• Lawrence Hall Rm 115| University of Oregon
• November 13, 2009
• 5:30pm

DADA DADA DADA

5:30 Lecture

“The Effect of Dada and Surrealism on Hollywood Films of the 1930s”, a program showcasing such surrealist 1930s films as Busby Berkeley’s “Dames” and Paramount Pictures “Lady in the Dark” to the dadaist escapades of the Marx Brothers battle finale in “Duck Soup”.

Beginning in the 1930s Hollywood took Dada and Surrealism and cheerfully dumped these elements into American movies with no explanation or framing devices. This program showcases stellar examples of films that jumped on the Dada and Surrealism bandwagon to delight and mystify viewers reeling from the Great Depression. Surrealist artists like Salvador Dali and Man Ray’s works were integrated into films such as Paramount Pictures 1932 “The Big Broadcast” and Busby Berkeley’s eye-popping 1934 “Dames”.

Don’t miss this rare historical collection of cinema excerpts, title and end credit sequences from major Hollywood studios such as Paramount, MGM and Warner Brothers, as they gleefully serve up mind-bending surrealist imagery and dada dialogue in popular films.

Curator and archivist Dennis Nyback will be here in person to introduce and provide historical context for this program as well as answer questions from the audience.

7:00 Screening

Dennis Nyback invites audience members to bring their own instruments and noisemakers to supply the soundtrack to a collection silent dada films.

1. Anemic Cinema 1926 Directed by Marcel Duchamp Cinematography Man Ray

2. Ballet Mechanique 1924 Dir Fernand Leger

3. L' Etoile de mer 1928 Dir Man Ray with Kiki of Montparnasse

4. Entr'acte 1924 Dir Dir Rene Clair With Man Ray Marcel Duchamp Erik Satie

5. Meshes of the Afternoon 1943 Dir Maya Deren

6. Symphonie Diagonale 1924 Dir Viking Eggling

7. Un chien andalou 1929 Dir Luis Bunuel Writer Salvador Dali