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Anthology of
Surreal Cinema
Volume 1
(1924-1928)

Contents: Le Ballet mécanique (1924), Entr’acte (1924), Anémic cinéma (1926) and La Coquille et le clergyman (1928).

A lousy DVD collection of four great French avant-garde films.

Risqué Cinema
2005 DVD edition

Anthology of Surreal Cinema, Volume 1 (1924-1928), black & white, 65 minutes total, not rated, including Le Ballet mécanique (1924), color-toned black & white, 16 minutes, not rated, Entr’acte (1924), black & white, 13 minutes, not rated, Anémic cinéma (1926), black & white, 5 minutes, not rated, and La coquille et le clergyman (1928), black & white, 28 minutes, not rated.

Risqué Cinema, RC003, unknown UPC number.
one single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no subtitles; 4 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $24.95.
Release date: 26 April 2005.
Country of origin: USA

At $24.95, this DVD collection of avant-garde films is a total rip-off of consumers. All of the films have been transferred from good to totally-substandard 16mm reduction prints, with much of the framing being excessively cropped. Poor-quality prints always mean poor-quality DVDs.

For our comparative reviews of the individual films in this collection, see our Le ballet mécanique on home video, Entr’acte on home video, Anémic cinéma on home video and La coquille et le clergyman on home video pages.

Let’s hope there’s never a second volume in this series. Avoid this set and invest in one of the quality Avant-Garde collections noted elsewhere.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.