An attempt to bring the work of surrealist artists to a wider public. The plot is that of an average Joe who can conjure up dreams that will improve his customer's lives. This frame story serves as a link between several avant-garde sequences created by leading visual artists of their day, most of whom were emigres to the US during WWII.
Similar titles
You May Also Like
Reviews
Best movie of this year hands down!
Great Film overall
Don't listen to the negative reviews
Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
This quirky surrealist film follows the adventures of a dream seller as he supplies dreams to his mixed clientele.The dreams were created by various artists, and the quality and style varies. Max Ernst comes the closest to creating something with a real feel for dream logic involving the saving of a woman, although it was a little slow. Richter also comes close with the final, blue-faced sequence. Marcel Duchamp and Alexander Caldwell, on the other hand, both contribute simple movement pieces, although Caldwell also offers a somewhat interesting stop-motion circus scene.The most interesting piece is by the one artist I've never heard of, Fernand Leger, a clever musical piece involving mannequins.Avant-garde works being what they are, you probably wouldn't know this was made in 1947 if you weren't told, as filmmakers today will go for a retro style. It's a mixed bag, but I'd say it's worth watching if you're interested in surrealism.
This is a great film for fans of the surrealist and dadaist movements and offers a lot of great moments by a wide range of talented artists, but it falls just short of the glory of what it could have been. The running time pushes the boundaries of what many of us, even fans of surrealism, can handle.The film is a series of vignettes joined by a central story but on a whole it's not quite cohesive, and it's not even in-cohesive in an interesting way. All in all with the names involved, you just go in expecting more. It's a good little gem of experimental cinema but I was frankly wanting a little more...
Hans Richter, original Dada member and an important figure in keeping alive the memory of the 20th century's greatest art movement (his memoirs 'Dada: Art and Anti-Art' is one of the most touching non-fiction books I've ever read), was also a pretty good filmmaker. He started making shorts in the '20s, much in the vein of the avant-garde cinema that Buñuel, Cocteau, and Man Ray were doing at the time. In 1947 he got together with a few Dada friends - Ray, Duchamp, Max Ernst, etc. - and made Dreams That Money Can Buy, one of the most beautiful avant-garde movies ever made.Joe, a down-on-his-luck everyman, finds out he has the ability to create dreams for people. Because we live in dull, colorless world, he has no trouble finding customers in need of dreams. This is really a frame narrative for the heart of the movie: the seven dreams composed by the artists. Each one is inventive and unpredictable; some have people, other wire toys; and some are just abstract images without nexus.Dreams That Money Can Buy is a pretty complete movie: it has musical, comedy, film noir, and drama. It also has what seems like the beginnings of stop-motion animation, which Czech filmmakers like Jan Svankmajer and Jirí Trnka would later perfect. The voice-over is detached and sarcastic, making fun of everything happening, much like the narrators of writers Milan Kundera or José Saramago.Shot over sixty years ago, Richter's movie still looks modern and innovative. It fills the viewer's head with ideas and bubbles with potential that most cinema seldom explores. With world cinema going through a dull phase, rediscovering this movie could only help directors and screenwriters leave their lethargy and attempt something new.
A strange attempt to bring the work of surrealist artists to a wider public. The plot is than an average Joe (Jack Bittner) can conjure up dreams that will improve peoples lives. This gives an excuse to view sequences created by several artists, most of whom were living in the US to avoid World War II.Of most interest for those wishing to seeing the various artist's work, such as Alexander Calder' Circus being animated. I saw the Museum of Modern Art Print and the colors were in poor shape - the blue was almost gone.