''Pacific 231'' is a 1949
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
directed by French film theorist
Jean Mitry
Jean-René Pierre Goetgheluck Le Rouge Tillard des Acres de Presfontaines, whose pseudonym was Jean Mitry (; 7 November 1904 – 18 January 1988), was a French Film theory, film theorist, Film criticism, critic and Filmmaking, filmmaker, a co-fo ...
.
Music
The film soundtrack uses the
orchestral work of the same name, composed by
Arthur Honegger
Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss-French composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. Honegger was a member of Les Six. For Halbreich, '' Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' is "more even ...
.
Summary
''Pacific 231'' pays tribute to the
steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
featuring the SNCF 231E 24 ex Nord 3.1194, and includes close-up footage of driving wheels, running gear and railroad operations, mostly taken at speed, and cut/choreographed to the music.
Reception and legacy
The film was awarded the
Short Film Palme d'Or
Short may refer to:
Places
* Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon
* Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place
People
* Short (surname)
* List of people known a ...
, the highest prize given for a short film at the
1949 Cannes Film Festival
The 3rd Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 September 1949. The previous year, no festival had been held because of financial problems.
Like in 1947, the entire jury for this festival was made up of French persons, with historian Georges H ...
.
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...
cited this as one of his favorite films and praised its editing.
Stanley Kubrick, cinephile, BFI
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References
External links
*{{IMDb title, tt0263830
Internet Archive
1949 films
French musical short films
Rail transport films
Short Film Palme d'Or winners
French black-and-white films
1940s French films