FILMSTUDIE (1926)
aka Film Study
Article 4793 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 4-5-2015
Directed by Hans Richter
Featuring Stella F. Simon
Country: Germany
What it is: Abstract short

Various shapes and images appear.

This is another in of the many experimental/abstract shorts made during the twenties and thirties, some of which have begun to appear in this series due to their inclusion in the Walt Lee guide. This one is considered an experiment in Dadaism, a sort of “anti-art” movement that arose during the first half of the last century. The main difference between this one and most of the others I’ve seen is that, rather than solely incorporating abstract images, it also uses more concrete images, such as floating eyeballs and a woman’s face, as well as shots of seagulls and a man swinging a sledgehammer. These images do give some variety to the proceedings, though I did find myself wondering how well these shorts would have worked during the silent era. The print I found had an obviously more modern soundtrack attached to it, and I wonder if there was specific music attached to it when it was first made. I would imagine that the musical score would be an important element for this type of film, and that a bad or badly chosen score could have a big impact on the reaction to watching the film. As it is, I found it interesting enough, though I was glad that it was pretty short.