Les Mystères du Château du Dé

Infobox_Film
name=Les Mystéres du Château du Dé


director=Man Ray
Jacques-André Boiffard
producer=Le Vicomte de Noailles
writer=Man Ray
Jacques-André Boiffard
starring=Man Ray
Georges Auric
Le Comte de Beaumont
Le Vicomte de Noailles
Marie-Laure de Noailles
Jacques-André Boiffard
released=flagicon|France 1929
runtime=27 min.
imdb_id=0145923|

"Les Mystéres du Château du Dé" (English: "The Mysteries of the Chateau of Dice") is a 1929 film directed by Man Ray. It depicts a pair of travellers setting off from Paris and travelling to the Villa Noailles in Hyères. At 27 minutes the film was the longest that Man Ray directed during his career.

ynopsis

"To the Viscountess of Noailles. I dedicate these pictures which can never reveal the extent of her kindness and charm. How two travellers arrived in St. Bernard, what they saw in the ruins of an old castle on top of which a modern-time castle stands. The travellers: MAN RAY, J.-A. Boiffard."

The film opens from a night scene to two masked individuals at a cafe. They decide their actions on the role of dice.

"A throw of dice will never abolish chance."

The hands are that of manequins, their faces devoid of detail. Before the throw, their destination appears on a hillside in the form of both modern and ancient castles.

"Are we going?"
"We're not going"
"We're going!"

And their journey begins. Departing from their cafe, they travel through the French countryside arriving a the town of Noailles and their destination to find the modern castle empty. Elements of the interior explore various spatial relationships and textures. The film shows sculptures by Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró, as well as exploring the unique Cubist garden at Villa Noailles.

After a while, we are introduced to four "intruders" who are in turn resigning their fate to that of the dice. Upon their throw, they depart for the indoor swimming pool at the villa and entertain the viewer with various diving and gymnastic movements, including a woman juggling underwater and exercising with medicine balls. Actors explore the villas confines, until they eventually retire, fading from the screen.

More moving shots of the villas external until two more travellers arrive at the location, again playing for chance within the garden. They proceed to stay overnight, bringing the film to an abrupt end.

Notes

Originally a silent film, recent copies have been dubbed using music taken from Man Ray's personal record collection of the time, including recordings of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies. The musical reconstruction was by Jacques Guillot.

The film was restored by the Musée national d'art moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou under the direction of Jean-Michel Bouhours, Film curator.

Restoration of the nitrate prints of Les Mystéres du Château du Dé by Service des Archives du film (CNC) Bois d'Arcy.

Video editing by Didier Coudray.

ources

*"Flicks - March 2001" [http://www.cinescene.com/flicks/flicks042001.html] ; Chris Dashiell (2001)

External links

*imdb title|id=0145923|title=Les Mystéres du Château du Dé
* [http://www.ubu.com/film/ray.html Downloadable version of the film at ubu.com]
* [http://www.villanoailles-hyeres.com/ Villa Noailles]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=hyeres&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=43.123916,6.127485&spn=0.002725,0.004163&t=k&om=1 Google Maps location of the Villa Noailles]