The Blood of a Poet Full Movie

Andrew D 13 Apr 2008

Cocteau is a master of self-indulgent film that appeals on a higher level. Here he explores the plight of the artist bringing his creations to life, being a part of his work, not being able to break free from his past all the while subjecting his audience to some of the most delightful imagery in film. You might not know what is going on when you watch the film, but the images are worth it, and when you're done read his essay included in the bonus materials. A wonderful film.

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Thomas M 04 Jul 2011

Jean Cocteau rejected the idea that this, his 1930 episodic film, was surrealism, and I am inclined to agree with him. It is too much projected from Cocteau's passion and too purposefully constructed to belong to that movement, of which the most honored act was thought to be a random, blind-folded shooting in a public place. The film's non-conforming images come from Cocteau's own ideas of beauty, a series of thoughts which contemplate what it is to live and to suffer for one's own artistic endeavors. Enrico Rivero was chosen to play the poet, and this was one of the director's key artistic decisions. He has, as Cocteau puts it, a "dispassionate appearance", yet he also displays both a childlike curiosity and a mature impatience, resulting in a performance that is beautifully unsure. Certainly this is prose on film, strange and moving passages that revel in the inexplainable essence of the expression of art.

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Andrey B 22 Sep 2018

It's hard to say something about pure flight of imagination, but it looks really creative and avant-garde. Surrealism of this era was truly on the rise and interesting, exploiting the possibilities of cinema to create images which earlier a painter only could create in a static picture.

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Stephen H 26 Jul 2009

Described as a surrealist film, "The Blood of a Poet" is more of a filmmaker's experiment rather than surrealist. In fact, the film does have a narrative to string together seemingly odd events. The entire film is an allegory for filmmaking, at least, in my opinion. Director Jean Cocteau was very adamant on not defining "The Blood of a Poet" and letting the film speak for itself. If I decided to then sit here and explain what the movie meant then I'd be going against the artist himself; the poet himself. The fact is that "The Blood of a Poet" is examining art, while trying to tell a story, while trying to experiment with camera techniques and optical illusions. The film proves that cinema is a legitimate art-form and should be taken seriously like painting, sculpture, and music. At least, that's how I saw it. Again, the film has been open for debate since its release. Who am I to define it now?

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Pavandeep S 06 Dec 2007

This is a fascinating piece of work, complex and yet simple, disturbing and still beautiful. I will probably take an entire lifetime to really see its beauty.

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