In the latter half of the 20th Century, Raymond Rohauer was one of the nation's foremost proponents of experimental cinema. Programming diverse films at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, and making the films in his personal archive available for commercial distribution, he helped preserve and promote avant-garde cinema.

This two-DVD collection assembles some of the most influential and eclectic short films in the Rohauer Collection, including works by Man Ray, Hans Richter, Marcel Duchamp, Watson & Webber, Fernand L?ger, Joris Ivens, Dimitri Kirsanoff, Jean Epstein, and Orson Welles.

Contents:

Disc 1

* Le Retour ? la raison
(Man Ray, France, 1923, 2 min.)
* Emak-Bakia
(Man Ray, France, 1926, 16 min.)
* L'?toile de mer
(Man Ray, France, 1928, 15.5 min.)
* Les Myst?res du ch?teau du D?
(Man Ray, France, 1929, 20 min.)
* The Life and Death of 9413, a Hollywood Extra
(Slavko Vorkapich, Robert Florey, U.S., 1928, 13 min.)
* M?nilmontant
(Dimitri Kirsanoff, France, 1926, 37 min.)
* Brumes d'automne
(Dimitri Kirsanoff, France, 1928, 12 min.)
* Lot in Sodom
(James Sibley Watson, Melville Webber, U.S., 1933, 27 min.)
* Rhythmus 21
(Hans Richter, Germany, 1921, 3 min.)
* Vormittagsspuk (Ghosts Before Breakfast)
(Hans Richter, Germany, 1928, 9 min.)
* An?mic cin?ma
(Marcel Duchamp, France, 1926, 6.5 min.)
* Ballet m?canique
(Fernand L?ger, France, 1924, 11 min.)
* Symphonie diagonale
(Viking Eggeling, France, 1924, 7 min.)
* Le Vampire
(Jean Painlev?, France, 1939, 8.5 min.)
* The Hearts of Age
(Orson Welles, William Vance, U.S., 1934, 8 min.)

Disc 2

* ?berfall
(Ern? Metzner, Germany, 1928, 22 min.)
* La glace ? trois faces
(Jean Epstein, France, 1927, 33 min.)
* Le Tempestaire
(Jean Epstein, France, 1947, 22.5 min.)
* Romance sentimentale
(Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori V. Alexandrov, France, 1930, 20 min.)
* Autumn Fire
(Herman G. Weinberg, U.S., 1931, 15 min.)
* Manhattan
(Paul Strand, Charles Sheeler, U.S., 1921, 10 min.)
* La Coquille et le clergyman
(Germaine Dulac, France, 1926, 31.5 min.)
* Regen (Rain)
(Joris Ivens, the Netherlands, 1929, 14 min.)
* H2O
(Ralph Steiner, U.S., 1929, 12 min.)
* Even -- As You and I
(Roger Barlow, Harry Hay, LeRoy Robbins, U.S., 1937, 12 min.)

Le Retour ? la raison (The Return to Reason)
Directed by Man Ray
France 1923
2 Min.

This very short film by the silent film pioneer Man Ray is a classic example of cinematic Dadaism. The most beautiful shot in this film shows Kiki of Montparnasse?s nude torso with reflections of light on it.

Emak-Bakia (Leave Me Alone)
Directed by Man Ray
France 1926
16 Min.

?Le Retour ? la raison? was obviously an early experiment for Man Ray to create ?Emak-Bakia?, which is not only longer, but even more daring and beautiful than ?Le Retour ? la raison?.

L??toile de mer (The Starfish)
Directed by Man Ray
France 1928
15 Min.

?We are forever
Lost in the desert of eternal darkness?

This is a very surrealistic piece of work by Man Ray, with a moody, ethereal score and Kiki of Montparnasse playing the main character. There are distorted shots of the characters through glass that work perfectly in the dreamlike atmosphere of the film.

Les Myst?res du Ch?teau du D? (The Mysteries of the Ch?teau of Dice)
Directed by Man Ray
France 1929
20 Min.

A very energetic and rhythmic score leads us into ?Les Myst?res du Ch?teau du D??, which is probably Man Ray?s best film featured in this set. Flawlessly creative composition and a great eye for visual details make this an exciting journey!

The Life and Death of 9413, A Hollywood Extra
Directed by Robert Florey and Slavko Vorkapich
US 1928
13 Min.

This satirical experimental work shows cinematographer Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath) at his very best. Toland?s use of expressive light and shadows make this an extraordinary film to look at. The classic jazz score perfectly underlines the pictures and creates a dreamlike feeling. There is a reason why Toland is known as one of cinema?s greatest cinematographers.

M?nilmontant
Directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff
France 1926
37 Min.

Dimitri Kirsanoff?s masterpiece ?M?nilmontant? opens with a furiously fast edited axe murder that somehow foreshadows ?Battleship Potemkin?. It then resolves to be a moving drama about two sisters, one of them played by Nadia Sibirskaia who is probably the most talented silent film actress next to Lillian Gish. Kirsanoff tells his poetic story without intertitles and knows exactly that the facial expressions of his actors reveal everything we have to know about the emotional states of the characters. The mise-en-scene is fabulous, the melancholic score underlines the beauty of the images and all that is presented on a very good print. There is a scene in which an old man shares his bread with Sibirskaia, that is so beautiful and tragic that it moved me to tears. This is not only the highlight of the collection, but also one of the greatest films I have ever seen.

Brumes d?Automne (Autumn Mists)
Directed by Dimitri Kirsanoff
France 1928
12 Min.

?Brumes d?Automne? proves that Dimitri Kirsanoff is one of the most underrated of all great directors. Because this is a quite short cinematic poem, ?Brumes d?Automne? is not as moving as ?M?nilmontant?, but contains some of the most beautiful pictures ever put on celluloid. I especially think of Nadia Sibirskaia?s face, with tears in her eyes. The film also makes use of contrapuntal sound and features a magnificent score by Arthur Honegger, who also composed the music for Kirsanoff?s 1933 film ?Rapt?. All in all, a great companion to ?M?nilmontant?.

Rhythmus 21 (Film Is Rhythm)
Directed by Hans Richter
Germany 1921
3 Min.

?Rhythmus 21? was Hans Richter?s first film. It contains three minutes of geometrical visuals, constantly changing in size and form.

Vormittagsspuk (Ghosts Before Breakfast)
Directed by Hans Richter
Germany 1928
9 Min.

This 1928 Hans Richter-film is a mixture of surrealism and slapstick comedy. Its quite entertaining, but remains a shallow experimental work without the poetic depth of the Kirsanoff and Ray-films.

An?mic Cin?ma
Directed by Marcel Duchamp
France 1926
6 Min.

This is surely an interesting visual experiment for Dada and Duchamp-fans, but nothing more than that. The score by Donald Sosin is very modern and as much as I loved the music individually, it doesn?t fit into the movie?s tone.

Symphonie Diagonale (Diagonal Symphony)
Directed by Viking Eggeling
Germany 1924
7 Min.

Eggeling?s ?Symphonie Diagonale? must have been an enormous influence on Hans Richter?s work. This is less of a ?cin?po?m? than an experiment with what you can do with the art form cinema. In that sense its neither dramatic nor touching, but visually attractive and interesting, especially for students of Dadaism.

Le Vampire
Directed by Jean Painlev?
France 1939-45
9 Min.

One of the few sound films in the collection. Jean Painlev??s ambitious ?Le Vampire? futures a soundtrack that reminded me of those old Cabaret shows. However, this is more of a biological examination of nature than a piece of cinematic art. Its actually quite senseless.

The Hearts of Age
Directed by Orson Welles and William Vance
US 1934
8 Min.

To see this debut experimental film of Orson Welles is a very exciting experience for me, since he is one of my favorite directors of all time. The first thing that got my attention was the brilliant soundtrack, as well as Welles? artistic photography. However, this is only a nice little experiment by a young man who would later become a genius of the cinematic art. Nevertheless, ?The Hearts of Age? is fun to look at.

?berfall (Assault)
Directed by Ern? Metzner
Germany 1928
22 Min.

Ern? Metzner?s ??berfall? is a beautifully photographed film, especially in the end, when the director stars to work with shadows. The film features some extraordinary close-ups and sometimes reminded me of Fritz Lang?s ?M?. One of the classically narrative movies in this set.

La Glace ? trois faces (The Three-Sided Mirror)
Directed by Jean Epstein
France 1927
33 Min.

This film features voice-over translation, which I thought was horrible. I would preferred English subtitles, but what can we do? ?La Glace ? trois faces? itself is a nice drama with convincing performances.

Le Tempestaire (The Tempest)
Directed by Jean Epstein
France 1947
22 Min.

The print of Le Tempestaire is in very good condition. The picture quality here is much better than on other films from the package (but I?ve still seen much better restored prints of movies from the 40s). This is clearly the better Epstein-film of the two in the collection. Symbolism and mise-en-scene are very interesting, and the moody score (which consists of blowing wind and the noise of the ocean) creates a ghostlike atmosphere. The only thing that I disliked about ?Le Tempestaire? was the dialogue. Completely unnecessary. Nevertheless, a very fascinating film.

Romance Sentimentale (Sentimental Romance)
Directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori V. Alexandrov
France 1930
16 Min.

?Autumn? sadness?
dead love? such are
the themes of this old
Russian song.?

Described as a ?cinematographic study? in the beginning, this film from Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin) and Grigori V. Alexandrov is in every sense an experimental film. Alexis Archangelskys dynamic score underlines the extremely fast cutting in the beginning and then turns into a more melancholic mood when the directors start with their heavy symbolism. Interesting and quite different.

Autumn Fire
Directed by Herman G. Weinberg
US 1931
15 Min.

This is another film poem about autumn, the avant-garde generations? favorite season, and loneliness. Weinberg captured a lot of romantic pictures of nature and underlined them with a sad, nostalgic score. This is a quiet meditation on life and in some way reminded me of some of Ingmar Bergman?s work, at least a few moments.

Manhatta
Directed by Paul Strand and Charles Sheeler
US 1921
10 Min.

A few mass scenes in this film are quite similar to ?Modern Times? and this film is not that different from Chaplin?s classic. It is concerned with the industry and work in New York. Visually mediocre, with a flat soundtrack, I wasn?t really impressed by Strand?s and Sheeler?s film.

La Coquille et le Clergyman (The Seashell and the Clergyman)
Directed by Germaine Dulac
France 1926
31 Min.

Very interesting camerawork in this film, but only in the beginning. Dulac masterfully uses light and shadows to create quite an expressionistic mood.

Regen (Rain)
Directed by Joris Ivens
Netherlands 1929
14 Min.

?Regen? is a visually neat film and a romantic exploration of water. Ivens? composition is not as eye-catching as in ?H?O?, but still nice to look at.

H?O
Directed by Ralph Steiner
US 1929
12 Min.

?H?O? follows the tradition of ?Regen? and is another film about water (as the title reveals). The pictures are beautifully floating in front of you and make this quite a relaxing experience.

Even -- As You And I
Directed by Roger Barlow, Harry Hay and LeRoy Robbins
US 1937
12 Min.

The last film in this set is a light-hearted comedy about three friends trying to write scripts for a Hollywood movie contest. Its not as satirical as ?The Life and Death of 9413, A Hollywood Extra? but entertaining and funny. Very different from the other films in the set.