The Philosophies of Dada & Surrealism with George Melly (1978)

George Melly takes a wayward day trip to the the Hayward Gallery and a major show of pictures from the days of Dada and Surrealism. His indirect journey, inspired by the Surrealist dérive, takes him through rooms, streets, a strange café, with brief curious encounters on the way. Among them, the last of the surrealists in England (Eileen Agar, Conroy Maddox, Robert Melville and Roland Penrose), punk rock band The Stranglers, and an elephant. Melly intersperses the journey with memories of Salvador Dalí, René Magritte and E.L.T. Mesens, talking about the influence of Dada and Surrealism on his early life.
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Melly’s enthusiasm was so well-known that he was often called upon as a token advocate of Surrealism whenever one was required by the TV channels, hence this film whose title implies an admission of something disreputable. A major exhibition of Surrealist art was taking place 1978 at the Hayward Gallery in London, and it’s to this exhibition that Melly journeys, explaining (and demonstrating) what it means to be a Surrealist along the way. I saw this when it was first broadcast, and the absurd phone calls to strangers inspired myself and a few school-friends to similar activities; teenage pranks seemed less frivolous with an artistic justification. There’s a slight connection to yesterday’s post in Melly’s recounting of an anecdote from the 1950s when he was spared a night-time beating by his reciting of Kurt Schwitters’ Ursonate to a group of belligerent youths. Elsewhere you get to see punk band The Stranglers scowling at the camera-Melly suggests that the punks might be inheritors of the Dadaist attitude-and director Alan Yentob standing at a urinal.

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[@martinarthur2597]

Remember seeing this at the time, wonderful programme, packs an awful lot into 25mns. Bless the BBC

[@ed-od9sd]

Thanks MI for bringing back some of the great contents rarely made these days

[@vulgivagu]

This short piece by Arena should be forcibly shown to all BBC executives to show them the exceptional work our once great broadcasting institution was capable of. Now we are forcibly fed on their unique brand of diversive and inclusive crap.

[@squeeth2895]

Stop paying the telly tax and spend the money on DVDs.

[@alanbourke4069]

Great to see some of the places mentioned in Melly's autobiographies and other books. You wouldn't get that near to the scene of a fire these days.

[@wagstaffe7]

Just wonderful.

[@wcropp1]

This was far too short. Thanks!

[@tonymcmahon_historybear]

Met George Melly at the opening of an art gallery in 1980 or 81 - around the time the Tate ran a Salvador Dali exhibition

[@AJ-tp9bk]

Lucky you!

[@steven-dark]

That would have been the in Liverpool. I was there too and had a drink with him after his talk :)

[@darkcnotion]

Is that a real elephant?!!

[@odrotmeodrotme4343]

8:53 Lol

[@Gubalicious]

What a great programme. George is one of those people you could listen to for hours. Can ANYONE tell me WTF happens at 4:00? I've watched it several times now and I have no idea what I'm looking at. It's quite surreal.

[@AJ-tp9bk]

Looks like packages of razor blades blowing

[@Gubalicious]

Cheers, I think it was done like that on purpose to make u wonder what it was. There are actually loads of those little moments in the documentary. It's pretty cool!

[@AJ-tp9bk]

@@Gubalicious Yes, very cool documentary. Just discovered George Melly from a CD I found at a thrift store. Now I can't get enough! A true one of a kind human being!