Venom and Eternity

Venom and Eternity is a 1951 French avant-garde film by Isidore Isou 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 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 and clear leader. Its audio track resumes the debate from "Principle" and features Lettrist poetry. Production Isou began filming Venom and Eternity in 1950. The scenes of various Lettrists walking were shot on the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Isou used found footage discarded by the Ministry of Defence 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.