Surrealism was the first literary and artistic movement that was seriously associated with cinema. Under the strong influence of Freudian psychology, he sought to show the work of the subconscious in real life. He became known for depicting a reality similar to a dream, comparing people and objects in unnatural forms and abstraction of places and things.
Cinema and Surrealism
France turned out to be the birthplace of surrealistic cinema due to the successful combination of easy access to cinema equipment, financing and many interested artists and spectators. Participants in the surrealist movement were among the first to appreciate the magic of cinema.
Films of the "surrealism" genre often contained hints of a "different world", were attractive to aspiring directors and directors. Surrealists saw in the cinema alchemical instruments that provided the transformation of reality.
A bit of history
As cinema continued to develop in the 1920s, many surrealists realized that a film camera can capture the real world in such a fabulous way that their hands and hands could not. Overlay, overexposure, fast, slow and reverse motion, stop, lens flare, adjustable sharpness and fancy camera tricks can turn the original image into something new, unusual.
The use of surrealism in cinema has enabled creative people to form the boundaries between fantasy and reality, especially in space and time. Like a dream that they wanted to realize, the film had no boundaries or rules. Luis Bunuel said: “It seems the film is an involuntary imitation of sleep.”
Genre
Critics argue whether surrealism in the cinema represents a particular genre. Recognition of the cinematic genre implies the ability to cite many works that have common thematic, formal and stylistic features. To regard surrealism as a genre means to imply that there is a repetition of elements and a recognizable “general formula”.
Some experts argue that surrealist films cannot constitute a separate genre. Although there are many films that are a true expression of movement, but there are others - they just contain surrealistic fragments. Instead of “surrealistic film”, a more accurate term for such works may be “surrealism in the film”. Hence the debate about the isolation of the genre.
Pure Surrealism: The Best Films
- Entr'acte, a 22-minute silent French film, directed by Rene Claire and Francis Picabia, directed by Rene Claire, was released on December 4, 1924.
- “Seashell and the Cleric” - a 31-minute silent film, script by Antonin Artaud, directed by Germain Dulac, February 1928.
- “Andalusian Dog” (Un Chien Andalou) - 21-minute silent French film, script written by Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel, director Bunuel, 1929.
- Starfish is a 27-minute silent French film, screenwriter and director Maine Ray, 1929.
- The Golden Age is a 60-minute French film with sound, written by Dali and Bunuel, directed by Bunuel, 1930.
- Poet's Blood is a 50-minute French film directed and written by Jean Cocteau, 1931.
Heirs of the genre
After the “golden” period of the twenties and thirties, there is no need to talk about surrealism in cinema in the pure sense of this term. Films that are cataloged as such are heterogeneous and hybrid. Among their creators you can find the luminaries of the genre or their heirs, paying attention to the unconscious, dream, psyche: Luis Bunuel, Federico Fellini, David Lynch, Shuji Terayama, Terry Gilliam, Raul Ruiz, Alejandro Jodorowski.
Entire genres, such as fantasy, may partly be surrealistic. The influence of this direction is also present in the animated cinema of the eastern countries. Joseph Cornell made surrealistic films in the United States in the late 1930s. Antonin Artaud, Philip Supo and Robert Desnos wrote scripts for such paintings. Salvador Dali designed the dream scene for Alfred Hitchcock's film Enchanted (1945).
This was one of the first American films in which psychoanalysis became the main element of history. Hitchcock wanted to capture the brightness of dreams like never before, and felt that it was Dali who could help him do this. In 1946, Dali and Walt Disney began work on the film "Fate." The project was finally completed in 2003.
Eraser Head by David Lynch
The works of the American director David Lynch, such as Alphabet (1968), Grandma (1970), Amputee (1974), Eraser Head (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), Sailor and Lula (1990), Lost Highway (1997) and Mulholland Drive (2001), Darkened Room (2002), Inner Empire (2007) and others are considered surrealistic.
Eraserhead is a 1977 film, a cult representative of the genre exploring male paranoia. Actors, including Henry, the protagonist of the film, face many terrifying obstacles, meeting with someone of the opposite sex and multiplying. The American surreal black and white horror film is Lynch's first full-length film, shot after a few short films. Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Genie Bates, Judith Anna Roberts, Laurel Beside and Jack Fisk.
This movie is a complete mystery. It seems that he appeared directly from the subconscious. Such films usually do not inspire imitators, but this masterpiece has changed the direction of surrealism. The Eraserhead noted the starting point beyond which Terry Gilliam’s black-and-white nightmares, the strange psychoses of the Coen brothers, the kitsch of Guy Maddin, the strange rituals of Peter Greenaway and others extend.
Before this film, surrealism was a game of images. After Lynch and Eraserhead, surrealism was the psychological answer to a strange question or to everyday life. Lynch shifted the focus from image matching to the emotional relationship between people and their environment.
The masterpiece of Paddy Chaefsky
“Other Hypostases” - a 1980 film, grandiose, intellectual and stylistic. It is apocalyptic in images, and by its nature is a tiny milestone marking the beginning of the end of surrealism in mainstream cinema, the end of hippie and drug culture, the psychedelic influence in films and the beginning of the end of commercial success of Ken Russell's films.
This film is a film adaptation of the science fiction novel of the same name by the playwright and screenwriter Paddy Chaefsky. It was the only novel Chaefsky ever wrote, as well as his last film. Both the book and the film are based on studies of John C. Lilly's conditions in isolation tanks under the influence of psychoactive drugs such as ketamine and LSD. The director of the film, Ken Russell, starred as William Hurt.
It also starred: Blair Brown (as Emily Jessup), Charles Hyde and Bob Balaban. This film was the debut in the movie actress Drew Barrymore. The music, written by classical composer John Corigliano, was nominated for an Academy Award.