Course landaise

While Man Ray is mostly remembered for his significant contribution to Dada art (in several well-known Dada films), the majority of his work listed on IMDb in fact consists of a series of short home movies he made of various things, none seemingly made with the intent of ever being released. It seems that after the artist's years as a filmmaker, the home movies he made 1923-1938 somehow resurfaced and were compiled in a nearly feature-length collection aptly titled "Home Movies". While nothing in particular is unique about them, they do provide interest to fans of old film - especially those interested in the artist himself.

"Course landaise" is the second of two in the collection which features the subject of bullfighting - the other being "Corrida" of 1929. In general, this one is certainly superior to that earlier effort, which was more repetitive in its action and featured a farther away camera view from the top seats in the house. Here, Man Ray was right at the edge of the arena so that he could get a perfect view, as well as other shots of architecture. The subject is still morbid to animal lovers, but it's captured well and includes color towards the end (again a curiosity - color is not supposed to have existed around 1937). There are a variety of things going on, and as a whole it captures things much better and at a closer vantage point. Overall, fairly interesting to see if not one of the best home movies Man Ray made - his most curious ones involve people he was once friends with, and the only friend featured in "Course landaise" is Ady Fidelin, in a shot near the beginning.