Tarantella (1940)

Abstract animation illustrates Edwin Gerschefski's modernist composition. Two dots - one blue and one orange - appear most often, sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes overlapping. ... See full summary »

Directors:

Mary Ellen Bute, Ted Nemeth

1 win.

Storyline

Abstract animation illustrates Edwin Gerschefski's modernist composition. Two dots - one blue and one orange - appear most often, sometimes large, sometimes small, sometimes overlapping. When the sounds become more staccato, so do the images: wavy lines become squiggles, short nail-like lines go across the screen in rows. The result is a visual representation of abstract music, lively and spirited in spite of its link to a dance composed to sweat out the poisons of a spider bite.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | 1940s | title directed by female | abstract animation | modernist music | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originating in Naples, Italy, the tarantella was a fast dance believed to cure the tarantula's poisonous bite.

User Reviews

Strange and Surreal Short

Tarantella (1940)

*** (out of 4)

When one thinks of animation they think of Walt Disney or perhaps the Looney Tunes from Warner. There's another sort of experimental animation that ran through the underground during the 30s and 40s and this film here, seen on the UNSEEN CINEMA collection, features no story or typical types of characters. Instead of any real characters, instead we see lines, circles and dots and they dance around to the music score. The main "characters" are the two dots, a orange and blue one, and we see them grow in size depending on what the music score is doing. This type of experimental animation isn't ever going to be overly popular but if you give it a chance you'll notice that it's quite catchy and entertaining. There's no rhyme or reason as to why anything happens here but that's okay because the way directors Mary Ellen Bute and Ted Nemeth keep the images flowing you can't help but be sucked up into their addictive quality.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 December 1940 (USA)

Also Known As:

Synchromy No. 9

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

4 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1