parisian avant-garde. At the supposed first night performance in 1924, expectant patrons were greeted by locked doors and a notice bearing the single word "Relâche", which is the French word for "No Show". How absurd! Oh what fun!

To accompany the film, Satie composed a striking piece of orchestral music (arguably more significant than that for the ballet itself), and as expected the remastered film now has this added as its soundtrack, and a pretty good job has been made of editing the music to the action on the screen. This latter consists of a medley of surrealist sequences, culminating in a funeral procession, led by a camel, which escalates into a manic chase, intercut with footage from a big dipper. At the end, all the mourners disappear into thin air one by one; the corpse lives on. How significant all this is, as a narrative itself, as well as in the history of cinema as a whole, I am not qualified to comment, but it must have been seen as groundbreaking at the time, as well as good absurdist fun.

At the start of the film is a short sequence of two men firing a cannon from the roof of the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and jumping up and down, which was shown separately at the opening of the ballet, not as part of Entr'acte. The two men are Picabia and Satie themselves. This footage is especially poignant, as Satie himself was dead within a year.

For Region 2 viewers, Entr'acte is included as a bonus with Clair's much later masterpiece "Les Grandes Manoeuvres".

This is an avant-garde movie and as such it's theme and plot are unclear, which is as intended because the movie is ore about special effects than about telling an actual story. This movie directs the audiences' attention to such everyday occurrences as movement, personal interactions, dancing, and running. People are part of some kind of funeral procession, but what catches the attention is the various actions that take place as the procession proceeds. Mourning is replaced by an almost frenetic need to stay active, and the movie shows this through the use of some innovative techniques, including slow-motion, use of montage, and multiple superimposed exposures, all of which convey the sense that something intense is happening. This movie is an excellent example of the French avant-garde genre which had a major influenced on cinematic styles in Europe and the United States.