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Just my quick comments on every short film of this edition:
A Trip to the Moon - A 115 years old classic that is still able to stun modern audiences with its amazingly creative visuals.
Un Chien Andalou - The short film that could be considered the grandfather of surreal filmmaking. Still refreshing to watch.
High Note - Cute, little cartoon with some creative bits. Nothing special, but it's harmless fun.
La Jetée - Experimental, touching, mindblowing and worth seeing multiple times to get every detail out of it!
Tango - A brilliant film experiment that strangely added up to one of the most satisfying short films I've ever seen!
Darkness Light Darkness - Some creative fun with claymation. I really like stuff like this.
Jidlo - Again some very creative fun from the same director, but this time it's on a larger scale and it has more meaning to it (in my opinion). Fantastic!
The Wrong Trousers - I really loved watching this. I laughed, I loved the animation and I was genuinely captivated by the whole adventure. The villain is perfect.
When It Rains - A seemingly banal tale that finds its beauty in the moody way it presents everything.
The Old Man and The Sea - The animation is absolutely beautiful, but due to its shortness, the story does lose some of the intensity from the original material. Still a great watch.
La Lettre - A story about young love, presented in a highly original way (love the dream sequence), that ultimately ends with a sad twist.
Garden of Words - The animation is of course stunning (I can't wait to watch some of Shinkai's full length films), but near the end, I do think the emotional outburst could be a little more subtle (for my tastes). That part didn't fully work for me (perhaps because of the emotionally moderate state of mind I was in while watching it). I still enjoyed it, though.
Scorpio Rising - For me, this was the "weirdest" short film of them all. I LOVED the soundtrack and the music fitted with the imagery for sure, but as a fan of films that dare to breathe once in a while, I do think the fast cutting took away some of the movie's effectiveness for me. I know the fast cutting is used here as a medium to come across more agressive, but in the opening scenes I think it would've been a little stronger if the camera showed some more slow scenes with the characters (I still appreciated all the shots of the material, though). Then the ending would've been more shocking for me.
This short still is nowhere near the very bottom of my list, though, because I just appreciated the "spirit" behind it a lot, especially in the context of its time, and of course because it's seen as one of the very first true avant-garde films (and a huge influence for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and David Lynch). I don't want to brag, but I think I'm one of the (many) people who gets the zeitgeist of the late '60s and early '70s. This film (made in 1964) is an extreme example of the beginning of that growing counterculture and I can only respect that. Today it may seem a little unsubtle and even cliché in its messages, but it does effectively project you back to a time when it was very refreshing and exploratory to think freely from all the typical conventions. I'm glad I've watched it.
If anyone wants to discuss any of the shorts in a more substantive manner, just ask me. I'll be glad to comment. I loved this shorts edition of the MoFo Hall of Fame!
A Trip to the Moon - A 115 years old classic that is still able to stun modern audiences with its amazingly creative visuals.
Un Chien Andalou - The short film that could be considered the grandfather of surreal filmmaking. Still refreshing to watch.
High Note - Cute, little cartoon with some creative bits. Nothing special, but it's harmless fun.
La Jetée - Experimental, touching, mindblowing and worth seeing multiple times to get every detail out of it!
Tango - A brilliant film experiment that strangely added up to one of the most satisfying short films I've ever seen!
Darkness Light Darkness - Some creative fun with claymation. I really like stuff like this.
Jidlo - Again some very creative fun from the same director, but this time it's on a larger scale and it has more meaning to it (in my opinion). Fantastic!
The Wrong Trousers - I really loved watching this. I laughed, I loved the animation and I was genuinely captivated by the whole adventure. The villain is perfect.
When It Rains - A seemingly banal tale that finds its beauty in the moody way it presents everything.
The Old Man and The Sea - The animation is absolutely beautiful, but due to its shortness, the story does lose some of the intensity from the original material. Still a great watch.
La Lettre - A story about young love, presented in a highly original way (love the dream sequence), that ultimately ends with a sad twist.
Garden of Words - The animation is of course stunning (I can't wait to watch some of Shinkai's full length films), but near the end, I do think the emotional outburst could be a little more subtle (for my tastes). That part didn't fully work for me (perhaps because of the emotionally moderate state of mind I was in while watching it). I still enjoyed it, though.
Scorpio Rising - For me, this was the "weirdest" short film of them all. I LOVED the soundtrack and the music fitted with the imagery for sure, but as a fan of films that dare to breathe once in a while, I do think the fast cutting took away some of the movie's effectiveness for me. I know the fast cutting is used here as a medium to come across more agressive, but in the opening scenes I think it would've been a little stronger if the camera showed some more slow scenes with the characters (I still appreciated all the shots of the material, though). Then the ending would've been more shocking for me.
This short still is nowhere near the very bottom of my list, though, because I just appreciated the "spirit" behind it a lot, especially in the context of its time, and of course because it's seen as one of the very first true avant-garde films (and a huge influence for filmmakers like Martin Scorsese and David Lynch). I don't want to brag, but I think I'm one of the (many) people who gets the zeitgeist of the late '60s and early '70s. This film (made in 1964) is an extreme example of the beginning of that growing counterculture and I can only respect that. Today it may seem a little unsubtle and even cliché in its messages, but it does effectively project you back to a time when it was very refreshing and exploratory to think freely from all the typical conventions. I'm glad I've watched it.
If anyone wants to discuss any of the shorts in a more substantive manner, just ask me. I'll be glad to comment. I loved this shorts edition of the MoFo Hall of Fame!
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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019
Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019
