Dulac’s three 1929 "abstract" films, Record 957, Αrabesques, and Themes and Variations, were the results of a long period of reflection by the filmmaker, who sought to create a "pure" or "integral" cinema that would capture the essence of the new medium and owe nothing to the other arts. Each of these three studies was designed to be played silent. The first one, Record 957, is conceived of as a "visual impression […] in listening to Frédéric Chopin's Preludes n. 5 and 6." Its title and its opening shot of lightplay on a spinning record not only announce the film's dominant cyclical motif, but also evoke one of the filmmaker’s major sources of inspiration in Loie Fuller's serpentine dances.
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Germaine Dulac Director · Alfred Guichard Cinematographer
United States release April 19, 1998 · Produced in France · Languages French, No dialogue
Production
France
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Disque 957
Original language
French
Spoken on screen
French · No dialogue
Release dates
France · December 31, 1928
Theatrical
United States · April 19, 1998
Limited theatrical · American Museum of the Moving Image
United States
September 30, 2003 · Limited theatrical · Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
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