Entr'acte (1924)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

René Clair

Writers:

Francis Picabia (screenplay)
René Clair (adaptation)

Release Date:

4 December 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

An absolute dada movie. Somebody gets killed, his coffin gets out of control and after a chase it stops. The person gets out of it and let everybody who followed the coffin dissapear.

Plot Keywords:

Coffin | Dada | Ballet | Slow Motion | Surrealism

Cast

Jean Börlin	...	Le chasseur au chapeau tyrolien / Le prestidigitateur
Inge Frïss	...	La ballerine (as Mlle Frïss)
Francis Picabia	...	Un homme qui charge le canon
Marcel Duchamp	...	Un joueur d'échecs
Man Ray	...	Un joueur d'échecs (as Man-Ray)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Darius Milhaud
Marcel Achard	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Georges Auric	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Georges Charensol	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Georges Lacombe	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Roger Le Bon	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Jean Mamy	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Rolf de Maré	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Erik Satie	...	Un homme qui charge le canon (uncredited)
Pierre Scize	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)
Louis Touchages	...	Un homme qui suit le corbillard (uncredited)

Directed by
René Clair

Writing credits
Francis Picabia		(screenplay)
René Clair		(adaptation and screenplay)

Produced by
Rolf de Maré	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Erik Satie

Cinematography by
Jimmy Berliet

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
R. Caillaud	....	assistant director
Georges Lacombe	....	assistant director (as G. Lacombe)

Music Department
Henri Sauguet	....	orchestrator

Production Companies

• Les Ballets Suedois

Distributors

• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Société Nouvelle des Acacias (1968) (France) (theatrical)

Also Known As:

Antrakt (Poland) [pl]
Entreacto (Spain) [es]
Intermezzo (Italy) [it]

Runtime:

22 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Roof, 15 - Théâtre des Champs Elysées, avenue Montaigne, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Les Ballets Suedois

Trivia:

This short is featured on the Criterion Collection DVD for À nous la liberté (1931).

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Case of Marcel Duchamp (1984)

Ineffective, indulgent short

This short, which is appended to Criterion's DVD release of A Nous la Liberte, is hardly the shining example of surrealist film that its proponents would have you believe. Ultimately, it is by turns overly indulgent and downright boring. Lacking the artistry of L'Age d'Or, the suspense and intrigue of La Jetee or Meshes of the Afternoon, and the joy and spontaneity of Running, Jumping and Standing Still, Entr'acte simply never takes off. Even as a curiosity, it's not all that interesting...