Ghosts Before Breakfast (1928)
Hans Richter, noted for his abstract shorts, has everyday objects rebelling against their daily routine.
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Perfect cast and a good story
Horrible, fascist and poorly acted
A Masterpiece!
A Disappointing Continuation
"Ghosts Before Breakfast" or "Vormittagsspuk" is a German short film that runs slightly over 6 minutes. As this one was made almost 90 years ago, it is still silent and black-and-white. Sound films and color were still fairly rare back at this point. It is a solid experimental movie. I may be a bit biased as I am not that big on the genre of experimentalism in movies, but some of the visual effects and camera tricks (relapse, acceleration) made for a decent watch. Still, I must say it is basically the same what Méliès has done 30 years earlier already, only with better material and advanced technology, but not really with innovative idea except maybe 2 or 3 scenes. All in all, a fairly mediocre watch and I can't recommend it.
I absolutely loved this short film. We viewed this in my Avant Garde class, and I laughed my butt off. This isn't your typical comedy, it was before its time. The dancing hats were great! This Dada comedy is one of the funniest I have seen. I am really enjoying learning about the Dada movement. If you get the chance to see this slip stick film, don't pass it up. There is a great rhythm to this film. Everything in the frames comes in the same numbers, the men, the hats, etc. It is just fun to watch. Wonderfuly funny German film, resembles a Charlie Chaplin film. Hans Richter did a great job with this slapstick. Jasmine OIP&T
Hans Richter and his crew must have had a lot of fun making this film. It's equal parts slapstick and Dada. I saw it in a theater as part of a program of 20s surrealist/Dadaist films, and this one was definitely the crowd favorite. It had everybody laughing. I wouldn't be surprised if this film were a big influence on a lot of modern music video directors. For some reason, the imagery put me somewhat in mind of a certain old Devo song. Would go well with the Talking Heads, too.
I was fortunate enough to see this short film in my Cinematic Expression class. It's a wonderfully creative, dadaist film and if given the chance, you should definitely see it. Through four-way symmetry and insane flying bowler hats, Han Ritter creates a highly creative dream world that I quite enjoyed.