Mario Peixoto
Encyclopedia
Mário Rodrigues Breves Peixoto (1908 — 1992) was mainly known for his first and only film Limite
, a silent
experimental film
filmed in 1930 and premiered in Rio de Janeiro
on 17 May 1931. Peixoto wrote, directed and took up a minor role in the film. Its musical score include Eric Satie, Claude Debussy
, Alexander Borodin
, Igor Stravinsky
, Sergei Prokofiev
and César Franck
.
The single-handedly achievement of a member of the well-to-do élite of 1920s Brazil, Limite became over the years almost a myth - its only copy being almost lost during the 1950s, were it not to be restored thanks to the personal efforts of two 1970s critics - and the object of various legends, many of them put into circulation by Peixoto himself. One such legend referred to a bogus complimentary article about the film ("A film from South America"), that had supposedly been written by Sergei Eisenstein
and published, in English translation, in the trendy Londoner magazine Tatler
. Only after Peixoto admmited, shortly before his death, that he had himself written the supposed "Portuguese translation" of "Eisenstein's" article, was the general credence given to this legend in Brazil withdrawn
Nevertheless, the restoration of the surviving copy and renewed viewing in the 1970s and 1980s restored interest in the actual movie. In 1988, the Cinemateca Brasileira named it best Brazil
ian film of all times. In 1995 Limite was once again as such, according to a national inquiry held by the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
In 1996, director
and producer
Walter Salles
founds the hoard of documents and props that was to become the Mário Peixoto Archive in a stash at his firm VideoFilmes in Rio
, where currently Saulo Pereira de Mello takes care of the original manuscripts and objects . Pereira de Mello also edits publications by and on Peixoto. Onde a terra acaba ("At the edge of the earth"), the title of one among Peixoto’s unfinished projects, is also the name of a 2001 documentary film on Peixoto, directed by Salles' former aide Sérgio Machado.
Around the same period in which Limite was being planned and filmed, Mário Peixoto also began to write and publish. In 1931, he released a collection of poems called Mundéu (reedited in 1996) which is characterized by a strong modernist accent and had a foreword by Mário de Andrade
. In the same year Peixoto published, in a magazine called Bazar, three short stories
and a play, that are part of a collection published by Saulo Pereira de Mello in 2004: Seis contos e duas peças curtas which also includes undated and so far unpublished material written by Mário. In 2002, another collection of poems written between 1930 and 1960, Poemas de permeio com o mar was published. In 1933 Mário published, as a private edition, his first and only novel, O inútil de cada um (re-edited in 1996). From 1968 on Mário reworked his 1933 original, using it as a basis for an intended extended version that was to be divided in six volumes. So far only the first volume, O inútil de cada um – Itamar has been published in 1984, through the personal intervention of Jorge Amado, with whom Mário had worked on one of his film projects.
There are few publications in English on Mario Peixoto or Limite, described by French film historian Georges Sadoul
as an "unknown masterpiece". In 2006, Michael Korfmann edited a volume that offers ten contemporary views regarding the genesis, aesthetic and reception of the film, gathering contributions by filmmakers and writers from Brazil
, Great Britain
and the United States
including Walter Salles
, Saulo Pereira de Mello, Carlos Augusto Calil, William M. Drew, Alexander Graf
, Paulo Venancio Filho, Constança Hertz, Aparecida do Carmo Frigeri Berchior, Marco Lucchesi and Marcelo Noah as well as a rare article written by Mário Peixoto himself.
In November 2010, a further restoration of Limite will premiere in Brooklyn, New York.
Limite (film)
Limite is a film by Brazilian director and writer Mario Peixoto , filmed in 1930 and first screened in 1931.Sometimes cited as the greatest of all Brazilian films, this 120-minute silent experimental feature by novelist Peixoto, who never completed another film, was seen by Orson Welles and won the...
, a silent
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
filmed in 1930 and premiered in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
on 17 May 1931. Peixoto wrote, directed and took up a minor role in the film. Its musical score include Eric Satie, Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
, Alexander Borodin
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin was a Russian Romantic composer and chemist of Georgian–Russian parentage. He was a member of the group of composers called The Five , who were dedicated to producing a specifically Russian kind of art music...
, Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
and César Franck
César Franck
César-Auguste-Jean-Guillaume-Hubert Franck was a composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher who worked in Paris during his adult life....
.
The single-handedly achievement of a member of the well-to-do élite of 1920s Brazil, Limite became over the years almost a myth - its only copy being almost lost during the 1950s, were it not to be restored thanks to the personal efforts of two 1970s critics - and the object of various legends, many of them put into circulation by Peixoto himself. One such legend referred to a bogus complimentary article about the film ("A film from South America"), that had supposedly been written by Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
and published, in English translation, in the trendy Londoner magazine Tatler
Tatler
Tatler has been the name of several British journals and magazines, each of which has viewed itself as the successor of the original literary and society journal founded by Richard Steele in 1709. The current incarnation, founded in 1901, is a glossy magazine published by Condé Nast Publications...
. Only after Peixoto admmited, shortly before his death, that he had himself written the supposed "Portuguese translation" of "Eisenstein's" article, was the general credence given to this legend in Brazil withdrawn
Nevertheless, the restoration of the surviving copy and renewed viewing in the 1970s and 1980s restored interest in the actual movie. In 1988, the Cinemateca Brasileira named it best Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian film of all times. In 1995 Limite was once again as such, according to a national inquiry held by the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
In 1996, director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
founds the hoard of documents and props that was to become the Mário Peixoto Archive in a stash at his firm VideoFilmes in Rio
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, where currently Saulo Pereira de Mello takes care of the original manuscripts and objects . Pereira de Mello also edits publications by and on Peixoto. Onde a terra acaba ("At the edge of the earth"), the title of one among Peixoto’s unfinished projects, is also the name of a 2001 documentary film on Peixoto, directed by Salles' former aide Sérgio Machado.
Around the same period in which Limite was being planned and filmed, Mário Peixoto also began to write and publish. In 1931, he released a collection of poems called Mundéu (reedited in 1996) which is characterized by a strong modernist accent and had a foreword by Mário de Andrade
Mário de Andrade
Mário Raul de Morais Andrade was a Brazilian poet, novelist, musicologist, art historian and critic, and photographer. One of the founders of Brazilian modernism, he virtually created modern Brazilian poetry with the publication of his Paulicéia Desvairada in 1922...
. In the same year Peixoto published, in a magazine called Bazar, three short stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
and a play, that are part of a collection published by Saulo Pereira de Mello in 2004: Seis contos e duas peças curtas which also includes undated and so far unpublished material written by Mário. In 2002, another collection of poems written between 1930 and 1960, Poemas de permeio com o mar was published. In 1933 Mário published, as a private edition, his first and only novel, O inútil de cada um (re-edited in 1996). From 1968 on Mário reworked his 1933 original, using it as a basis for an intended extended version that was to be divided in six volumes. So far only the first volume, O inútil de cada um – Itamar has been published in 1984, through the personal intervention of Jorge Amado, with whom Mário had worked on one of his film projects.
There are few publications in English on Mario Peixoto or Limite, described by French film historian Georges Sadoul
Georges Sadoul
Georges Sadoul was a French journalist and cinema writer.Once a surrealist, he became a communist in 1932. He was a journalist of the Lettres Françaises....
as an "unknown masterpiece". In 2006, Michael Korfmann edited a volume that offers ten contemporary views regarding the genesis, aesthetic and reception of the film, gathering contributions by filmmakers and writers from Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Great Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
including Walter Salles
Walter Salles
Walter Moreira Salles, Jr. is a Brazilian filmmaker and film producer of international prominence.-Life and career:Salles was born in Rio de Janeiro. He is the son of Elizinha Goncalves and Walter Moreira Salles, a Brazilian banker and ambassador, and the brother of João Moreira Salles, also a...
, Saulo Pereira de Mello, Carlos Augusto Calil, William M. Drew, Alexander Graf
Alexander Graf
Alexander Graf is an Uzbekistani-German chess grandmaster. In 2000 he moved to Germany and took his father's name. He took bronze in the 2003 European Individual Chess Championship. In 2004 he won the German Chess Championship.-External links:*...
, Paulo Venancio Filho, Constança Hertz, Aparecida do Carmo Frigeri Berchior, Marco Lucchesi and Marcelo Noah as well as a rare article written by Mário Peixoto himself.
In November 2010, a further restoration of Limite will premiere in Brooklyn, New York.
Further reading
- Korfmann, Michael, 2006 "Ten contemporary views on Mário Peixoto's Limite", Monsenstein und Vannerdat, Muenster; ISBN 3-86582-264-9.
- Mello, Saulo Pereira de. Limite, fotogramas. Rio de Janeiro: FUNARTE.
- Mello, Saulo Pereira de. Limite. Rio de Janeiro: Rocco, 1996.
- Mello, Saulo Pereira de. Mário Peixoto. Rio de Janeiro: Casa de Rui Barbosa, 1996.
- Mello, Saulo Pereira de. Mário Peixoto - Escritos sobre Cinema. Rio de Janeiro: Aeroplano, 2000.
- Morais Junior, Luis Carlos de. "Mário, pirata", in O Estudante do Coração. Rio de Janeiro: Quártica, 2010.