Dreams That Money Can Buy

A 1947 American drama film written, produced, and directed by Hans Richter, a German with a background in the dadaist and constructivist art movements. The color film consists of a frame story and a series of dream sequences that were created by different modernist artists. Collaborators included Max Ernst, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Alexander Calder, Darius Milhaud and Fernand Léger.

Joe/Narcissus (Jack Bittner) is an ordinary man who has recently signed a complicated lease on a room. As he wonders how to pay the rent, he discovers that he can see the contents of his mind unfolding whilst looking into his eyes in the mirror. He realises that he can apply his gift to others (“If you can look inside yourself, you can look inside anyone!”), and sets up a business in his room, selling tailor-made dreams to a variety of frustrated and neurotic clients. Each of the seven surreal dream sequences in the diegesis is in fact the creation of a contemporary modernist artist.

[This high-quality print is presented in SD, Standard Definition]