Dreams That Money Can Buy
1947 Directed by Hans Richter
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Well, that was a slightly odd experience.
The short dream sequences were very hit and miss, but mostly hit I found. Even when they weren't great, there was still something interesting about them; be it the visuals or the soundtrack, or even just the plain weird bits.
The "plot" that linked the dreams together was the weakest aspect of the film, but it is pretty much just the tape that binds the ideas together.
The soundtrack is the strongest bit of the film though. It was really jazzy/funky for a pre-50s film - turns out it's because the soundtrack was by a modern band called The Real Tuesday Weld who recorded their own version. Still, the The Girl with the…
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Surrealism, particularly in cinema, tends to fall into two neat camps: On one side you have the playful and thought provoking surrealism and on the other willfully obtuse and empty drivel. Dreams That Money Can Buy has the unusual distinction of straddling both sides. The reason for this is in its structure as the film is separated into seven separate vignettes all linked by the central conceit of a man able to sell dreams to other people.
By the very nature of its structure, Dreams That Money Can Buy is a very uneven experience. Each story is written and/or directed by a prominent surrealist of the times (Max Ernst, Fernand Léger and Marcel Duchamp to name but three) and whilst…
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A man sells dreams to others in this great film, which others have rated here from 1/10 to 10/10, so I guess it's a Marmite film (and I love Marmite). I liked the dreamy strangeness of it - dreams don't make sense and I felt that that and other dreamlike qualities were captured well.
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Famous avant-garde film that tells the story of how a business man finds out he can sell dreams to people. The dream segments are directed by famous dadaists and surrealists: Max Ernst, Marchel Duchamp, Man Ray, Fernand Léger, and so on. This is the second time I've watched this film, and I'm still not entirely convinced. Some of the dream sequences are excellent, especially Hans Richter's own; Duchamp's segment showing his famous rotating discs is excellent but too short; the framing story, which is a parody of film noir themes, is weak and not very well acted or photographed. An interesting film nevertheless for its place in the history of avant-garde film making.
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Well, that was a slightly odd experience.
The short dream sequences were very hit and miss, but mostly hit I found. Even when they weren't great, there was still something interesting about them; be it the visuals or the soundtrack, or even just the plain weird bits.
The "plot" that linked the dreams together was the weakest aspect of the film, but it is pretty much just the tape that binds the ideas together.
The soundtrack is the strongest bit of the film though. It was really jazzy/funky for a pre-50s film - turns out it's because the soundtrack was by a modern band called The Real Tuesday Weld who recorded their own version. Still, the The Girl with the…
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Experimental film from various Surrealist & Dadaist collaborators. At 99 minutes this was a chore; but it has an ok plot device and it's good for anyone interested in the artists and/or art movements etc, but it's to be studied rather than enjoyed. 3/10.
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A man sells dreams to others in this great film, which others have rated here from 1/10 to 10/10, so I guess it's a Marmite film (and I love Marmite). I liked the dreamy strangeness of it - dreams don't make sense and I felt that that and other dreamlike qualities were captured well.
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The idea of a business selling dreams to customers is a great starting point for Richter to launch a series of distinct surrealistic segments variously suggested by the musings of his friends. Like any sort of segmented film, it's let down by its weaker sections, stifled by the relative boredom the less engaging episodes breed. While the imagery is certainly quite striking and engaging on a visual level, the film as a whole lacks any sort of thematic depth or deeper purpose to support the oddity, leaving it a slightly self-indulgent piece that seems just the end result of a group of pals coming up with something fun to do. Still, it's worth watching just for the wild weirdness Richter manages to come up with, presenting many a memorable shot.
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Surrealism, particularly in cinema, tends to fall into two neat camps: On one side you have the playful and thought provoking surrealism and on the other willfully obtuse and empty drivel. Dreams That Money Can Buy has the unusual distinction of straddling both sides. The reason for this is in its structure as the film is separated into seven separate vignettes all linked by the central conceit of a man able to sell dreams to other people.
By the very nature of its structure, Dreams That Money Can Buy is a very uneven experience. Each story is written and/or directed by a prominent surrealist of the times (Max Ernst, Fernand Léger and Marcel Duchamp to name but three) and whilst…