Komposition in Blau

"Composition in Blue" truly struck me. This was Fischinger's first film in colour, and you can tell. By the way he uses the colour, you would think that they were all going to disappear tomorrow, and the world would be left in black and white, with this film the only remaining evidence of its coloured past. One moment that I particularly remember is from the beginning. A group of red and blue blocks pile on top of each other. I've always liked the bizarre, wavy effect that happens when you combine blue and red. The way Fischinger does that here, with the blocks moving closer to the screen, had a hypnotic effect on me. It was truly beautiful.

Technically speaking, KOMPOSITION IN BLAU is an amazing film--especially for 1935. While color film is something we all expect, back in 1935, this was still a relatively new process and many cartoons were still made in black & white. Heck, the first 3-color Technicolor feature (BECKY SHARP) debuted the same year as KOMPOSITION, so as I said, it was all pretty new. Yet despite this newness, the colors were so vibrant and beautiful--even more than 70 year later.

As for the film itself, it's a very, very simple idea though the execution was have taken ages to complete. Various geometric shapes (mostly rectangles and circles) appear and move throughout the film and seem to dance to the classical music that is being played. It is rather hypnotic and considering that it had to be filmed frame by frame, it is quite an accomplishment. The trouble, though, with such a film is that while adults will appreciate the effort and enjoy it, kids will probably be bored and wonder where all the cute anthropomorphic animals are!! Because of this, don't be surprised if you show it to kids and they are less than thrilled--they'll just have to wait to see it when they are a bit older.

A correction to the "early color film" review here, which states "His wife, Elfreide did a short segment in the middle." While Elfriede, his wife, assisted him in the studio in Germany along with others, she did not create any sequences for any of his films. There are other myths about her being a collaborator, but those are false. Fischinger did not collaborate on his films. Numerous books, essays and articles support this, as well as an interview with their daughter Barbara.

Another note - this film and his color Muratti commercial Muratti greift Ein! Were taken by an agent and screened in Hollywood. Those two films resulted in a contract offer from Paramount, thanks to Ernst Lubitsch.

Have you seen Fell in Love with a Girl, a video by The White Stripes, with all the Legos & stuff? It is called Brickfilm Animation & is considered a new type of Animation Technique, which is true, but the concept surprisingly similar to it can be found in COMPOSITION IN BLUE a Fischinger cartoon, which is made like 70 years ago. I mean this guy has multicolored bricks too (not Lego though) & he too animates them. Impressive, isn't it? But nevertheless the main advantage of COMPOSITION IN BLUE is in its use of colors & their composition. Blue is dominating (see the title) & red & yellow are extensively used with some other strange colors, the effect is very bright, lucent & bricky, what makes it look like some old arcade game. I wonder if Fischinger had a time machine & used his time-traveling experience in making this cartoon.

This film just makes you HAPPY! Completely 3D animated using solidly coloured geometric shapes and flat cut-outs (real ones, not CGI), and precisely synched with a bubbly, orchestrated sound track, COMPOSITION IN BLUE not only stands as a definite high- point in the career of Oscar Fischinger, but still stands out amongst anything in the history of animation itself. Brilliant, fun, technically perfect (and I mean PERFECT!), and wildly imaginative, it not only serves up a completely unique vision, but succeeds in creating a "world" where that vision lives in the eye and mind of the viewer long after it has ended. Stunning! 10/10!