Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This groundbreaking collection of thirteen original essays analyzes connections between film and two highly influential twentieth-century movements.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

A collection of 13 lively, perceptive, original essays edited and introduced by the director of the international Dada archive and research center at the University of Iowa. There are also a documents section and a bibliography, the former made up primarily of a facsimile of the manuscript of the Robert Desnos-Man Ray film, L'etoile de mer (long believed lost), the latter containing two selective but extensive bibliographies, one on the general aspects of Dada and surrealist film, the other on the work of important early Dada and surrealist filmmakers (e.g., Antonin Artaud, Luis Bu~nuel, Rene Clair, Salvador Dali, Marcel Duchamp, and Fernand Leger). Like the two bibliographies, the articles themselves represent a range of interests from the broad general implications of the theoretical aims of Dada and surrealist film and their differences from one another, to specific, sometimes shot-by-shot analyses of particular films. There is new research here that, in the absence of previous general studies of Dada film, fills gaps and broadens and deepens our understanding of the two film movements and their connections with the culture of their time and ours. Highly recommended for upper-division and graduate collections.-I. Deer, University of South Florida

Booklist Review

This collection of critical and interpretative essays on films of the dada and surrealist movements examines the link between these two artistic groups and the development of the cinema in the early twentieth century. While the approach of many of the critics may be a bit too academically oriented for many general readers, film buffs and art fans will find some thoughtful and provocative conclusions advanced here. In addition, the extensive bibliography on dada and surrealist films is a valuable resource in its own right. Among the artists and films discussed are Jean Cocteau, Luis Buuel, Un Chien Andalou, and Fernand Lger. A documentary section includes a photographic reproduction of the manuscript scenario for Robert Desnos and Man Ray's L'Etoile de Mer, although here as with the other illustrations the reproduction is only adequate. No index. JB. 791.43'09 Surrealism in motion pictures / Dadaism in motion pictures [CIP] 86-27465