Ballet Mécanique, Le
NR, 19 min.
Directed by Fernand Léger, Dudley Murphy, Narrated by , Voices by , Starring .

This short film is one of the seminal works of the avant-garde cinema. Made by the modern artist Fernand Léger ñ whose commercial and fine art works draw from cubism, dadaism, and constructivism ñ this film is an abstract study of rhythm and motion and is a direct and conscious exploration of the film medium. Le Ballet Mecanique was graphically designed to complement a piece of music composed for the film by George Anthiel. The music will be played before, during, and after the film.

This article appears in September 15 • 2000.

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Marjorie Baumgarten is a film critic and contributing writer at The Austin Chronicle, where she has worked in many capacities since the paper's founding in 1981. She served as the Chronicle's Film Reviews editor for 25 years.