An Optical Poem

An Optical Poem (1938)

March 5th, 19380h 7min

Animation, Music
66%

Overview

A dance of shapes. A title card tells us this is an experiment in conveying the mental images of music in a visual form. Liszt's "Second Hungarian Rhapsody" is the music. The shapes, all two-dimensional, are circles primarily, with some squares and rectangles, and a few triangles. The shapes move rhythmically to the music: receding from view or moving across the screen. Red circles on a blue background; light blue squares; white rectangles. Then, a red background of many circles with a few in the foreground. Red gives way to blue then to white. Shapes reappear as Liszt's themes re-occur. Then, with a few staccato notes and images, it's over.


Make sure to check your pop-up blocker!!

Trailer

Similar Movies

Aida - Arena di Verona

Aida - Arena di Verona


Released on: 2013-11-05
Drama, Music

The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pag...

Brahms: Complete Symphonies

Brahms: Complete Symphonies


Released on: 2014-01-28
Music

After the great success of his Beethoven cycle, Christian Thielemann now turns with his new orchestr...

The Nutcracker

The Nutcracker


Released on: 1977-12-16
Music, Fantasy

The Nutcracker is Mikhail Baryshnikov's breathtaking and critically acclaimed Emmy-nominated product...

Jack-Jack Attack

Jack-Jack Attack


Released on: 2005-03-15
Adventure, Animation, Family

The Parrs' baby Jack-Jack is thought to be normal, not having any super-powers like his parents or s...

K-Classics Generation

K-Classics Generation


Released on: 2020-06-01
Documentary, Music

The film traces the career of some of the winners of this new generation nicknamed the "K-Classics G...

André Rieu - The Christmas I Love

André Rieu - The Christmas I Love


Released on: 2011-11-25
Music

The Christmas I Love’ is a very special Christmas gift – a collection of some of the most tender car...

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It

John Cage: I Have Nothing to Say and I Am Saying It


Released on: 1990-09-18
Documentary, Music, TV Movie

This 56-minute documentary on America's most controversial and unique composer manages to cover a gr...

The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century

The Art of Singing: Golden Voices of the Century


Released on: 1998-03-25
Documentary, Music

Imagine a window into the past. Imagine finally connecting singers' bodies to the voices you have al...

The Planets

The Planets


Released on: 1983-01-30
Music, TV Movie

Based on the famous Gustav Holst musical suite, this musical film takes watchers on a magnificent jo...

Waldbühne 2017 | Legends of the Rhine

Waldbühne 2017 | Legends of the Rhine


Released on: 2017-10-20
Music

For their annual season end concert, the Berliner Philharmoniker take the audience on a dreamy, magi...

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 - Gergiev

Tchaikovsky: Symphonies Nos. 4, 5 & 6 - Gergiev


Released on: 2011-10-03
Music

Valery Gergiev is widely recognised as the greatest modern interpreter of Tchaikovsky’s music and th...

András Schiff plays Bach

András Schiff plays Bach


Released on: 2011-01-31
Music

Surely Bach’s French Suites, which he composed during his years at Cöthen (1717–1723), are among the...

Siapa Dia

Siapa Dia


Released on: 2025-08-28
Drama, Music

Layar, a popular film star who feels bored with his career wants to make a musical theater set in a ...

Grigory Sokolov - Live at the Berlin Philharmonie - Schubert & Beethoven

Grigory Sokolov - Live at the Berlin Philharmonie - Schubert & Beethoven


Released on: 2016-04-01
Music

"Probably the best living pianist" headlined the Berliner Morgenpost's review of Grigory Sokolov's s...

Europakonzert 2008 from Moscow

Europakonzert 2008 from Moscow


Released on: 2008-05-01
Music

The Berliner Philharmoniker’s European Concert, held each year on 1 May, is invariably an internatio...

Not Mozart: Letters, Riddles and Writs

Not Mozart: Letters, Riddles and Writs


Released on: 1991-01-01
Music

Letters, Riddles and Writs is a one act opera for television by Michael Nyman broadcast in 1991.

Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1-5 - Uchida, Rattle

Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1-5 - Uchida, Rattle


Released on: 2018-12-07
Music

There is hardly a better way to approach Ludwig van Beethoven than through his piano concertos. Beet...

Waldbühne 2009 | Russian Rhythms

Waldbühne 2009 | Russian Rhythms


Released on: 2009-06-21
Music

Every year, the Berliner Philharmoniker hold a kind of classical-music fête with a bright, cheerful ...

Waldbühne 2010 | An Evening with Renée Fleming

Waldbühne 2010 | An Evening with Renée Fleming


Released on: 2010-06-27
Music

Repertoire Modest Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain; Antonín Dvořák: Song to the Moon from “Rusalk...

Waldbühne 2011: Fellini, Jazz & Co

Waldbühne 2011: Fellini, Jazz & Co


Released on: 2011-07-02
Music

The Waldbühne in Berlin, one of the most appealing outdoor amphitheatres on the European continent, ...