Entr'acte (1924)

An absolute dada movie. Somebody gets killed, his coffin gets out of control and after a chase it stops. The person gets out of it and let everybody who followed the coffin dissapear.

Director:

René Clair

Writers:

Francis Picabia (screenplay), René Clair (adaptation)

Stars:

Jean Börlin, Inge Frïss, Francis Picabia

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean Börlin	...	Le chasseur au chapeau tyrolien / Le prestidigitateur
Inge Frïss	...	La ballerine (as Mlle Frïss)
Francis Picabia	...	Un homme qui charge le canon
Marcel Duchamp	...	Un joueur d'échecs
Man Ray	...	Un joueur d'échecs (as Man-Ray)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Darius Milhaud

Storyline

An absolute surrealistic movie. Somebody gets killed, his coffin gets out of control and after a surrelistic chase it stops. The person gets out of it and let everybody who followed the coffin disapear.

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Plot Keywords:

artistic creation | coffin | dada | upside down camera shot | upside down view | 

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Official Sites:

DVD

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

20 August 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

Антракт

Filming Locations:

Roof, 15 - Théâtre des Champs Elysées, Avenue Montaigne, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Ballets Suedois

Technical Specs

Runtime:

22 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This short is featured on the Criterion Collection DVD for À Nous la Liberté (1931).

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Connections

Referenced in La dernière énigme (1982)

User Reviews

Early Attempt at Dadaism

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".