Our Surreal Midcentury
The Atomic Age was marked by exuberant hopes and unfathomable fear. In response, a few filmmakers visualized a higher truth—a SURreality—in the dreamatorium of cinema. In this video collection, MacGuffin Film Club host Joel Gunz introduces six films in the "Our Surreal Midcentury" series that each responded in their own oneiric way to that remarkable period. These films continue to inspire as we enter the mid-21st century.
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 1: Series Introduction and "Marnie"
MacGuffin Film Club host Joel Gunz introduces the film series Our Surreal Midcentury by examining the impact that Surrealist artists Giorgio de Chirico and Paul Delvaux had on cinema. Afterwards, he offers a few insights to the first film in the series, Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie" (1964).
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 2: "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman"
Overlooked auteur Albert Lewin's surreal Ava Gardner vehicle, "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" (1951), defied Hollywood norms to become one of the most astonishing films of the 1950s. The achievement is due in no small part to Dada/Surrealist Man Ray's photography and painting, as well as his co...
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 3: "The Tales of Hoffmann"
With roots stretching as far back as the 18th century to the birth of the Romanticism, Surrealism emerged ready-made for the cinema. In his introduction to Powell & Pressurger's masterpiece "The Tales of Hoffmann," Joel Gunz discusses these connections and how they empower film's uncanny nature.
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 4: "Last Year in Marienbad:
By his own admission, French filmmaker Alain Resnais was heavily influenced by Belgian Surrealist Paul Delvaux. In this impressionistic slideshow, series host Joel Gunz presents a few samples of the artist's work to imagine which paintings, exactly, Resnais may have had in mind while directing "L...
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 5: "La Belle et la Bête" (Beauty and the Beast)
Jean Cocteau, a poet of the cinema, was one of the first artists to be identified with surrealism—and his films continue to enchant. In this deeply felt introduction, series host Joel Gunz draws a direct line from the surrealist ethos of "La Belle et la Bête" to your heart.
-
Our Surreal Midcentury Part 6: "Belle de Jour"
Joel Gunz points out a few striking similarities between Louis Buñuel's "Belle de Jour" (1967) and Alfred Hitchcock's "Marnie" (1964). Afterward, Buñuel demonstrates how to craft the perfect dry martini.
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 7: "Spellbound"
In this introduction to Hitchcock's "Spellbound" (1945), Joel Gunz sketches a history of Surrealism's occult and esoteric origins along with their connection to the director's psychoanalytical thriller.
-
Our Surreal Midcentury, Part 8: "The Lost Weekend"
This wrap-up of the 8-part series on Surrealism in midcentury cinema discusses the magical aspects of the memory palace—a mnemonic technique favored by alchemists and Surrealists alike. Afterward, Joel pivots to an exploration of the Theremin as a musical automaton, an instrument of the auditory ...
