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We Spin Around the Night Consumed by the Fire

1978 · 100 min

A dense, essayistic montage of images and narration that feels intellectually combative and quietly melancholic.

Directed by
Guy Debord
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Guy Debord
Overview
A Latin palindrome is the title of Guy Debord's last film, in which he, as narrator, explains that he will make neither concessions to the tastes of his viewers nor to the dominant ideas of his day. After extensively insulting the audience that goes to the cinema to forget its heteronomous life, the film becomes autobiographical, using images from the world of spectacle: advertising brochures, clips from feature films (Les enfants du paradis), comics, aerial footage of Paris, tracking shots through Venice, photographs of friends – all commented on by Debord, with an at times melancholy undertone: "This Paris no longer exists." His assessment is that one of the great pleasures of his life has been the sensation of the passage of time, and as a witness to the disintegration of social order, he has loved his epoch.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.
Directed by
Guy Debord
Genres
Documentary
Starring
Guy Debord
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
    Pacing
    slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
    Attention
    demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
    Themes
    • media
    • memory
    • isolation
    • art
    • politics
    Places
    • big city
    Era
    contemporary
    Audience
    adult
    Form
    • documentary
    Content intensity
    • Gore none
    • Language mild
    • Violence none
    • Sex none
    All scales, 0 to 10
    Scales, 0 to 10
    ScaleValue0 to 10
    Action0
    Horror0
    Humour3
    Realism8
    Romance1
    Tension2
    Darkness6
    Complexity9
    Emotional weight6

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    Where to watch in the UK

    No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

    Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

    Details

    Genres
    documentary
    Directed by
    Guy Debord
    Written by
    Guy Debord
    Starring
    Guy Debord
    Cinematography
    André Mrugalski
    Runtime
    100 min
    Country
    France
    Languages
    French

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