Rhythm 21 (1923)

Original title

Rhythmus 21

Directed by

Hans Richter

Genre

silent film, experimental film

Country

German Reich

Runtime

4 min

Rating

5.6 of 10 from 63 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This is a three minute silent abstract film from 1921. Black and white shapes move across the screen in a rhythmic way that creates a visual music experience.

abstractminimalistrhythmicshortsilentexperimentalgeometrichypnoticblack-and-white

What happens

Rhythmus 21 is a 1921 German absolute film directed by Hans Richter. Rhythmus 21 was made in black and white, and runs approximately 3 minutes. The film is the first installment of Richter's Film Ist Rhythm series and is considered, by experts, an early and influential film to the abstract film movement. Many absolute films were described as a mixture of art, film, and music because they present on the screen many musical elements such as dynamics, rhythm, and motion. The films in this series get their name from their visual rhythmic element that closely resembles music. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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• Rhythmus 23 (1925)
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• Wax Experiments (1927)