Opus IV (1925)

Directed by

Walter Ruttmann

Genre

silent film, abstract animation film

Country

German Reich, Germany

Runtime

4 min

Rating

6.2 of 10 from 16 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a short silent film made entirely of moving geometric shapes and lines. It uses visual rhythm and motion to create a kind of light show without a story or characters.

abstractrhythmichypnoticminimalmeditativeexperimental

What happens

Opus IV is a 1925 German absolute film directed by Walter Ruttmann. The film is approximately 3m 55s in length. It uses abstract animation. The film is the final installment in the “Lichtspiel” (German for “light show”). The Opus films are famous for using geometric shapes, basic lines, and abstraction to create optical images, then taking the optical art, along with rhythm and editing, to imply movement. Along with the Film Ist Rhythm series, the Lichtspiel film series is one of the earliest examples of absolute film. Those films contain a stronger resemblance to paintings than their other Absolute counterparts. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

• Lichtspiel: Opus I (1921)
• Diagonal Symphony (1925)
• Opus III (1924)
• Spiritual Constructions (1927)
• Rhythm 21 (1923)
• Strich-Punkt-Ballett (1943)
• Lightplay Opus II (1921)
• Composition in Blue (1935)