Le Retour à la raison

Le Retour à la raison (French for Return to Reason) is a 1923 short film directed by Man Ray. It consists of animated textures, rayographs and the torso of Kiki of Montparnasse.[1]

Le Retour à la Raison
Directed byMan Ray
Produced byMan Ray
StarringKiki of Montparnasse
Release date
  • 1923 (1923) (France)
Running time
3 minutes
CountryFrance

Content

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Return to Reason (1923)

The film features a small segment with Ray's work Dancer/Danger. The film is described as follows:"consists of moving geometric designs, intercut with distorted night shots of a merry-go-round, then moving three dimensional shapes, and closing with the play of bars of light on a woman's nude torso. It was an experiment in abstract expressionism that inspired other directors."[2]

Production

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"Acquiring a roll of a hundred feet of film, I went into my darkroom and cut up the material into short lengths, pinning them down on the worktable. On some strips I sprinkled salt and pepper, like a cook preparing a roast, on other strips I threw pins and thumbtacks at random; then I turned on the white light for a second or two, as I had done for my still Rayographs. Then I carefully lifted the film off the table, shaking off the debris, and developed it in my tanks. The next morning, when dry, I examined the work; the salt, pins and tacks were perfectly reproduced." explained Man Ray, in Self-Portrait.[3][self-published source?]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Le Retour à la raison". MoMa.
  2. ^ "Flicks - April 2001". 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 1 June 2007. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  3. ^ Khoshbakht, Ehsan (7 December 2009). "Notes On Cinematograph: Retour à la raison (1923)". Notes On Cinematograph. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
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