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List of avant-garde films of the 1940s

A list of avant-garde and experimental films released in the 1940s.

Title Director Cast Nation Notes
1941
Moods of the Sea Slavko Vorkapić, John Hoffman United States Black & white, sound (Felix Mendelssohn: The Hebrides (overture)[1]
Who Has Been Rocking My Dream Boat Kenneth Anger United States Lost film.[2]
1942
By Night with Torch and Spear Joseph Cornell United States
Lambeth Walk - Nazi Style Charles A. Ridley United Kingdom British propaganda short, which "remixes" marching Nazis to a pop song.[3]
Tinsel Tree Kenneth Anger United States Lost film[4]
Variations on a Circle James Whitney (filmmaker) United States Color, silent. Abstract animation, shot in 8mm. [5]
1943
Allegretto Oskar Fischinger United States Abstract animation, color, sound. Third version, completed in 1943[6]
The Geography of the Body Willard Maas Willard Maas, Marie Menken United States Film poem, text written and read by George Barker (poet)[7][8]
Meshes of the Afternoon Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid United States Black & white; sound by composer Teiji Ito added in 1959. Established the movement known as "New American Cinema."[9][10]
The Witch's Cradle Maya Deren, Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp, Pajarito Matta United States Black & white; silent. Never finished; survives as workprint or gathering of trims.[11][12]
1944
At Land Maya Deren Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid, Parker Tyler, John Cage United States [13]
1945
The Eye and the Ear Stefan Themerson, Franciszka Themerson United Kingdom
Le Vampire Jean Painlevé France
Out-Takes From a Study in Choreography for Camera Maya Deren Talley Beatty United States [14]
A Study in Choreography for Camera Maya Deren Talley Beatty United States [15]
Visual Variations on Noguchi Marie Menken United States [16]
1946
The Potted Psalm Sidney Peterson, James Broughton Beatrix Perry, Harry Honig United States Live action surrealist short.[17]
Ritual in Transfigured Time Maya Deren Maya Deren, Rita Christiani, Frank Westbrook, Anaïs Nin United States [18]
1947
The Cage Sidney Peterson United States [citation needed]
Dreams That Money Can Buy Hans Richter Max Ernst United States [19]
Fireworks Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger, Bill Seltzer, Gordon Gray United States [20]
Forest Murmurs Slavko Vorkapić, John Hoffman United States Black & white, sound; made for MGM, but withheld from release. Jacobs dates it to 1941; most other sources give 1947.[21]
Lady in the Lake Robert Montgomery Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter United States [22]
Motion Painting No. 1 Oskar Fischinger United States [23]
Private Life of a Cat Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid United States
Le Tempestaire Jean Epstein France
Transmutation Jordan Belson United States Belson's first film, shown at Art in Cinema screenings in San Francisco in the early '50s; lost film.[24]
1948
Du sang, de la volupté et de la mort Gregory Markopoulos United States Color, 70 min. Begun in Los Angeles in 1947; finished in Toledo, Ohio. In three parts: Psyche, Lysis & Charmides.[25]
In the Street Helen Levitt, Janice Loeb, James Agee United States Silent; sound version issued in 1952 [26][27]
Meditation on Violence Maya Deren Chao Li Chi United States [28]
The Petrified Dog Sidney Peterson Gail Randall, Marie Hirsh, Jo Landor United States [29][30]
Weegee's New York Weegee United States [31][32]
1949
Christmas, U.S.A. Gregory Markopoulos United States [citation needed]
The Lead Shoes Sidney Peterson United States [citation needed]
Medusa Maya Deren United States [33]
Pacific 231 Jean Mitry France [34]
Puce Moment Kenneth Anger United States [35]

Notes

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  1. ^ Horak, Jan Christopher (1995). Lovers of Cinema: The First American Film Avant-Garde, 1919-1945. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 38. ISBN 0-299-14680-4.
  2. ^ Sitney, P. Adams (2002). Visionary Film: The American Avant Garde 1943-2000 third edition. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 84. ISBN 0-19-514885-1.
  3. ^ Public Domain Review, "Lambeth Walk - Nazi Style" [1]
  4. ^ Lewis, David. "Tinsel Tree". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  5. ^ Los Angeles Filmforum, "Alternative Projections: John Whitney" [2]
  6. ^ Oskar Fischinger Filmography [3]
  7. ^ P. Adams Sitney, "Visionary Film: The American Avant-Garde 1943–2000. Oxford University Press, 2002 pg. 75
  8. ^ Lewis, David. "Geography of the Body". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  9. ^ MOMA Object Page [4]
  10. ^ Lux Entry [5] Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ Dangerous Minds: ‘The Witch’s Cradle’: Watch Maya Deren and Marcel Duchamp’s stunning occult short [6]
  12. ^ Charney, Leo. "Meshes of the Afternoon". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  13. ^ Lewis, David. "At Land". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  14. ^ Lewis, David. "A Study in Choreography for Camera". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  15. ^ Lewis, David. "A Study in Choreography for Camera". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  16. ^ Lewis, David. "Visual Variations on Noguchi". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  17. ^ [7] MUBI entry
  18. ^ Lewis, David. "Ritual in Transfigured Time". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  19. ^ Erickson, Hal. "Dreams That Money Can Buy". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  20. ^ Crow, Jonathan. "Fireworks". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  21. ^ Lewis Jacobs, "Experimental Cinema in America II," Hollywood Quarterly, Vol. 3, No. 3, Spring 1948, reprinted in Smoodin, Eric Loren; Martin, Ann (2002). Hollywood Quarterly: Film Culture in Postwar America, 1945-1957. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. p. 43. ISBN 0-520-23274-7.
  22. ^ Jake Hinkson -- Through the Camera's Eye: Experiments with Subjective Camera in Film Noir [8]
  23. ^ "Motion Painting No. 1". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  24. ^ Experimental Cinema -- Jordan Belson [9]
  25. ^ Harvard Film Archive Markopoulos retrospective [10]
  26. ^ "In the Street". Film, Video. Library of Congress. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  27. ^ "In the Street". Little Fugitive / In the Street / Quiet One. UCLA Library Film & Television Archive. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  28. ^ "Mediation on Violence". allmovie. Rovicorp. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  29. ^ The Worldwide Celluloid Massacre review [11]
  30. ^ The Sound of Eye: The Petrified Dog [12]
  31. ^ Visionary Film: Weegee [13]
  32. ^ ICP: Weegee's New York [14]
  33. ^ Lewis, David. "Medusa". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  34. ^ "Pacific 231". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
  35. ^ Lewis, David. "Puce Moment". Allmovie. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 18, 2013.
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