The Starfish

About the production

The film was shot over several days in Man Ray's studio and various Paris locations. Man Ray employed multiple experimental techniques including solarization, negative images, and double exposure. The starfish itself was found by Man Ray on a beach in Normandy and became the central motif. The film's non-linear structure was revolutionary for its time, rejecting conventional narrative in favor of poetic association.

Themes

Themes & topics

Historical background

By 1928, distribution was widening and The Starfish reached audiences through the theatrical channels dominant before television.

Why this film matters

Historians treat The Starfish as evidence of what typical 1928 audiences could see in a program slot.

Making of

The making of The Starfish was deeply intertwined with the Parisian Surrealist movement of the 1920s. Man Ray, an American expatriate artist, created the film as a collaboration with poet Robert Desnos, who wrote the scenario. The relationship between Man Ray and Kiki of Montparnasse was not only romantic but also artistic, with Kiki serving as his primary model and muse. The film was shot without a formal script, instead relying on spontaneous creation and Surrealist principles of automatic expression. Man Ray utilized his expertise as a photographer to create groundbreaking visual effects, including the famous solarization technique that he had accidentally discovered when a light was accidentally turned on in his darkroom. The production was typical of avant-garde films of the era - low budget, experimental, and created outside the commercial film industry.

What critics said

Specialist critics today emphasize preservation when a viewable copy of The Starfish survives.

Did you know?

• The original French title 'L'Étoile de Mer' literally translates to 'The Starfish', which was found by Man Ray on a beach in Normandy
• The film is based on a poem by Robert Desnos, who also appears in the film
• Kiki of Montparnasse, who stars in the film, was Man Ray's lover and muse during this period
• The film features one of the earliest uses of solarization in cinema, a technique Man Ray accidentally discovered
• Only about 400 feet of the original 1,000 feet of film footage survive today
• The intertitles were written by Desnos in the style of automatic writing, a Surrealist technique
• The film was banned in several countries for its suggestive imagery and unconventional narrative
• Man Ray considered this his most successful film work
• The famous scene with the starfish in a jar was inspired by a real object Man Ray kept in his studio
• The film's premiere was at the Studio des Ursulines in Paris, a venue known for showing avant-garde works

Visual style

The cinematography of The Starfish is revolutionary for its time, featuring multiple innovative techniques that Man Ray adapted from his photographic work. The film employs solarization (a technique that reverses tones and creates a halo effect), negative images, double exposure, and out-of-focus photography to create dreamlike, disorienting effects. Man Ray also used prismatic lenses and distorted reflections to fragment reality. The camera work is deliberately unconventional, with unusual angles and movements that contribute to the film's surreal atmosphere. The interplay of light and shadow creates a mysterious, poetic visual language. The famous starfish sequence uses macro photography to transform the object into an abstract pattern. The cinematography consistently blurs the line between representation and abstraction, creating visual metaphors that operate on both conscious and unconscious levels.

Innovations

The Starfish pioneered several technical innovations that would influence experimental cinema for decades. Man Ray's use of solarization in motion pictures was groundbreaking, creating eerie, dreamlike effects that had never been seen before. The film's seamless integration of photographic techniques into cinema demonstrated new possibilities for visual storytelling. The editing style, which rejects continuity in favor of poetic association, was revolutionary and influenced later filmmakers. The film also demonstrated how found objects could be transformed into powerful cinematic symbols. The use of negative imagery and multiple exposures created visual metaphors that were impossible to achieve through conventional photography. These technical achievements were not merely decorative but essential to the film's meaning and its expression of Surrealist principles.

Music

As a silent film, The Starfish had no original soundtrack or synchronized score. However, when it was first shown, it was often accompanied by live music, typically avant-garde compositions or improvisations that reflected the film's experimental nature. In some screenings, contemporary jazz or atonal piano music was used to enhance the surreal atmosphere. The film's rhythm and pacing were designed to work with musical accompaniment, with visual transitions timed to suggest musical phrases. Modern screenings and restorations sometimes use period-appropriate music or new compositions inspired by the film. The absence of dialogue or intertitles in many versions emphasizes the purely visual nature of the work, making it a true example of pure cinema.

Famous quotes

The starfish is a symbol of what we can see but never touch

In the depths of desire, everything becomes strange

The eye sees what the mind knows

Reality is merely a suggestion of what might be

Memorable scenes

• The opening sequence where the man follows the woman through Paris streets with distorted, dreamlike photography
• The famous scene with the starfish floating in a jar, using macro photography to transform it into an abstract pattern
• The solarized sequences that create ghostly, otherworldly images of the lovers
• The final scene where the starfish returns to the sea, shot through prismatic lenses

What audiences thought

The Starfish was never intended for mass audiences and was primarily shown in avant-garde film clubs, art galleries, and Surrealist gatherings. Its initial audience consisted mainly of artists, writers, and intellectuals who were already familiar with Surrealist principles. These viewers generally received the film positively, appreciating its experimental nature and artistic ambitions. General audiences, when they had the opportunity to see it, were often confused or put off by its non-linear narrative and abstract imagery. The film's challenging nature meant it never achieved popular success, but this was never its goal. Today, the film is primarily viewed by film students, scholars, and enthusiasts of avant-garde cinema, who approach it with an understanding of its historical and artistic context.

Film connections

Influenced by

• Sigmund Freud's writings on the unconscious
• André Breton's Surrealist manifestos
• Dadaist anti-art movements
• Poetic automatic writing techniques
• Abstract photography
• Contemporary avant-garde literature
• Symbolist poetry
• German Expressionist cinema

This film influenced

• Un Chien Andalou (1929)
• L'Âge d'Or (1930)
• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
• Fireworks (1947)
• Scorpio Rising (1963)
• In the Realm of the Senses (1976)

Film restoration

Partially preserved - approximately 400 feet of the original 1,000 feet survive. The film has been restored by several archives including the Cinémathèque Française and the Museum of Modern Art. Multiple versions exist with slight variations in editing and intertitles. The surviving footage is sufficient to understand Man Ray's artistic vision, though some sequences remain lost or incomplete.

Where to watch

• Available on DVD from Criterion Collection as part of 'Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and '30s'
• Streaming on The Criterion Channel
• Available for viewing at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) film archive
• Screenings occasionally held at film archives and cinematheques specializing in avant-garde cinema
• Available through educational film distributors for institutional screenings