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René Clair, 1924, made to run in the intermission of Francis Picabia's ballet Relâche, with Erik Satie in the pit. Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp play chess on a roof; a hunter shoots a camel-egg; a funeral becomes a chase. Picabia wanted the audience provoked between acts. Clair, already shooting Paris qui dort, treats the camera as a practical joke. Cinémathèque and CNC restorations keep the rooftop and the runaway coffin. Twenty-two minutes, no thesis, a lot of running.
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Made to run between acts of a Dada ballet, with Satie in the pit. Duchamp and Man Ray play chess on a roof, a hearse gets away from its mourners, and the funeral turns into a chase. Clair cuts to the tempo of a joke. Picabia wanted the audience provoked, and the coffin obliged.
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