Reviews of silent film releases on home video. Copyright © 1999-2026 by Carl Bennett and the Silent Era Company. All Rights Reserved.

Return to Reason [Le retour à la raison] (1923)

Le Retour à la raison (1923), Man Ray’s first motion picture, was quickly completed after being informed that he had been scheduled as a contributor of a new experimental film to be presented at a Dadaist gathering — a film that hadn’t yet been made. Editing live footage with exposed raw stock covered with springs, sand, thumbtacks and nails, Man Ray created a spontaneous avant-garde masterpiece.

The film is accompanied by a music score composed and performed by Sqürl (Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan).

Supplemental material includes an interview regarding the music for the films by and with Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan (9 minutes); “Sqürl, Man Ray’s Backing Band,” footage of a 2023 concert of Jarmusch and Logan performing their music for May Ray films (77 minutes); and a 12-page accordion-fold insert booklet including an essay by Mark Polizzotti, with notes about the films and restorations.

For information about other films in this collection, see our Return to Reason: Four Films by Man Ray on home video page.

This is our recommended home video edition of the film.

This Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .

This Blu-ray Disc edition has been mastered from the 2022 2K high-resolution restoration prepared from an archival 35mm print. The clarity of the scan is most appreciated in still frames of the sequences of frenetic textural image changes. The scan has not been digitally cleaned, repaired or stabilized. We are certain that the restoration producers felt that dust, speckling and other print imperfections add to the film’s presentation (and we are not inclined to disagree but we think that the film’s live action footage could have benefitted from some clean-up efforts).

The film is accompanied by a music score adapted by Paul Lehrman from George Antheil’s “First Sonata: Sonate Sauvage” (1923) and performed on piano by Guy Livingston.

For information about other films in this collection, see our Silent Avant-Garde on home video page.

This Regions ABC Blu-ray Disc edition is available directly from . . .

This DVD edition has been transferred from a very-good to excellent 35mm print once held by Douris UK (now held by Cohen Media Group). The slightly-windowboxed picture has its share of dust, a higher-than-usual amount of speckling, schmutz, exposure fluctuations, and other print flaws.

The film is accompanied by a diverse music score composed and performed on synthesizers and piano by Donald Sosin.

Supplemental material includes film notes by film critic/historian Elliott Stein, and optional English language subtitles (on selected films).

For information about other films in this collection, see our Avant-Garde: Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and ’30s on home video page.

This remains our recommended DVD home video edition of the film.

This review was updated in 2026.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

Le retour à la raison (1923) has been transferred from a very-good to excellent 35mm print once held by Douris UK (now held by Cohen Media Group). The slightly-windowboxed picture has its share of dust, a higher-than-usual amount of speckling, schmutz, exposure fluctuations, and other print flaws.

The film is accompanied by a music score adapted by Paul Lehrman from George Antheil’s “First Sonata: Sonate Sauvage” (1923) and performed on piano by Guy Livingston.

Not the best-looking edition of the film available but it is of value if you want to add copies of the other films in the set to your collection.

For information about other films in this collection, see our Unseen Cinema: Early American Avant-Garde Film page.

This review was updated in 2026.

This Region 0 NTSC DVD edition has been discontinued and is . . .

Other FRENCH FILMS of the silent era available on home video.