The 3rd Short Film Hall of Fame [Archive]

neiba

07-23-15, 07:17 AM

The Shorts HoF was the first Special Hall of Fame created on MoFo, last year! Since then we had two editions:

Mofo Hall of Fame - The Shorts Editon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=36869&highlight=shorts)

2nd Mofo Short Film Hall of Fame (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=37824&highlight=short)

To continue this great tradition created by Godoggo, I hereby declare open the 3rd Edition of the Mofo Short Film Hall of Fame.

The rules are similar to the previous edition:

1. Any movie with less than 45 minutes can be nominated, except of course the winners of the previous editions: La Jetée and Harvie Krumpet.

2. You have till July 31st to send your nomination. The duration of this HoF depends on how many people are joining. I'll give 1 week per two films. As we have 11 participants, the deadline for watching all the Shorts and sending the ordered list is September 7th.

3. You can send me your nominations by private message, with the title, year, director and, if you want, some words explaining your choice. Please do not reveal your nomination on this thread before everyone.

You can send your list as soon as you watched all the shorts but I'd recommend waiting for the final week because some interesting discussion may appear and opinions can be changed!

I recently created the Rate the Last Short You Saw (http://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=1356947#post1356947) thread, so people can post there and maybe suggest some shorts to other people.

And the nominees are:

Le Voyage dans la lune a.k.a. A Trip to the Moon (George Méliès, 1902) - Nominated by Nope1172

http://www.reelworldtheology.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/A-Trip-to-The-Moon-Feat-708x350.jpg

Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrdVdKlxUk

Nuit et Bruillard a.k.a. Night & Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955) - Nominated by Sane

http://31.media.tumblr.com/f5d8e76336c4129401bffb71f3f2f6dc/tumblr_inline_n8j4nmWxUW1qay58d.jpg

The most powerful 32 minutes I've ever seen.Link: http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvi..._and_Fog_1955/

Pas de Deux (Norman McLaren, 1968) - Nominated by Neiba

http://www.peintures-descours.fr/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2-Pas-de-deux.jpg

Pas de deux is a ballet term for a dance duet, usually between a man and a woman and that's what this is filmis about. One of the most visually astonishing shorts I've ever seen.

Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9bXWWz5Tv_I

Skazka Skazok a.k.a. Tale of Tales (Yuriy Norshteyn, 1979) - Nominated by Friendly Mushroom

https://animationreview.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tale-of-tales-c2a9-soyuzmultfilm.jpg

It's a beautiful tale about the hardships of Russia during WWII and the aftermath. One of my favorite arthouse films.Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t-Xne3FztR0

Kanojo no omoide a.k.a. Magnetic Rose (Kôji Morimoto, 1995) - Nominated by Guaporense

http://40.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm081w2dui1qacm7go1_1280.jpg

Satoshi Kon's best movie wasn't a feature, well, it's borderline. Link: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzk...ray_shortfilms

Dubbed in English:
https://vimeo.com/79077681

Guard Dog (Bill Plympton, 2004) – Nominated by Cobpyth

http://www.skwigly.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/article_guarddog_original-380x255.jpg

I'm not expecting this nomination to win at all, but I hope it leaves at least some people a little interested in the rest of Bill Plympton's work.Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=exYuiR-eWyc

Interior Design (Michel Gondry, 2008) - Nominated by Kaplan

http://hashtag366movies.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/tokyo.jpg

It is the first short featured in the film Tokyo!, three short films taking place in Japan by non-Japanese filmmakers, and it is one of my very favorite short films, and one of the best examples on film of the type of magic realism I adore.Link: http://m.shortsbay.com/film/interior-design

Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Daniel Ribeiro, 2010) - Nominated by Thursday Next

http://static.soundsandcolours.com/2011/10/i-dont-want-to-go-back-alone.jpg

A Brazilian short film about a blind student called Leo and his relationships with his best friend Giovana and new boy Gabriel. This film was made into a feature length film called (in English) The Way He Looks (2014), which was Brazil's entry for 2015 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Wav5KjBHbI

Elefante (Pablo Larcuen, 2011) – Nominated by donniedarko

http://marcianosmx.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Elefante.jpg

Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IaZO-dWOMnY

Two & Two (Babak Anvari, 2011) – Nominated by AlexWilder

http://images.says.com/uploads/story_source/source_image/82864/7505.jpeg

Very simple in its construct and content, very powerful and thought provoking in its idea . A Must See ! Youtube link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kHOOV83j7bo

Ashes (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012) - Nominated by Daniel M

https://somethingaboutsilence.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/ashes2.png?w=1000&h=

I remember when I watched "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives", the first and so far only feature film I've seen from Weerasethakul. It was late at night and I had it recorded, I had no idea what to expect. The film was slow, meditative and quite frankly, weird, but I was hypnotised. I sat there, staring at the screen, there was blissful peace to the whole thing that really seemed to move me. Why I haven't watched any more films from the director? I'm not quite sure. I watched "Unlce Boonmee" by chance relatively early on in my film watching days, and it's one of the best experiences I have had. Perhaps I'm a little afraid too challenge my memories of it. "Ashes" gave me the chance to remind myself just why I loved "Uncle Boonmee", again a chance opportunity, I guess, at only twenty minutes long. I'll admit I was a little unsure whether I would enjoy it, with the slow frame rate footage immediately hitting my eyes. But as I continued to watch I once again got pulled in to a trance of sorts, fascinated by the experimental mixture of different footage, sounds, and thoughts, a commentary on not only Thailand (the opportunity to explore a new culture through film is fascinating) but life in general... memories... dreams. Link:http://m.vk.com/video2874313_165058457

Thursday Next

07-23-15, 08:03 AM

Cool. I will be joining.

Friendly Mushroom!

07-23-15, 10:39 AM

I'll join and will send my nomination in about five minutes.

Friendly Mushroom!

07-23-15, 10:57 AM

It's sent.

Nope1172

07-23-15, 12:21 PM

A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Nominated by Nope1172
Rating: 5

Night & Fog (1955)
Nominated by Sane
Rating: 3.5+

Pas de Deux (1968)
Nominated by Neiba
Rating: 2.5-

Tale of Tales (1979)
Nominated by Friendly Mushroom!
Rating: 3.5

Magnetic Rose (1995)
Nominated by Guaporense
Rating: 3.5

Guard Dog (2004)
Nominated by Cobpyth
Rating: rating_4-

Interior Design (2008)
Nominated by Kaplan
Rating: 3-

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (2010)
Nominated by Thursday Next
Rating: 3.5

Elefante (2011)
Nominated by donniedarko
Rating: rating_4_5

Two & Two (2011)
Nominated by AlexWilder
Rating: rating_3_5+

Ashes (2012)
Nominated by Daniel M
Rating: 2

AlexWilder

07-23-15, 12:54 PM

i'm in !

i have to revise some shorts ive seen before sending my nomination ( i didn't see much :( )

Sane

07-23-15, 02:55 PM

I'll join.

AlexWilder

07-23-15, 10:02 PM

Sent :D

donniedarko

07-25-15, 12:45 PM

I'm in, sent my nomination

Cobpyth

07-25-15, 01:34 PM

I'll join.

neiba

07-26-15, 11:16 AM

edited the OP with the participants we have so far!

5 more days to join! :)

Daniel M

07-26-15, 11:25 AM

I'll join, just sent you a nomination :)

Guaporense

07-26-15, 03:48 PM

Sent in the most accessible nomination possible, it doesn't contain any traces of otaku culture and is more popular in the West than in Japan. Also, one of the few horror animations that actually scared me.

So now you can actually figure out what it is, isn't it?

- Horror
- Animation
- Short
- Japanese but not otaku
- more popular in the west than in Japan

This narrows it down to one possibility.

Thursday Next

07-26-15, 06:54 PM

Sent my nomination. :)

Friendly Mushroom!

07-27-15, 10:32 PM

Bump

neiba

07-28-15, 05:33 PM

3 days till it start! :) Anybody who wants to join is welcome!

neiba

07-30-15, 06:14 PM

We have 10 participants so far, with just one more day till it starts! :) I can assure you I know some of the shorts nominated so far and we have really great stuff! :)

AlexWilder

07-30-15, 06:51 PM

i can't wait for it to start ! i've become really interested in shorts since i joined this HoF, i saw 20-30 shorts in the last 5 or 6 days.

neiba

07-30-15, 09:01 PM

That's the whole point! :) I'm glad it's making a difference! If you saw anything worth sharing, you can post your thoughts on the Rate the Last Short You Saw thread! :)

Cobpyth

07-30-15, 11:01 PM

Sent my nomination. I don't expect this one to win (or even do great) at all, but even if only one person likes it and explores its director because of it, I'll be glad.

Guaporense

07-31-15, 05:19 PM

Only 10 people, that's a very short one.

neiba

07-31-15, 08:59 PM

The last 2 Short HoF had 13 and 10 participants each... I feel shorts should be more valued around Mofo, but it is what it is!

It's August 1st already here in Portugal but I'll announce the nominations tomorrow morning, just in case there's some last-minute entry!

donniedarko

07-31-15, 09:27 PM

Looking forward to this one, my film is not going to win but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on the forum who has seen it so it'll get some exposure.

Guaporense

08-01-15, 03:14 AM

The last 2 Short HoF had 13 and 10 participants each... I feel shorts should be more valued around Mofo, but it is what it is!

Well I don't usually like shorts very much because they lack the time required to develop characters. In a sense short films are just too short to be substitutes for literature, while longer films and TV series are more adequate medium for escapism in the form of narrative.

neiba

08-01-15, 06:21 AM

Well I don't usually like shorts very much because they lack the time required to develop characters. In a sense short films are just too short to be substitutes for literature, while longer films and TV series are more adequate medium for escapism in the form of narrative.

I disagree! Art in the form of cinema doesn't have to be all about character development or story telling.
Besides, what about written short stories? You don't like them either?

Daniel M

08-01-15, 07:54 AM

Sent my nomination. I don't expect this one to win (or even do great) at all, but even if only one person likes it and explores its director because of it, I'll be glad.

Same here :)

neiba

08-01-15, 08:23 AM

AND IT'S VIEW TIME!!!

We had a last minute entry! Kaplan sent me a message while I was editing the OP which brings us to 11 participants!!!

The nominations are posted in the OP, as well as the deadline!

If anyone doesn't agree with the Youtube link or the picture I chose, feel free to tell me and we'll choose another. :)

I didn't find links to some of the shorts, if anyone does please share! :)

I didn't watch anything before the dealine so I have the same time as you guys. Of the ones I know or heard something about, I think we will have a very strong HoF!

Enjoy,

Neiba

AlexWilder

08-01-15, 09:38 AM

the selection seems really intresting and varied, i've only seen the one i nominated !

Thursday Next

08-01-15, 11:27 AM

Interesting selection this time around. I've seen only three of these before, but since they are shorts I'm sure I could give them a rewatch.

Kaplan

08-01-15, 03:58 PM

Who nominated Ashes? The only one besides my own I've seen is Trip to the Moon, which is on Netflix now, and I had been thinking of rewatching anyway.

neiba

08-01-15, 04:14 PM

Daniel M did! I forgot to add it on the OP! Corrected now! :)

neiba

08-01-15, 04:24 PM

So, my expectations:

A Trip to the Moon is a classic, a short I can't stop admiring and definitely one worthy of being in a HoF!

I heard the first time about Night & Fog through Mark f, somewhere in this forum but I didn't have time to see it! I'm a sucker for Holocaust related films and when mark f and Sane recommend you something, it has to be good! It's the one I'm most curious about.

Tale of Tales is also a short I love! It has that russian spirit I admire on their art!

I didn't know any of the other choices but I can honestly say I am incredibly curious about all of them! They all seem to be really great choices!

I think we might have a really good HoF there! Thanks everyone for joining! :)

Kaplan

08-01-15, 04:48 PM

I didn't find links to some of the shorts, if anyone does please share! :)

Two & Two: https://m.vimeo.com/64983117

Ashes: https://m.vimeo.com/42955619

I hope those are acceptable links. The videos are short so I don't know if it's the whole movie.

neiba

08-01-15, 04:52 PM

I think they a bit shorter than it's supposed too! But I found the link to Two & Two!

Ashes is 20 minutes long, that one is justa fragment. :/

donniedarko

08-01-15, 04:57 PM

Including my own I've seen 5: Elefante, A Trip to the Moon, Tale of Tales, Night and Fog, and Pas De Deux. All great, in fact my nomination might be my least favorite of the five

Kaplan

08-01-15, 04:58 PM

Is this it for Ashes?

http://m.vk.com/video2874313_165058457

Sane

08-01-15, 04:59 PM

Apart from mine I've seen A Trip to the Moon, Ashes and Interior Design - although I will rewatch the last one because whilst that picture looks familiar I don't really remember it.

Looking forward to starting on these :)

neiba

08-01-15, 05:05 PM

Is this it for Ashes?

http://m.vk.com/video2874313_165058457

Great Kaplan! Thanks a lot! :)

neiba

08-01-15, 05:40 PM

I began with the shorter ones:

Guard Dog (2004)

A weirdly funny film with a taste of dark humor and irony! I loved this kind of animation, a bit messy!
It definitely makes me want to check more work about the director so, mission accomplished Cobpyth! ;)

rating_3

Two & Two (2011)

The subliminal message is very clear! It tells a bit how revolutions start! The shooting scene is very good, I loved that all had imaginary weapons but you could still hear the sound! I also loved those 2 final seconds: you can't kill an idea.
It could be a little longer!

rating_3+

MovieGal

08-01-15, 05:42 PM

I heard the first time about Night & Fog through Mark f, somewhere in this forum but I didn't have time to see it! I'm a sucker for Holocaust related films and when mark f and Sane recommend you something, it has to be good! It's the one I'm most curious about.

Out of all the documentaries I have seen on the Holocaust, which has been a lot.. I think "Night and Fog" turned my stomach more than any of them.

neiba

08-01-15, 06:06 PM

Out of all the documentaries I have seen on the Holocaust, which has been a lot.. I think "Night and Fog" turned my stomach more than any of them.

If it turned your stomach, I think I'll commit suicide after watching it or something like that! :p

gbgoodies

08-01-15, 06:06 PM

Is this a good link for "Night & Fog"?

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/185403/Night_and_Fog_1955/

MovieGal

08-01-15, 06:07 PM

If it turned your stomach, I think I'll commit suicide after watching it or something like that! :p

I guarantee you will love it! For being only 30 minutes long, it does have quite an impact.

neiba

08-01-15, 06:07 PM

Is this a good link for "Night & Fog"?

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/185403/Night_and_Fog_1955/

It seems so! Thanks a lot gbg!!!

MovieGal

08-01-15, 06:07 PM

Is this a good link for "Night & Fog"?

http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/185403/Night_and_Fog_1955/

That's it! .. its only about 30 minutes long but like I said.. it has a great impact on the viewer.

gbgoodies

08-01-15, 06:29 PM

neiba

08-01-15, 06:31 PM

donniedarko

08-01-15, 06:35 PM

Guard Dog was pretty funny and creative, and a bit touching and meaningful at the end. Does it have an IMDB page?

3

MovieGal

08-01-15, 06:35 PM

GBG, I just hope you enjoy "Night and Fog"...

gbgoodies

08-01-15, 06:44 PM

GBG, I just hope you enjoy "Night and Fog"...

I haven't watched it yet, but from the little bit I saw while looking for a link, it doesn't look like my type of thing, but I'll give it a chance. It looks like something that I can appreciate, but it's not likely to be something that I'll want to rewatch. (Kind of like Schindler's List.)

MovieGal

08-01-15, 06:48 PM

I haven't watched it yet, but from the little bit I saw while looking for a link, it doesn't look like my type of thing, but I'll give it a chance. It looks like something that I can appreciate, but it's not likely to be something that I'll want to rewatch. (Kind of like Schindler's List.)

Well Schindler's List is fictional.. Night and Fog is a documentary... real pictures .... I dont want to scare you but yeah its pretty intense.... just remember its history and you are watching something that is part of history.

gbgoodies

08-01-15, 06:51 PM

Well Schindler's List is fictional.. Night and Fog is a documentary... real pictures .... I dont want to scare you but yeah its pretty intense.... just remember its history and you are watching something that is part of history.

Sadly, being Jewish, I don't have to watch documentaries about the Holocaust. I've heard actual true stories from relatives who lived through it.

neiba

08-01-15, 06:56 PM

Sadly, being Jewish, I don't have to watch documentaries about the Holocaust. I've heard actual true stories from relatives who lived through it.

Nothing makes me more sick than the Holocaust. It's one of the reasons I feel so fascinated about it! I have some german friends who complain that everyone still talks about it. I think it should be spoken of always! Most people should be ordered to see movies like Judgement at Nurember, Schindler's List... Forget it happened is the first step to let it happen again!

mark f

08-01-15, 06:57 PM

Genocide still happens today, especially in Africa.

Cobpyth

08-01-15, 06:58 PM

Guard Dog was pretty funny and creative, and a bit touching and meaningful at the end. Does it have an IMDB page?

3

Yes, it has:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430159/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_25

Be sure to check out more of Plympton's work in the future. His feature film, Idiots and Angels, is brilliant.

Glad you liked it, Donnie!

neiba

08-01-15, 06:59 PM

Genocide still happens today, especially in Africa.

Yes! People seem to not care if it's away from their own doors...
And even if it's not...

donniedarko

08-01-15, 07:09 PM

Yes, it has:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430159/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_25

Be sure to check out more of Plympton's work in the future. His feature film, Idiots and Angels, is brilliant.

Glad you liked it, Donnie!

Didn't realize it was the same director, heard a lot of great things about Idiots and Angels

Swan

08-01-15, 07:11 PM

Guard Dog is fabulous! Great nomination Cob.

MovieGal

08-01-15, 07:12 PM

The Eternal Jew is a hard watch. It's an actual propaganda film. However it can never be shown in Germany even in a class about WW2.

Citizen Rules

08-01-15, 07:45 PM

The Eternal Jew is a hard watch. It's an actual propaganda film. However it can never be shown in Germany even in a class about WW2.
See that's a shame, because young students can and should learn how propaganda is used to control and sway the masses. Propaganda is a powerful and dangerous tool. If we forget the lessons on how the Nazi's were able to control and sway the majority of the German population then such things can repeat themselves. Ignoring the dangers of state sponsored propaganda is like ignoring the Holocaust.

neiba

08-01-15, 07:46 PM

See that's a shame, because young students can and should learn how propaganda is used to control and sway the masses. Propaganda is a powerful and dangerous too. If we forget the lessons on how the Nazi's were able to control and sway the majority of the German population then such things can repeat themselves. Ignoring the dangers of state sponsored propaganda is like ignoring the Holocaust.

This.

MovieGal

08-01-15, 07:54 PM

I think the reason they don't show it in any school or university class is because if the influence Adolf Hitler had on the people of Germany at the time and that some of the people who would view it may have had some relations who were part of the Third Reich.

AlexWilder

08-01-15, 08:26 PM

the full version of two & two :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHAuGA7gqFU

AlexWilder

08-01-15, 08:31 PM

I began with the shorter ones:

Two & Two (2011)

The subliminal message is very clear! It tells a bit how revolutions start! The shooting scene is very good, I loved that all had imaginary weapons but you could still hear the sound! I also loved those 2 final seconds: you can't kill an idea.
It could be a little longer!

rating_3+

[/CENTER]

i'm glad that you like it.
i think the length is ideal, the movie have only one message that was clearly delivred.

donniedarko

08-01-15, 08:47 PM

Watched Two & Two as well. Clear message on the danger of an authoritarian figure, I must say I don't understand the point of the invisible weapons though, everything else was effective and clear. Agreed that it's a perfect run time.

3

AlexWilder

08-01-15, 10:27 PM

i think that the invisible weapons represent a figurative or metaphorical death, i mean the movie is a metaphor it's not about 2+2 it can be about a lot of things, so death is not the only punishment possible IMO.

AlexWilder

08-01-15, 10:33 PM

Guaporense

08-02-15, 04:13 AM

I disagree! Art in the form of cinema doesn't have to be all about character development or story telling.

I never said that.

Besides, what about written short stories? You don't like them either?

They are ok. But I prefer longer ones.

neiba

08-02-15, 06:40 AM

the problem represented in two & two exist everywhere not only in dictatorship countrys, in many levels and forms, and the teacher character can be a metaphor for goverment, media, parents, society...

Yes! I think it definitely shows a clear message about manipulation! And that manipulation often starts in schools! When I meant I wantedit to be a bit longer is because I was enjoying it so much I wanted more things to happen!

neiba

08-02-15, 06:57 AM

christine

08-02-15, 07:23 AM

The Guard Dog Is very funny. It's hilarious to see the dangers facing his master through the eyes of the dog. Now I see why my dog is so protective of me when we go out!

neiba

08-02-15, 08:38 AM

Night and Fog (1955)

I started writing a small write up about this, 15 minutes later I had a review on my review thread. Oh well...

The problem with most Holocaust films is that they portray the story as a one time only event. They make it so overly sentimental that the viewer is able to distance himself of what he's seeing and takes comfort on the idea that something like that will never happen again.

But not Night and Fog.

Alain Resnais presents the line between past and present as it really is: thinner than we think. To do that, it relies only on real footage of the concentration camps during the Holocaust and of the same concentration camps 10 years after the end of the WW II. The voice over tells us what we are seeing, making us look at all the details, never letting us off the hook. We're not supposed to feel comfortable, not even by looking at abandoned concentration camps. The fingernail scratches on the walls of the gas chambers are there. It happened and we better remember it!

The fact that it has only 30 minutes doesn't make it less powerful, on the contrary, it condenses its message into an overwhelming half an hour.

My only complain is for the soundtrack. Its complexity may get a bit distracting and almost inappropriate. Maybe some absolute silence moments could help make the message even stronger, if that's even possible.

Overall, Night and Fog is a masterpiece. The fact that my mind and my body can't disconnect of what I just seen is the first sign I just witnessed something extraordinary.

Amazing nomination Sane. Thank you.

4.5

AlexWilder

08-02-15, 09:13 AM

When I meant I wanted it to be a bit longer is because I was enjoying it so much I wanted more things to happen!

in that case i'm with you ;)

christine

08-02-15, 02:03 PM

Pas de Deux was lovely. Amazing how graceful the human body can be and seeing it in silhouette and slow motion just enhances that.

Interior Designs link didn't work for me, but I got the transformation scene on YouTube , freaky and very clever.

christine

08-02-15, 02:15 PM

Aww Elefante is very touching specially the end scene :)

christine

08-02-15, 02:46 PM

I Don't Want To Go Back Alone is a lovely uncomplicated love story. I don't know whether the longer film had more angst and problems, but the short was sweet and innocent, and feelgood.

Guaporense

08-02-15, 02:51 PM

Ok, almost finished with this HoF. Now I only need to rewatch a couple of movies and then I will send in my list.

Some comments of the stuff I already watched:

Le Voyage dans la lune a.k.a. A Trip to the Moon (George Méliès, 1902) - Nominated by Nope1172

Pretty ok short movie. It's extremely primitive in the way it was made: the "direction" essentially consists of filming a theater stage and I found it more interesting as a window into early 20th century European mentality and society rather than as a short movie into itself.

Pas de Deux (Norman McLaren, 1968) - Nominated by Neiba

Cool showing of the grace and elegance of ballet. I didn't find it terribly interesting though.

Skazka Skazok a.k.a. Tale of Tales (Yuriy Norshteyn, 1979) - Nominated by Friendly Mushroom

One classic of animation shorts. Miyazaki himself said that he greatly admires and is impressed by the power of Norstein's anime. This one is in my top 100 animations and it is full of symbolism (including what I interpreted as subtle criticism of Soviet Russia itself) and pretty much nothing else.

Kanojo no omoide a.k.a. Magnetic Rose (Kôji Morimoto, 1995) - Nominated by Guaporense

It has been 4 years since I watched this short film, like Tale of Tales it is in my top 100 aniamtions list. It is an horror film, surprisingly effective even to my highly desensitized eyes and despite measuring only 45 minutes it is faster paced than live action film, hence it has the scrip of perhaps a typical 60-70 minute live action feature. The art is the classic 1990's Japanese adult animation style featuring highly organic textures, darker and more realistic designs than typical contemporary anime. Anyway, I plan to re-watch it because my memory of it is imperfect.

Guard Dog (Bill Plympton, 2004) – Nominated by Cobpyth

So far I have watched half a dozen of Plympton's shorts. They are pretty dull and characterized by terrible art. While American animation usually suffers from crude art in some cases it can be so crude as to not allow me to actually enjoy it and immerse myself into the animation. This is not a problem that characterizes American comics, which tend to have highly sophisticated art that even rivals manga in some cases (contemporary American "manga" like Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory comes to mind). Though it is impressive that the cartoonist who made this short film probably drew it by himself on the whole.

Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Daniel Ribeiro, 2010) - Nominated by Thursday Next

Oh yeah! Some of my fellow Brazilians sometimes attempt to make movies, most of the time they suck, but once in a while some of the stuff they make is actually watchable. This is one of the most watchable pieces of Brazilian screen media that I ever experienced. Highly "immersive" and accessible it is a realistic depiction of Brazilian teenagers though perhaps the acting is a bit stiff at some points. I liked the accurate way in which teenager Southeast Brazilian slang and accent was portrayed as well. Also reminded me about a teenager romance manga about a girl who is deaf that I just finished reading yesterday.

Elefante (Pablo Larcuen, 2011) – Nominated by donniedarko

Cool Spanish movie. It's a bit forced I guess in some places but funny on the whole. Highly entertaining and has some good cinematography. I couldn't make any highly sophisticated interpretations of it's symbolism, however.

Two & Two (Babak Anvari, 2011) – Nominated by AlexWilder

I bit unsubtle in it's main themes. But that's good because I usually like when ideas are presented in a clear fashion. This movie is a description of how society manages to impose itself upon the individual and forces him to suppress his own individual though processes in order to conform. Highly relevant for Iranian society today. Iranian cinema appears to me to be mostly about social criticism (at least from the set of dozen Iranian movies I watched), while interesting and relevant I would also like to see Iranians trying to do some cool science fiction fantasy action adventures at some point as well.

Ashes (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012) - Nominated by Daniel M

Like the other movies I watched by the Thai dude, I found it is highly arid and difficult to digest and enjoy. I didn't take much from it I am afraid.

Guaporense

08-02-15, 03:07 PM

Is this a good link for "Kanojo no omoide" a.k.a. "Magnetic Rose" (Kôji Morimoto, 1995)?

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzkt9n_memories-1995-episode-1-magnetic-rose-480p-bluray_shortfilms

Also, is this the same thing, but dubbed in English?

https://vimeo.com/79077681

Awful fan dub. I obviously prefer that people who are not afraid of subtitles to watch the original version.

Interesting that there are some similarities in tone and design between 1995's Magnetic Rose and some computer game cutscenes from the late 1990's. Influenced perhaps?

(1998)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tdTdnrLVa0

(1999)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfcj9epbJzc

Though older Hollywood movies already displayed these aesthetics (Alien (1979) I believe is an important landmark in this gritty science fiction style).

Nope1172

08-03-15, 03:07 AM

Two & Two

This short film was only 6 minutes, and it told a very good story. The freedom of speech message of the film was very clear, and I liked that. I wrote a review of South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, and talked a lot about free speech, so if you want my opinion on that, go there. Overall I liked the film for what it was, and I thought it gave a weird dream-like vibe.

3.5+

neiba

08-03-15, 05:03 AM

Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I don't want to go back alone (2010)

A pretty good short! As Guap said, it's very immersive and has a quite sincere energy... The acting is indeed a bit stiff sometimes but the script is very nice!

rating_3

Thursday Next

08-03-15, 06:21 AM

I would definitely recommend the long version of Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I Don't Want to Go Back Alone, (English title: The Way He Looks, I'm not sure why they made the English titles so different) there is more to it, including the main character dealing with wanting to be more independent from his parents (and his friends) and there is some great music in it. And the acting has improved! It features the same actors as the same characters but was made a few years later.

Thursday Next

08-03-15, 07:34 AM

Pas de Deux

More like moving art than a traditional film. Certainly different. It did interesting things with light; I particularly liked when you could only see the dancers as outlines; but the whistling music got on my nerves, and it would have held my attention better if it had been a little shorter.

Two and Two

I can’t quite give this the credit for the idea that others seem to be. It’s not a new concept, in fact a lot of this film seems very directly to echo Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. I thought the execution (pun intended) was a bit heavy handed and lacking in subtelty. The imaginary guns would have worked better if they hadn’t had real fire.

Guard Dog

The animation is indeed crude, but I don’t think that is the purpose, if you like, of the film. I quite liked the darkly comic insight into the mind of the dog as it barks at everything on its walk.

Ashes

This is just a montage of images jumping about so quickly you can't tell what anything is. I know it's supposed to be a dream but dreams are often more than flashing images.The bits with the fireworks were better. I just don't think I 'get' Weerasethakul.

Nope1172

08-03-15, 12:12 PM

Guard Dog

This was a very cute short film and it was a fun concept. It was interesting to see all of the different ways the owner could be killed. The ending was also funny. I like dark comedy, and this was a different brand of it. The animation style is really interesting, and worked well with the story.

4-

Daniel M

08-03-15, 12:29 PM

Ashes

This is just a montage of images jumping about so quickly you can't tell what anything is. I know it's supposed to be a dream but dreams are often more than flashing images.The bits with the fireworks were better. I just don't think I 'get' Weerasethakul.

I don't think just a dream, I think I see the film as some kind of meditative essay on where Weerasethakul is from. Thailand, his life, friends, family, the environment, and also his filmmaking. Not just dreams but memories, how much can a single frame capture, how much gets lost in time. You can make out objects, make connections and so on, even if it isn't exactly clear. I thought the jarring images were going to annoy me, but I got into the rhythm pretty quickly :)

Nope1172

08-03-15, 12:29 PM

Elefante

I liked this short a lot. I liked the narration, the editing, and the writing. The concept was very unique and it played out well. If there was any problem I had it would be that the Elephant makeup was a bit silly and took me out of the film.

4.5

donniedarko

08-03-15, 02:02 PM

Elefante (2011)

The beggining reminded me of American Beauty and I was thinking "oh, this story again...". But then it comes the transformation and it turned out to be a beautiful story!
I think the power of this short is that the elephant can be a metaphor to so many things! Touching!

rating_3_5

Aww Elefante is very touching specially the end scene :)

Elefante (Pablo Larcuen, 2011) – Nominated by donniedarko

Cool Spanish movie. It's a bit forced I guess in some places but funny on the whole. Highly entertaining and has some good cinematography. I couldn't make any highly sophisticated interpretations of it's symbolism, however.

Elefante

I liked this short a lot. I liked the narration, the editing, and the writing. The concept was very unique and it played out well. If there was any problem I had it would be that the Elephant makeup was a bit silly and took me out of the film.

4.5

Glad you all liked it at least to a certain extent. The ending is what captivated me as well, and what made it surprisingly touching.

christine

08-03-15, 02:23 PM

Guard Dog (Bill Plympton, 2004) – Nominated by Cobpyth

So far I have watched half a dozen of Plympton's shorts. They are pretty dull and characterized by terrible art. While American animation usually suffers from crude art in some cases it can be so crude as to not allow me to actually enjoy it and immerse myself into the animation.

That's a bit harsh Guap, even by your standards! I've just watched a couple more of the dog ones and found them quite endearing :)

Nope1172

08-03-15, 03:22 PM

A Trip to the Moon

What I love about this short is that it was so ahead of it's time. I can't even imagine how the audience who first saw this short in 1902 must have reacted. The director of this short was a famous illusionist Georges Méliès, and if you are interested in that, I would recommend Martin Scorsese's Hugo, that goes into this film and its creation in great detail. I just think it is incredible that a film made over 100 years ago can still hold up. I would bet that id this short had never existed, many of our favorite sci-fi classics wouldn't have either.

5

Nope1172

08-04-15, 01:02 AM

Pas de Deux

I wasn't a fan of this short simply because I'm not a fan of dancing or ballet. I don't want to offend anyone, but it just doesn't interest me. I absolutely respect the talent, effort, and skill that was put together to make this film, but I'm just not a fan. It is nothing personal against this specific short, just dances in general. I thought the visual style was unique, but that was all the film did for me.

2.5-

Kaplan

08-04-15, 09:15 AM

Interior Designs link didn't work for me, but I got the transformation scene on YouTube , freaky and very clever.

The link didn't work or the video wouldn't play? If it's a problem playing the video, try again at the vimeo site, or perhaps the embedded video here will play.

https://vimeo.com/5139478

gbgoodies

08-04-15, 02:03 PM

Interior Designs link didn't work for me, but I got the transformation scene on YouTube , freaky and very clever.

Maybe this link will help. It's a YouTube link to the whole Tokyo! (2008) movie. Interior Design is the first part of the movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBrHuvx_IRQ

Nope1172

08-04-15, 02:14 PM

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone

I thought the film was alright, and it was a very interesting idea, the script was written very well. One of the problems I had was that some of the child actors weren't that great, specifically the girl. I thought that Gabriel and Leonard were played very well, but she wasn't.

3.5

gbgoodies

08-04-15, 02:31 PM

Interior Design (Michel Gondry, 2008) - I liked this until it got surreal near the end. The story was interesting, the characters were likable, and most people have dreams, ambitions, and money troubles, so it was easy to relate to what they were going through. But it lost me at the ending. It just didn't make much sense.

Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Daniel Ribeiro, 2010) - This one is my favorite so far. It's a nice, simple story about three friends, and their feelings towards each other. It made me want to watch the long version of this short.

Elefante (Pablo Larcuen, 2011) - I liked the idea behind this short, but I didn't really care for the concept of him turning into an elephant. I just had a hard time wrapping my head around that part of the story. But overall, I liked this short, and how the ending was both sad and happy at the same time.

Ashes (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2012) - I didn't really "get" this short. It just seemed like a series of pictures, (many of which were blurry), without any kind of story to string them together. I tried finding some information about this on IMDB, but all I could find was a movie from 2012 called Ashes about a son who tries to reconnect with his father who has Alzheimer's disease. :shrug:

Guard Dog (Bill Plympton, 2004) - This is another short that I was really enjoying until the ending spoiled it for me. I didn't mind that the animation was crude, and I loved the idea that the dog saw danger in everything, and he wanted to protect his master, but I hated the ending. It made it feel like a bad "Twilight Zone" episode.

Thursday Next

08-04-15, 03:41 PM

Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (Daniel Ribeiro, 2010) - This one is my favorite so far. It's a nice, simple story about three friends, and their feelings towards each other. It made me want to watch the long version of this short.

Success! Do watch it, it's good.

Thursday Next

08-04-15, 03:44 PM

Elefante

This was both hilarious and deeply sad. I thought it was great.

Interior Design

This was... weird. Sometimes a little bit of weirdness is weirder than something which is weird right from the start, because you aren't expecting it as much, you wonder why. I liked the way this was shot, especially the beginning with the rain. The character of the boyfriend was interesting, he's very much a fantasist, seeing everything in terms of some strange film, when it's the girl's life which turns into one of those strange films. I mostly liked it, although it did drag a little bit in the middle.

Thursday Next

08-04-15, 04:32 PM

Magnetic Rose

I thought this was good. At first it seemed like something along the lines of 2001 or Solaris, then when there was all that food laid out in the house of memories and decay it had something of a fairy tale like quality. altogether it made for an effective sci-fi flavoured ghost story with some memorable images. Very well drawn, too.

Friendly Mushroom!

08-04-15, 04:37 PM

I have no idea what to think about Guard Dog. The premise was good but some of the jokes weren't for me and, like what GBG said, the ending was bad. I'm glad there was a twist but it could have been much better.

Guaporense

08-05-15, 02:41 AM

Glad you enjoyed it Thursday Next. Yep the highly detailed art of 1990's high end anime is incredible sometimes.

Guaporense

08-05-15, 03:07 AM

That's a bit harsh Guap, even by your standards! I've just watched a couple more of the dog ones and found them quite endearing :)

Do you think so? I was trying to be more polite in my views there. I think that the praise mediocre stuff like that gets is part of the reason why US animation never appears to evolve as it is content to be just simplistic stuff. Another, more important reason, was government intervention into the comic book industry, which lead to it's artistic collapse and retreat into the superhero genre. Since animation is animated comics, the collapse of comics due to government regulation lead to the abortion of the possibility of animation developing as an artistic medium in the US. So US animation still is restricted to animated 3 panel newspapers comic strips without any artistic substance. I though I disliked animated shorts relative to series and movies but that was because I was watching the wrong ones. Stuff like Masaki Yuasa's work or Morimoto's work which Magnetic Rose is the one nominated here, shows that animated short films can be indeed go beyond crude drawings and 3 panel newspaper's comic strip style into something more substantial.

Edit: Finished (re) watching all shorts, so I sent my list in.

donniedarko

08-05-15, 07:19 PM

I Don't Want to Go Back Alone- Pretty decent short, probably my favorite of the three new ones I've seem (Guard Dog and Two and Two) but they're all around the same zone. This one was simple and felt very real which I liked, I think it would've made a decent feature as well. Nothing ground breaking but a pleasant short film

3

donniedarko

08-05-15, 07:21 PM

So US animation still is restricted to animated 3 panel newspapers comic strips without any artistic substance.

I think plenty of these comic strips have more substance than some of the overly dramatic Japanese cartoons you love to pimp.

Cobpyth

08-07-15, 08:05 PM

It's time for me to get started on these. I have a little bit time tonight, so i'll probably watch a few right now.

SEEN:

A Trip to the Moon (1902) - I nominated this one in the first edition of the HoF, so it's needless to say that I love it. George Méliès was a true magician.

Tale of Tales (1979) - I saw this a few weeks ago (two times actually) and I absolutely adored it. I'm definitely going to rewatch it for this HoF, as it's highly rewatchable. I watched it a second time (the same night) after I read a little about the meaning of everything that goes on in this short and it's really a wonderful achievement. A cultural piece of art.

Guard Dog (2004) - My own nomination. I'm glad to see a few of you enjoyed it already. If you're not convinced of Plympton's genius yet (which would be understandable after only having seen this), I highly recommend seeing Idiots and Angels (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013607/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). I would be especially interested in Guap's opinion about that one (animation-wise).

NOT SEEN:

Night & Fog (1955)
Pas de Deux (1968)
Magnetic Rose (1995)
Interior Design (2008)
I Don't Want to Go Back Alone (2010)
Elefante (2011)
Two & Two (2011)
Ashes (2012)

donniedarko

08-10-15, 08:31 PM

Sorry Daniel, but I really didn't like Ashes. I think any chance of it capturing the beauty of Thailand was ruined by the cinematography in means to be more artistic. Even then I don't think I'd appreciate it, I wouldn't be annoyed by it though.

1.5

Daniel M

08-10-15, 08:41 PM

neiba

08-10-15, 09:14 PM

Guaporense

08-11-15, 06:34 PM

Here's a serious question/some thoughts that I'd be interesting in discussing - Why does it matter if these American animations appear "crude and lazy", it's a film, it's not meant to represent real life. I understand that animation can be beautiful and moving if its detailed and captures real life in its drawing, but that doesn't mean it has to be photo realistic or highly detailed for the film to be good.

Of course not.

However, there are art styles that I dislike, as a fan of animation I don't need to like EVERY single art style. Everybody has preferences regarding art. I prefer more refined looking style, not realistic, because my favorite anime are never realistic, but different from this.

Such as this:
http://i.imgur.com/9cQBjPJ.jpg

I also like more simple styled animation, in fact, in my top 10, Kaiba and PMMM, for instance, features very simple character designs and background art:

https://chinesecartoons.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/2008-kaiba-source-cartdriver.jpg

Those two are among my top 10 anime series.

While I found Monster, which features highly realistic art, to be quite boring:

http://www.sirenvisual.com.au/media/media/img/shortdescription/monster_p4_shortdescription_04.jpg

Although I am reading the manga right now and it is quite fantastic. Indeed, the genius of Urasawa in creating very immersive and entertaining stories is at it's finest in Monster, the manga.

One of the advantages of comics over animation is that comics allow for much more detailed art since you don't need to drawn 12 frames a second, just several panels in a page. That's why there are American comics with highly detailed art, one problem they have, however, is that they are too realistic! They should learn with manga how to make highly detailed art that is still stylized.

I think plenty of these comic strips have more substance than some of the overly dramatic Japanese cartoons you love to pimp.

Now talked the highly experienced anime critic. :rolleyes: Don't take it personal when I criticize murican animation just because you are a murican. :rolleyes:

While it's true Japanese are very emotional people compared to Americans*, hence their fiction tends to feature stronger emotions but it's also true that there is plenty of very light comedic anime/animation that I love as well.

Sadly, guard dog wasn't one of them. And it wasn't because it lacked depth (although I didn't see any) but because I disliked the art style. Most people who are into animation have problems with the art in American cartoons. The style is just too crude, usually because it aims at small children or because it is crude comedy (Family Guy). I enjoyed these cartoons more before I watched huge amounts of high quality animation, which made it harder for me to enjoy cartoons characterized by more simple art.

*Americans are, on average, less passionate than Japanese, Germans or Brazilians, for instance. So that they are mostly unable to enjoy any art featuring strong sense of theatricality, which also partly explains why Heavy Metal is not popular in North America. Of course, there are plenty of people who enjoy metal in north america as there are many who enjoy animation as well, but they are still small minorities in the population.

Guaporense

08-11-15, 06:42 PM

I don't think the animation has to represent reality at all but for me it's an important fact of rating the movie! I think it's important I connect it somehow with the content of the film... In the case of Guard Dog I did, so I liked it! Animation can tell a lot about the concept!

Nobody here was suggesting that animation needs to have realistic art. If I restricted my favorite animation to realistic art about 90% of the stuff I have in my top 100 animations would be written off.

I guess if I had watched Guard Dog 15 years ago I would have liked more than now. Now my taste in animation has become too specific. Which is expected: the more someone knows about an artistic medium the more likely that person is to dislike a random work in the medium and enjoy the specific works which appeal more to his/her tastes.

Guaporense

08-12-15, 03:04 AM

Guard Dog (2004) - My own nomination. I'm glad to see a few of you enjoyed it already. If you're not convinced of Plympton's genius yet (which would be understandable after only having seen this), I highly recommend seeing Idiots and Angels (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1013607/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1). I would be especially interested in Guap's opinion about that one (animation-wise).

From screenshots at the IMDB it appears that the art is also in his crude style as well. I just don't enjoy that particular type of art style. Thanks for the recommendation but I pass: like a live action film fan doesn't like every single type of live action film an animation fan also doesn't like every type of animation.

donniedarko

08-12-15, 07:16 PM

Now talked the highly experienced anime critic. :rolleyes:

Aww, :blush:
I wouldn't go that far but thanks

Don't take it personal when I criticize murican animation just because you are a murican. :rolleyes:

I'll try not too. I myself have never criticized any American film because I'm American, and find it hard to handle any criticism of it. Of course of us two I'm the one who gets overly emotional and defensive about films I love.

Kaplan

08-12-15, 10:46 PM

Of course of us two I'm the one who gets overly emotional and defensive about films I love.

It's only because he's passionate. You know, like those crazily passionate Japanese people.

Nope1172

08-12-15, 11:04 PM

Interior Design
I was disappointed with this one because I really love Michel Gondry. I thought that the movie was way too slow and boring for my taste. The ending 5 minutes was good, but most of the 30 minutes before that was painful. I really wanted to like this one.
3-

donniedarko

08-14-15, 12:39 PM

Just watched Interior Design, I'm opposite of you Nope. I thought the first half hour was better than the last five minutes. I found it well acted and edited pretty well, making it entertaining for what it was. The surrealistic part seemed to sudden and kinda pointless. I Would Like to watch the main actors film though, looked like something of a Japanese Fassbinder.

2.5

I think I'll watch the rest of Tokyo! today

Nope1172

08-16-15, 12:49 PM

Ashes
I can understand what people enjoy about this short, but it just isn't for me. I thought that the editing style of flashing pictures was cool for a few minutes, but then it got repetitive and headache inducing. I respect the effort that went in, and understand how people can enjoy it, but it's not my type of short.

2

Thursday Next

08-18-15, 01:31 PM

Night and Fog is a very powerful film. It’s easy to say that, I suppose, given its subject matter, but I think it was more than just some archive footage, it was well written, well constructed and effective. It could have been eleven hours long, detailing all the historical context but that wouldn’t be necessary. This is the story of the camps, and 32 minutes is enough to effectively convey the horror. Knowing what not to include is important.

I liked the way it built up from the construction of the camps to the liberation. Many countries have had prisoner of war camps, many prisoners of war have been badly treated, but the horrors increase from experiments to gas chambers built for the systematic extermination of nine million people. Then narration, written by concentration camp survivor Jean Cayrol is very effective, more subjective than a news report, but not a personal story either.

I especially liked the ending of the film, the insistence that this was not a one-off, not a unique event perpetrated by a unique evil, but another in a continuing line of examples of inhumanity and brutality that persist to this day.

“With our sincere gaze we survey these ruins, as if the old monster lay crushed forever beneath the rubble. We pretend to take up hope again as the image recedes into the past, as if we were cured once and for all of the scourge of the camps. We pretend it happened all at once, at a given time and place. We turn a blind eye to what surrounds us and a deaf ear to humanity's never-ending cry.”

mark f

08-18-15, 01:54 PM

Director Alain Resnais said he wanted to use Jean Cayrol's narration to subtly attack France's war and tactics in Algeria.

Thursday Next

08-18-15, 04:05 PM

neiba

08-19-15, 03:42 AM

Yes, I had read that. But in attacking the war in Algeria without overtly saying it, it managed to say something more universal. Because as much as people say 'never again' about the Holocaust, we've had genocide happen in Rwanda, it's happening now in Iraq and Syria. And broadening that to cruelty and inhumanity against groups of people, it could apply many times over.

This.

The beauty of Night & Fog, IMO, is that it doesn't let forget that if it happened once it can and it will happen again!

Kubrick used to say there was no fiction film about the Holocaust. Holocaust was about 6 million people that got murdered, Hollywood made films about success, about few people that managed to survive. Night & Fog is probably a few of its kind.

Kaplan

08-24-15, 06:12 AM

I finally finished these, though I can't seem to decide on an order.

Some thoughts:

A Trip to the Moon - I had seen the b&w version before, so this time I watched the colorized version. It makes for a very "trippy" experience. This is an amazing classic.

Night and Fog - There's nothing I can say about this. It's poetic and brutal.

Pas de Deux - The effort they must have gone through at the time to achieve these effects is stunning to think about. It's like a poem of movement and light.

Tale of Tales - I loved the animation! Unfortunately I have no idea what it's about. I can read what it's supposed to be about, but it basically goes over my head. Still, I really liked it.

Magnetic Rose - I liked this one. The animation is impressive and the story is intriguing. From what I can tell the dialogue and characterization is a bit crude, but it has a lot to recommend.

Guard Dog - Not a fan of Bill Plympton and I'm not a fan of the animation here, but I give it points for the cool ending.

Interior Design - My pick. I guess nobody "gets" it, but that's okay. What I get out of it is she becomes one of the ghosts living between the buildings, someone with no ambition except to exist. Or whatever. I think it's a sweet little film which uses magic realism in a clever way.

I Don't Want To Go Back Alone - Boy meets boy...happy ending. A little too simple for me, though the addition of the character being blind was done well.

Elefante - I like it, but it really felt too short. Too bad the makeup couldn't have been a little more interesting. I liked the ending.

Two and Two - It's a little heavy-handed and obvious. But I feel like that may have been the intention of the filmmaker, that he wants his film to be more of a warning than an artistic achievement.

Ashes - It didn't start off promising, but it becomes rather compelling in its own way. I liked the use of the bird sound loop in the middle, and I would have liked it if they'd done more of that playing with sound.

Guaporense

08-25-15, 03:18 AM

Magnetic Rose - I liked this one. The animation is impressive and the story is intriguing. From what I can tell the dialogue and characterization is a bit crude, but it has a lot to recommend.

Heinz!!! Miguel!!!!! Heinz!!! Miguel!!!!!!!!! :D

donniedarko

08-29-15, 07:42 PM

I liked Magnetic Rose a bit more than I expected, I thought the dialogue was pretty bad honestly but the animation was really cool, especially considering how complicated animating outer space is. It never really had me grasped, but kept my interest more than I expected. kind of hard to rate this one. Sending in a list now

Guaporense

08-30-15, 08:06 PM

Donnie, glad to see you have a more objective perspective here instead of "animu is melodrama". :)

Thursday Next

08-31-15, 12:11 PM

I'm nearly ready to turn in my list, just got to rewatch Trip to the Moon.

I'm going to say something controversial now, and admit that I don't really like Tale of Tales. Sorry.

Friendly Mushroom!

08-31-15, 01:08 PM

I'm nearly ready to turn in my list, just got to rewatch Trip to the Moon.

I'm going to say something controversial now, and admit that I don't really like Tale of Tales. Sorry.

That's fine. No hard feelings.

Friendly Mushroom!

08-31-15, 01:09 PM

Also might as well say I didn't like 2 and 2.

neiba

08-31-15, 03:40 PM

Sorry everyone, I was away from a couple of weeks, now I'm back! :) I expect to finish all the watching by tomorrow!

How's everyone?

Friendly Mushroom!

08-31-15, 06:38 PM

Sorry everyone, I was away from a couple of weeks, now I'm back! :) I expect to finish all the watching by tomorrow!

How's everyone?

Not the best. Worst case scenario I may be a day or two late, if that's okay. If not I'll rush to get done on or before the due date.

neiba

09-02-15, 06:32 PM

if it's a one day or two, it's ok! :) but try not to take more than that!

Thursday Next

09-03-15, 05:25 AM

Sent my list in.

Nope1172

09-06-15, 06:23 PM

I just realized that tomorrow is the last day, do most people have their lists in?

Friendly Mushroom!

09-06-15, 06:38 PM

I don't

neiba

09-06-15, 09:06 PM

Sent a PM to those who didn't send their lists yet, waiting for everyone to respond. I'll extend it a few days so everyone can finish all the viewings! :) no pressure!

neiba

09-07-15, 12:24 PM

Skazka Skazok a.k.a. Tale of Tales (rewatch)

This was a rewatch of a short I like very much!
It's basically a sequence of allegories about Russian society and the problems of the War. The animation and soundtrack are beautiful and unique. The way all the allegoric elements is presented does not follow any chronological or even logical reason, it's like a constant dream, a lost thought on Russian spirit. A masterpiece.

rating_4+

Ashes

I get why someone might like this. As Daniel explain, it tries to transport you to a hypnosis state, constantly showing you images, sounds of colors of life. It didn't quite work for me, and it ended being a struggle to finish it.

2

neiba

09-08-15, 07:00 AM

Interior Design

A beautiful metaphor to how it feels to be always there to support your loved ones, feeling useful at the same time!
The acting is pretty solid and the editing goes with the feeling with the movie, which is great!
It starts a bit slow but it gets better and better; the last 10 minutes are great!

3.5

Daniel M

09-08-15, 07:44 AM

Pas de Deux 3.5

Very interesting use of film making to capture the rhythm of dancing and create an at times enchanting piece of work.

Guard Dog 3

I wish I liked this more, there were parts I really loved, the setting, the sounds, but I wanted to laugh more at the dark humour. Maybe I will the more I watch from the director.

Interior Design 2.5

Hmmm, I'm not really sure about Michel Gondry, at times it felt clever and interesting, but at other times off putting. I think a rating down the middle fairly reflects how much I enjoyed it, although its the type of cult/quirky/clever little film that I can understand would be a favourite.

neiba

09-08-15, 12:19 PM

Kanojo no omoide a.k.a. Magnetic Rose

An anime extremely western influenced, as Guap said it would be.
I hate being part of that team but this would work much better if it wasn't animated. The plot is interesting, the soundtrack is great but overall, it never appealed to me as much as I needed to don't become bored. I think I needed more "reality" in a way to connect with it.

rating_3

neiba

09-08-15, 12:44 PM

Finished all my watchings! 4 people didn't send their lists yet. Daniel M and Friendly Mushroom asked for more time, which is alright, AlexWilder said he probably won't be able to watch everything and I didn't heard from Cobpyth.

So, when Daniel M and FM finish their watchings I'm closing this and the shorts from those who didn't vote will be disclassified.

Daniel M

09-08-15, 12:45 PM

Yeah, just a few more to watch for me, sorry for the delay. I honestly forgot all about this until the other day. I'll post my ratings and send you a full list later mate.

Daniel M

09-08-15, 02:06 PM

Two & Two 2

Elefante 2

Similar problems with both, interesting concepts but a little too obvious in their execution. But for a few clever moments they fail to do much interesting in terms of cinema for me, sorry.

Friendly Mushroom!

09-08-15, 08:38 PM

I'll be finished Thursday or Friday. I have Interior Design and Magnetic Rose left. I'll post my thoughts on all of the nominations after I send in my list.

neiba

09-11-15, 06:35 PM

How are things FM? :D

Friendly Mushroom!

09-11-15, 06:36 PM

Magnetic Rose tonight and then I'll send my list.

Friendly Mushroom!

09-11-15, 10:28 PM

Sent list

neiba

09-12-15, 01:26 PM

We already have our winner. The first 3 places are very close to each other so I'm recounting the votes to make sure there are no false results.

Stay tunned!

neiba

09-12-15, 02:00 PM

Time to unveil the winner of the 3rd Edition of the Shorts Hall of Fame!!!

http://assets-s3.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/70775-oscars-2014-presenters-complete-list-stars-presenting/1393257049_angelina-jolie-article.jpg

Thank you everyone for all the nominations sent, you're all winners
(just kidding, just one of you is the winner, the others are all losers :D).

Also a big thanks to Godoggo for creating the first Hall of Fame and for her legacy to the MovieForums!
We all miss you! Come back!!!

And the winner is...

Skazka Skazok a.k.a. Tale of Tales (Yuri Norstein, 1979)

Nominated by Friendly Mushroom

https://animationreview.files.wordpress.com/2015/06/tale-of-tales-c2a9-soyuzmultfilm.jpg

Here are the complete results:

Skazka Skazok a.k.a. Tale of Tales (nominated by Friendly Mushroom) - 60 points
La Voyage dans la Lune a.k.a. A Trip to the Moon (nominated by Nope1172) - 59 points
Nuit et Brouillard a.k.a. Night and Fog (nominated by Sane) - 58 points
Kanojo no omoide a.k.a. Magnetic Rose (nominated by Guaporense) - 44 points
Pas de Deux (nominated by Neiba) - 43 points
Eu não quero voltar sozinho a.k.a. I don't want to go back alone (nominated by Thursday Next) - 41 points
Elefante (nominated by donniedarko) - 38 points
Interior Design (nominated by Kaplan) - 36 points
Ashes (nominated by Daniel M) - 26 points

It was a pleasure to be your host. Hope you have enjoyed it.