I had long been interested in watching this one (and had even toyed with the idea of acquiring its BFI PAL VHS in the mid-1990s) but, having now caught up with the film, I cannot say that the end result fully lived up to expectations!It is quite a unique effort, mind you, but very uneven in tone – a reflection of the many 'cooks' involved in the 'broth' since, despite the overall credit to Richter, many another avant-garde artist was responsible for the various dream sequences that basically comprise the narrative (Marcel Duchamp, Fernand Léger, Man Ray, etc.). This is also why I preceded its viewing with a number of shorts by all these exponents of experimental cinema and, for what it is worth, I opted to check the film out on the day of Richter's own birthday!The concept is an intriguing, even noir-ish, one – accentuated by the initially down-on-his-luck protagonist and constant voice-over. The fantasies range from the romantic (a henpecked man braving a labyrinth for the sake of his idealized beloved recalls the work of Jean Cocteau) to the musical ('sung' by a mannequin and dreamt by a geeky girl liberated to femme fatale status by the hero's attentions), and from the prescient (the audience at an interactive movie theater imitate every move of the actors on-screen) to the insipid (a lazily derivative 'rotating shapes' display by Duchamp serving as the visions of a gangster type – who on earth but mathematicians dreams of such things anyway?!). The last hallucination, then, is reserved for the leading man himself – his assuming a blue countenance at this point presumably representing his own uniqueness (in view of the gift he is able to 'bestow' upon others). As I said, this is more worth watching for its intentions than for what is ultimately achieved; the colour scheme, at least, makes it that more palatable to the adventurous movie-buff. Incidentally, we also have here one of the very earliest examples of a pre-credits sequence on celluloid.

The British Film Institute have re-mastered the film from an original print and have released it on DVD with some Richter shorts, a very good booklet and an alternative soundtrack by the band The Real Tuesday Weld who have been performing live to it for the last three years.It looks amazing but remains one of the most underrated art films of the last century. It's difficult to know whether its imperfections (particularly in the editing and soundtrack) are a result of a low budget or carelessness or were intended / happily included by the director. Proclaimed by David Lynch as his favourite film (He pinched the title 'Ruth Roses and Revolvers from it), it is not an easy watch and sadly is probably destined to always be for the cognoscenti. This is a film - not a movie - and whilst not completely successful as a piece of art, it pushes the boundary of film and narrative.

Hans Richter and some of his friends in the old time surreal avant-garde gang; Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp, John Cage, Max Ernst, decide to get together and direct a surprisingly accessible (for these guys this is Oceans 11), film about a man who sets up a business selling dreams to people, who cant' have any of there own. After all, as our narrator Joe, informs us, "If you can look inside yourself, other people shouldn't be any problem".Assorted "characters" come into the Dream shop, a gangster, a repressed banker, an overzealous pamphleteer, a blind man, a bored housewife, etc, and all are given dreams, each one directed by a different surrealist; Ernst, Duchamp, Ray, etc. Which alternately, delight, offend, disturb, and annoy there patrons.In that respect it's a little like an anthology film, with each dream, a story in the story, the best of which is a satire of conventional(1940's) relationships, staring two mannequins who fall in love and get married. It's a surprisingly charming and funny little feminist music video (I want the soundtrack, just for this sequence). Though the rest of the music is handled by experimental composer John Cage, who gives the film both a traditional comedic tone and one of ambiguous drones and general avant-garishness.The narrative of the framing tale, that is the story of Joe, owner and dream weaver of the business, is also distinct in that, none of the characters mouths move, and when dialog does take place on screen it comes as voice over, usually with one characters monologues followed by the others...most of which is spoken in a kind of Beat style rhyming (this is also a decade before any of the big Beat writers Keroac, Ginsberg, etc, start publishing.). That though a bit silly at first, actually enriches the story, really quite beyond, any individual dream sequence.If you like early avant-garde films or the artists involved, this is an absolute must see, but if your also just interested in early comic fantasy, stories about dreams, poetry, or just watching something visually different, that doesn't just dismiss narrative as a nuisance, it's worth the price of admission. Few films see the relationship of dream, cinema, and audience this clearly or distantly.It's the feel good avant-garde comedy of the 40s! If only it would get released on DVD already...

I spent my birthday watching this heretofore unknown masterpiece with a few non-filmie friends, who were also rewarded by the experience. First-wave abstract filmmaker Richter comes to America, picks up some noir affectations and calls it narrative: fedora'd lout in ratbag apartment sets up a business reading dreams for various clients. This allows just enough structure - and HUMOR, crucially - to draw the uninitiated into its tour of Surrealism's Greatest Hits. Man Ray, Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, on and on and on, Richter has assembled a powerhouse crew for his dream sequences, with the likes of John Cage on music, and the segments are varied, hypnotic, and hang together perfectly, from Duchamp's patented hypno-spiral shtick to a pipe-cleaner circus scene that reminds me of Allyson Mitchell. The color is great and well used, and Richter's own conception on the end sequence ties everything together perfectly. Furthermore, while it may not 'mean' anything, there IS a 'logic' to it, I swear, although I was having too much fun letting it wash over me to pursue it very far. These old men point toward a future that hasn't even arrived yet, but seeing it makes you want to join the project. I LOVE this movie.