The Blood of a Poet

I'm a caveman, so trying to decipher metaphor for me is like a fish trying to ride a bicycle or whatever other simile you'd like to use, but please avoid metaphor because I won't get it. Anyway, this is a super French example of what can be done with film -- the effects, the noise, the breaking of narrative, the pouring out stream of consciousness. I definitely recommend it for cinephiles, it's not just historic but a living piece of artwork

Visually interesting but ultimately unfulfilling. I appreiate what is attempted here, but it doesn't seem to come together all of the way. As self-indulgent as it feels at times it still is interesting and worth a look for any fans of experimental film or the style French directors of this era had. Needless to say, it's a film I would recommend to fans of the historical aspect of the industry but in no way is this for casual movie lovers.

Probably at least 40% pretentious drivel, but I don't really care about the version I watched (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSNZxvWvodY) not being an analytical masterpiece or it not conveying what it might have. It simply was too enjoyable.

I don't understand everyone calling this dated, poetry doesn't have a best before date. A delight, Cocteau does some wonderful things here I think. Makes you think partly of The Color of Pomegranates and partly of Un Chien Andalou while it still has its own attributes.

That's what you get when poets start using celluloid tape instead of sticking to paper...

This surreal flick has some great ideas incorporated into it, especially intriguing in the first half.

I really love the recurring visual themes in Cocteau and the really astonishing primitive special effects that appear in all of his work ... people looking like living statues, characters passing through liquid mirrors. If I like this film the least of his body of work, it's just because it feels so much like a private expression of his own internal life. It's a joy to look at, but it means a lot less to me than his later films.

Is it about being subject to the whims of gods? I don't know, maybe. It sure is a fascinating procession though, and one's own gut reaction to these abstract images is where the actual 'meaning' of it all can be found.

Surrealist effort from Cocteau. Normally this kind of inaccessible surrealism doesn't hit for me, but I thought this one was pretty watchable. The first half especially is visually interesting with lots of tricks that I wondered how they accomplished in 1932. The second half started losing me a bit, but the first two "chapters" were interesting to watch. It's very clear that the central character of the first two chapters used to be a silent actor, as he very much still acts in that fashion.

Jan 27, 2017 Hobbit

Way too surreal for me. There were parts where I thought, "Oh, this could be the start of an interesting movie." Then it careened in a totally different direction. Some of the trick shots are pretty impressive; they're almost drowned out by the fractured story. (Glad I stuck with the trilogy, though, because I really liked the next one, which borrowed a few of the themes here.)

84.50

Fun to watch. Surrealism works with constraints. Back at the time when special effects were crude, cinema was a good medium for surrealists. I don't know what they would do today with the embarrassment of riches they would face.

Cocteau's imagery has a curious logic and urgency, more so than other avant-garde works. I always have a feeling of initiation. The Nine Muses reincarnate; Erato with her piercing intuition, and Polymnia with lyrical form.

Viewed July 7, 2017.

Star Rating: ★★★★1/2

Purely images

In retrospect probably my favorite Cocteau, in pretty much the same way that L'Âge d'or (1930) is in no way at all my favorite Bunuel.

quite fun to look at. also filled with obnoxious symbolism that doesn't really convey much of anything. that cocteau chose not to inject this with his ridiculous ideas of romance is definitely a bonus.

Sangue de Um Poeta estreava há 90 anos em Paris. Bacana ter revisto esse filme depois de A Virgem Milagrosa, ambos são exemplares do surrealismo separados por tempo e espaço, ambos falam do artista inserido no fazer artístico e a imaginação que o cerca, mas Cocteau ainda está encontrando o seu caminho audiovisual, enquanto Uher jpá está bem estabelecido no seu fazer-saber artístico. Box OP Jean Cocteau.

#555

07 Temmuz 2011, sezi'nin onerisi & gorsel olarak ozellikle 30'lu yillarin sinemasini dusundugumde bir basyapit. ama cocteau'nun surreale kacan tavri ve sinemayi siire yakinlastirma cabasi bana hitap etmedi. belki cok derin anlamlari var ama beni bu anlamlarin arkasinda kaybolmaya itmedi.

Not that I particularly care for avant-garde stuff, but I at least like it to have crazy visuals and/or a lot of surrealism. This had neither.

Not terribly compelling. I'll bet Sam Raimi saw this before he made his directing debut, though

Some interesting images, but time hasn't been kind.

544

494

A 2nd rate Un Chien Andalou. But it's interesting.

# 575

Suffers from taking itself way too seriously. Blood of a Poet is the kind of pretentious drivel that people make fun of when they think of surrealism. All this stuff is supposed to be very deep and meaningful, but ultimately comes off as just plain silly.

Score based on distant memory.

Interesting at times but has not really aged well. While the film has some things to say about creativity, its success rests on camera tricks and shocking shots. Some of these still work, but others just look silly.