FILM STUDY: FERNAND LEGER'S BALLET MÉCANIQUE
I'm super, extra, very busy right now but I don't like it when I skip a post so here's a short film, Ballet Mécanique by Fernand Leger made in 1924. The music sounds exactly how I feel right now.
Ballet Mécanique is an early Dadaist (or what some call post-Cubist) film that was written and co-directed by artist Fernand Léger and filmmaker Dudley Murphy. Man Ray (my fav) also gave cinematic input (whatever that means), and he even included one of his recurring subjects, the now iconic face of Kiki de Montparnasse. The film premiered in Vienna as a silent film, but a score was made by American composer George Antheil shortly thereafter.
This is one of the earliest examples of experimental film, and was made in part as a mockery of Charlie Chaplin. (Because good artists have always hated the main stream, duh).
I'm really into the use of mirrors and kaleidoscopic effects. This technique set a standard for early experimental film and can be seen as a main motif through the 1950s.
It's 16 minutes of stimulation without dialogue, but you can make it even though it's 2016, I promise.
Enjoy.
Courtney Cady, © Bagtazo 2016