Rythmetic

Rythmetic is a 1956 Canadian short animated film directed by Norman McLaren and Evelyn Lambart for the National Film Board of Canada.[1]

Rythmetic
Directed byNorman McLaren
Evelyn Lambart
Produced byNorman McLaren
CinematographyNorman McLaren
Evelyn Lambart
Distributed byNFBC
Release date
  • 19 January 1956 (1956-01-19)
Running time
8 minutes, 25 seconds
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish, French

It is an amusing, non-verbal lecture on the subject of mathematics and one of McLaren’s longest animated works.

McLaren wanted to make a truly international film about the inadequacies of communication between peoples of different cultures and languages. To this end, he used the most understood method of communication, Arabic numerals.[2]

Filmed without a camera or microphone and using McLaren’s scratch sound system, the film is a ‘crazy dance’ of mechanical actions and anthropomorphic gestures made by arithmetical figures and symbols; we hear rhythmic music with clicks or scratching sounds made by ink directly painted on the soundtrack. The filling of the background with bright figures against a dark background evoke a classroom blackboard and the teaching process. Classified as an educational film, it is also regarded as a visual and auditory work of art.[3]

Awards

References
  1. "Rythmetic". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  2. Utako, Kuriharo. "Norman McLaren's Animated Film Rythmetic as Temporal Art" (PDF). bigakukai.jp. The Japanese Society for Aesthetics. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  3. Utako, Kuriharo. "Norman McLaren's Animated Film Rythmetic as Temporal Art" (PDF). bigakukai.jp. The Japanese Society for Aesthetics. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  4. "6th Berlin International Film Festival: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
  5. "Rythmetic". onf-nfb.gc.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  • Watch Rythmetic on the NFB website

Rythmetic in the NFB collection catalog

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