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Pas de deux (1968)

G | | Animation, Short, Musical | October 1968 (USA)
Pas de deux Poster
Two ballet dancers perform a dance enhanced with surreal multi and after-image effect visuals.

Director:

Norman McLaren

Stars:

Margaret Mercier, Vincent Warren
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Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Margaret Mercier Margaret Mercier ... Dancer
Vincent Warren ... Dancer
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Storyline

Two ballet dancers perform a dance enhanced with surreal multi and after-image effect visuals.

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

ballet | dance | avant garde | surrealism | number in title | See All (5) »

Genres:

Animation | Short | Musical

Certificate:

G | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

None

Release Date:

October 1968 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Duo See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

National Film Board of Canada (NFB) See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Created using an optical printer to reprint images from one frame onto another. See more »

Connections

Edited into Animation Favorites from the National Film Board of Canada (1994) See more »

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User Reviews

 
a Canadian delight
11 January 2020 | by myriamlenys – See all my reviews

As far as I understand, the dancers were filmed in real time, with the resulting footage then painstakingly superimposed, layer after layer after layer, in order to create time-lapse effects. But this is as far as I get and I may be wrong even here - any attempt at technical description is far beyond my poor competence.

Happily one can admire this Canadian masterpiece even without much insight in its technical background.

In "Pas de deux", a male and a female dancer dance with each other - but they also dance as, and with, their past, present and future selves. Multiplied into near-infinity, they become much more than their present selves : they grow to include everything they were, everything they could have been, everything they are, everything they will or can be. They stretch and morph and extend ; they turn into towers of possibility ; they disappear into whirlpools of movement and light ; they become fire, flight, illusion rather than flesh, energy rather than matter.

A true masterpiece : an ode to the beauty of the human body, to the beauty of the ballet, to the beauty of movement.
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