''Venom and Eternity'' () is a 1951 French avant-garde film by

Isidore Isou Isidore Isou (; 29 January 1925 – 28 July 2007), born Isidor Goldstein, was a Romanian-born French poet, dramaturge, novelist, film director, economist, and visual artist. He was the founder of Lettrism, an art and literary movement which ...

that grew out of the Lettrist movement in Paris. It created a scandal at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival.

Description

''Venom and Eternity'' is arranged in a three-part structure. The first chapter, "Principle" (), displays people walking around the streets of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

as the audio track presents an argument at a film society. The second chapter, "Development" (), shows a romantic meeting between two people. This section is combined with found footage. The final chapter, "Proof" (), uses increasingly abstract images, including countdown

leader Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

and clear leader. Its audio track resumes the debate from "Principle" and features Lettrist poetry.Cabañas 2014, pp. 31.

Production

Isou began filming ''Venom and Eternity'' in 1950.Wall-Romana 2012, p. 229. To secure an audience for the film, he set about finding famous figures who would agree to appear in it. He called

Gaston Gallimard Gaston Gallimard (; 18 January 1881 – 25 December 1975) was a French publisher. He founded ''La Nouvelle Revue Française'' in 1908, together with André Gide and Jean Schlumberger (writer), Jean Schlumberger. In 1911 the trio established La ...

, who had previously published his work, and got him to agree. Filmmaker

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

and dramatist Armand Salacrou also appear in the film. Actor

Jean-Louis Barrault Jean-Louis Bernard Barrault (; 8 September 1910 – 22 January 1994) was a French actor, director and mime artist who worked on both screen and stage. Biography Barrault was born in Le Vésinet in France in 1910. His father was 'a Burgundi ...

was filmed between rehearsals for a theatre production, and Blanchette Brunoy was filmed at the

Bois de Boulogne The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park that is the western half of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by the Em ...

. Actors Daniel Gélin and

Danièle Delorme Gabrielle Danièle Marguerite Andrée Girard (9 October 1926 – 17 October 2015), known by her stage name Danièle Delorme (), was a French actress and film producer, famous for her roles in films directed by Marc Allégret, Julien Duvivier an ...

were filmed at home with their children, as was

Marcel Achard Marcel Achard (5 July 1899 – 4 September 1974) was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies Garzanti p. 3 maintained his position as a highly recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles ...

, who was led to believe it was for television. Each of these shoots was very brief, lasting only around 10 minutes, with no preparation. The scenes of various Lettrists walking were shot on the streets of

Saint-Germain-des-Prés Saint-Germain-des-Prés () is one of the four administrative quarters of the 6th arrondissement of Paris, France, located around the church of the former Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Its official borders are the River Seine on the nor ...

. Isou used found footage discarded by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

and various film laboratories.

Release

Isou first screened a four-and-a-half-hour rough cut of the film on 20 April 1951. Fearing that he would be deported from France in the event of public controversy, Isou had the film transported to the 1951 Cannes Film Festival by Marc'O, , François Dufrene, Maurice Lemaître, and Gil J. Wolman. Isou was unable to enter ''Venom and Eternity'' into the festival but harassed officials until they allowed him to present his film at the Vox Theater. At the time of the premiere, only the first third of the film had a completed image track. A hostile audience began jeering shortly after the film began. After the first section finished, the screen went blank. The projector light was turned off as the audio track continued to play to a darkened theatre. Audience members were infuriated, and the screening was ended early. Accounts of the scandalous response described a rioting audience and police officers using fire hoses on the crowd, but these stories are largely apocryphal. Cocteau awarded Isou the "Prix de spectateurs d'avant-garde" for ''Venom and Eternity''. As soon as ''Venom and Eternity'' was completed, the Ciné-Club Avant-Garde 52 showed it at the

Musée de l'Homme The Musée de l'Homme (; literally "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moder ...

in Paris. Starting in January 1952, it had a two-week theatrical run at the Studio de l'Etoile. For its U.S. release, Raymond Rohauer edited down the film, removing over 45 minutes of footage.Kabza 2019, section "The Mythical 4 1/2 Hour Film". This version premiered on October 30, 1953, at the

Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive The Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA, formerly abbreviated as BAM/PFA) are a combined art museum, repertory movie theater, and film archive associated with the University of California, Berkeley. Lawrence Rinder was Director ...

Home media

Re:Voir released ''Venom and Eternity'' on DVD in 2008. This version is a restoration of materials held by the French National Film Archives. It is the most complete version available but does not include the title cards, credits, and text intended by Isou to clearly separate the film into three chapters.

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art film, art ho ...

released the film in 2007 as part of its DVD collection ''Avant-Garde 2: Experimental Cinema 1928–1954''. This version is based on Rohauer's edit, restoring some of the sections he had removed. It also prepends a 5-minute section of black leader where the Lettrist chorus plays, added to fulfill Isou's instruction that the chorus be played shortly before the opening credits.

Legacy

''Venom and Eternity'' was the first cinematic work by the Lettrist movement. The film became a major influence on the work of

Stan Brakhage James Stanley Brakhage ( ; January 14, 1933 – March 9, 2003) was an American experimental filmmaker. He is considered to be one of the most important figures in 20th-century experimental film. Over the course of five decades, Brakhage cr ...

.Cabañas 2014, pp. 136–137.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

External links

* {{Lettrism 1950s avant-garde and experimental films 1951 directorial debut films 1951 films French avant-garde and experimental films French black-and-white films Lettrism 1950s French-language films 1950s French films