16mm FIlm: Ballet Mechanique - Léger - Man Ray - 1924

This is a visually stunning cacophony of images from kaleidoscopic to Dadaist, with found-art influence akin to Duchamp. Various kitchen utensils, lips, amusement rides, victorian machines and geometric graphics assault the eyes with rhythmic intensity. It is bookended by a stunning woman on a swing and later, smelling the roses. A Tour de Farce. With added Sound Effects. Wikipedia says: “In its original release, the film’s French title was “Charlot présente le ballet mécanique“ (as seen on the original print), referring to showman André Charlot, who financed this film’s French distribution. In France, Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp character was also known as Charlot; the combination of the producer’s name and Chaplin’s screen image, represented by a Cubist-style paper puppet, is only the first of many visual puns in the film -- a seeming display of the film’s sheer visual modernity, as intended by its creators from the get-go.” The film was intended to have a soundtrack, but the film premiered without it,