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An Optical Poem
An Optical Poem
7.8
/10
457 Ratings

AN OPTICAL POEM

Directed by Oskar Fischinger
United States, 1938
Avant-Garde, Animation, Short

Synopsis

An abstract piece of stop-motion history, featuring abstract forms and dancing geometric shapes that pop, sway and dart across the screen, all in time to Franz Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody. A paper-made experiment, designed to replicate what goes on in the human psyche while listening to music.

Synopsis

An abstract piece of stop-motion history, featuring abstract forms and dancing geometric shapes that pop, sway and dart across the screen, all in time to Franz Liszt’s 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody. A paper-made experiment, designed to replicate what goes on in the human psyche while listening to music.

Our take

Oskar Fischinger is a landmark director in the history of experimental cinema, renowned for his visual-musical poems. Commissioned by a major Hollywood studio, and made in collaboration with John Cage (!), An Optical Poem was made using stop motion animation with hundreds of paper cut-outs.