Experiment in the Film
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sh. eitedbyM&l MANVOX EXPERIMENT IN THE FILM edited by Roger Manveil In all walks of life experiment precedes and paves the way for practical and widespread development. The Film is no exception, yet although it must be considered one of the most popular forms of entertainment, very little is known by the general public about its experimental side. This book is a collec- tion of essays by the leading experts of all countries on the subject, and it is designed to give a picture of the growth and development of experiment in the Film. Dr. Roger Manvell, author of the Penguin book Film, has edited the collection and contributed a general appreciation. Jacket design by William Henry 15s. Od. net K 37417 NilesBlvd S532n 510-494-1411 Fremont CA 94536 www.nilesfilminiiseuin.org Scanned from the collections of Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum Coordinated by the Media History Digital Library www.mediahistoryproject.org Funded by a donation from Jeff Joseph EDITED BY ROGER MANVELL THE GREY WALLS PRESS LTD First published in 1949 by the Grey Walls Press Limited 7 Crown Passage, Pall Mall, London S.W.I Printed in Great Britain by Balding & Mansell Limited London All rights reserved AUSTRALIA The Invincible Press Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide NEW ZEALAND The Invincible Press, Wellington SOUTH AFRICA M. Darling (Pty.) Ltd., Capetown EDITOR'S FOREWORD The aim of this book is quite simply to gather together the views of a number of people, prominent either in the field of film-making or film-criticism or in both, on the contribution of their country to the experimental development of the film. The medium of the cinema has become highly flexible during its first half-century of existence: the time is now ripe to take stock of what has so far been achieved. Each writer was left free to choose between making a more general study of film-making in his country from an experimental point of view, or, where the consistent production of unusual films had taken place, making a specific study of that form of cinema which has come to be termed the avant-garde in com- pliment to France where the most notable school of advanced experiment in the film took place between 1925 and 1932. Con- sequently Jacques Brunius and Lewis Jacobs have chosen to confine themselves entirely to this branch of film art. Experiment in Germany, Russia and Britain occurred more consistently in films belonging to the main stream of production. In the case of Germany we have, however, been able to sup- plement Ernst Iros's essay with a short note on the German avant-garde by one of its most notable practitioners, Hans Richter, who is now working in America. We have also thought it necessary to add some points on the contribution of the film to science, and a short essay on this subject is contributed by John Maddison, who has made a special study of this branch of film-making from an international point of view. My own essay is an attempt, by way of introduction, to show something of how the film has matured and expanded as a medium of expression in the hands of a few outstanding artists, whose instinctive feeling for the nature of the new art led them to discover and use some of its great technical powers. 5 EDITOR'S FOREWORD I hope that these essays collectively will add to the knowledge and appreciation of the film as the great artistic discovery of our time. The cinema has already produced a considerable number of artists whose individuality and hatred of convention or platitude have led them into strange and courageous uses of the film. From such little-known work flows the life-blood of the art, keeping its expression young and vital. It is to these film-makers specifically that we dedicate this evaluation of their work alongside the experimental achievements of their colleagues serving the greater public of the world's cinemas. London, 1948 Roger Manvell CONTENTS editor's foreword page 5 EXPERIMENT IN THE FILM 13 Roger Manvell EXPERIMENTAL FILM IN FRANCE 60 Jacques B. Brunius Translated by Mary Kesteven AVANT-GARDE PRODUCTION IN AMERICA 113 Lewis Jacobs SOVIET FILM 153 Grigori Roshal Translated by Catherine de la Roche SOVIET DOCUMENTARY 171 Roman Karmen Translated by Catherine de la Roche EXPANSION OF THE GERMAN AND AUSTRIAN FILM 189 Ernst Iros Translated by Bernard and Moura Wolpert AVANT-GARDE FILM IN GERMANY 219 Hans Richter DEVELOPMENT OF FILM TECHNIQUE IN BRITAIN 234 Edgar Anstey EXPERIMENT IN THE SCIENTIFIC FILM 266 John Maddison NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 275 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from Media History Digital Library http://archive.org/details/experimentinfilmOOunse LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1. la femme du nulle part facing page 64 Louis Delluc, France, 1922 2. LA FETE ESPAGNOL 64 Germaine Dulac, France, 1920 3. EN RADE 64 Cavalcanti, France, 1926-7 4. LA COQUILLE ET LE CLERGYMAN 64 Germaine Dulac, France, 1927 5. l'inhumaine 65 Marcel UHerbier, France, 1925 6. LA ROUE 65 Abel Gance, France, 1920-22 7. LA PASSION DE JEANNE D'ARC 65 Carl Dreyer, France, 1928 8. BALLET MECANIQUE 80 Fernand Leger, France, 1924-5 9. LA FILLE DE l'eAU 80 Jean Renoir, France, 1925 10. FINIS terrae 80 Jean Epstein, France, 1929 11. l'affaire est dans le sac 80 Jacques and Pierre Prevert, France, 1932 Jacques Brunius as DHomme au Beret Frangais 12. LES VAMPIRES 81 Louis Feuillade, France, 1915 13-16. entr'acte 81 Rene Clair, France, 1924 17-20. UN CHIEN ANDALOU 81 Luis Buhuel, France, 1928 21. A PROPOS DE NICE 112 Jean Vigo, France, 1930 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 22. l'affaire est dans le sac facing page 112 Jacques and Pierre Prevert, France, 1932 23. NUIT SUR LE MONT CHAUVE 112 Alexeief and Parker, France, 1934 24. PLAGUE SUMMER 113 Chester Kessler, U.S.A., 1947 25. h2o 113 Ralph Steiner, U.S.A., 1929 26. SYNCHRONISATION 113 Joseph Schillinger and Lewis Jacobs, U.S.A., 1934 27. A HOLLYWOOD EXTRA 113 Slavko Vorkapich and Robert Florey, U.S.A., 1928 28. FIREWORKS 128 Kenneth Anger, U.S.A., 1947 29. FOOTNOTE TO FACT 128 Lewis Jacobs, U.S.A. 30. INTROSPECTION 128 Sara Arledge, U.S.A. 31. POTTED PSALM 128 Sidney Peterson and James Broughton, U.S.A., 1947 32. DREAMS THAT MONEY CAN BUY: NARCISSUS SEQUENCE 129 Hans Richter, U.S.A., 1947 33. LOT AND SODOM 129 /. S. Watson and Melville Webber, U.S.A., 1933-4 34. HOUSE OF CARDS 129 Joseph Vogel, U.S.A., 1947 35. RITUAL IN TRANSFIGURED TIME 144 Maya Deren, U.S.A., 1946 36. MESHES OF THE AFTERNOON 144 Maya Deren, U.S.A., 1943 37. AT LAND 144 Maya Daren, U.S.A., 1944 38. THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN 145 Sergei Eisenstein, U.S.S.R., 1925 39. MOTHER 145 V. I. Pudovkin, U.S.S.R., 1926 40. EARTH 145 Alexander Dovzhenko, U.S.S.R., 1930 41. THE NEW GULLIVER 160 A. Ptushko, U.S.S.R., 1935 10 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 42. chors facing page 160 Alexander Dovzhenko, U.S.S.R., 1939 43. CHILDHOOD OF MAXIM GORKI 160 Mark Donskoi, U.S.S.R., 1938 44. THE vow 161 M. Chiaureli, U.S.S.R., 1946 45. ALEXANDER NEVSKY 161 Sergei Eisenstein, U.S.S.R., 1938 46. robinson crusoe: Stereoscopic film 161 A. Andrievsky, U.S.S.R., 1946 47. BERLIN 224 Walther Ruttmann, Germany, 1927 48. BRAHMS' RHAPSODY 224 Oscar Fischinger, Germany, 1931 49. UBERFALL 224 Ernoe Metzner, Germany, 1929 50. pandora's box 224 G. W. Pabst, Germany, 1928 51. BLACKMAIL 225 Alfred Hitchcock, Britain, 1929 52. SONG OF CEYLON 225 Basil Wright, Britain, 1934 53. RAINBOW DANCE 225 Len Lye, Britain, 1936 54. AIRSCREW 240 Grahame Tharp, Britain, 1940 55. SHIPYARD 240 Paul Rotha, Britain, 1934 56. OLIVER TWIST 240 David Lean, Britain, 1947 57. CRABES ET CREVETTES 241 Jean Painleve, France 58. HYDRA 241 Percy Smith, G.B. Instructional 59. THE FERN 241 Percy Smith, G.B. Instructional We are grateful to the following for their co-operation in supplying stills: the National Film Library, the British Film Academy, the Cinematheque Francaise, the Society for Cultural Relations with the U.S.S.R., the Soviet Film Agency, the Edinburgh Film Guild, the Rank Organisation, Shell Film Unit, Lewis Jacobs, Jacques Brunius, and Messrs Faber and Faber. 11 EXPERIMENT IN THE FILM BY ROGER MANVELL The New Art of the Film the science of the film was born when the first inventors projected their moving photographic images onto a screen. The art of the film was born when the first artist was excited by the chances offered him by these inventors' achievements. Another medium had been created with which to bridge the unhappy gulf between man and men. When Melies ran to Lumiere and begged him for permission to use his moving picture apparatus, the in- ventor laughed: why should an ingenious toy inspire such an interest in an adult? But Melies knew with the intuitive foresight of the artist that here was a medium to which he could devote the main productive part of his life. No art had appeared before which was so suddenly to transform the relationships of men and delight their imaginations. No art before had been so completely dependent for its absolute existence on technical equipment which science was not ready to provide before the nineteenth century. The slow-moving passage of the generations since humanity had learnt to plough and build became more intricate as thought evolved and civilizing activities widened.