Mofo Hall of Fame - The Shorts Edition

.Haven't seen it yet, but that is motivation to get to it quickly.

It's a person made out of clay, but I do think there's a large resemblance, the man opposite him reminded me of someone too, but I can't think too.

Also did anyone else notice.. Blue Danube, the music that is the subject of High Note is also used in the Lunch segment (I think it was) in Jidlo. Cool coincidence.

This is really off-topic, but I drew a Scottish Highland Cow that I think looks a lot like him. I'll post it in the art tab later.

Just finished Tango. That was pretty great. I loved how each new person was a new element to the "dance" and how perfectly it all came together. It's captivating as soon as the boy bounces his ball through the window and stays that way until the end. It's a very humorous and clever way to capture the rhythm of life.

Tango has gotten far more praise here than I would've expected, deserved praise though.

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Mubi

A Trip to the Moon

Dis movie suck. Why they don't have gravity on moon and nobody where space helmet? Whoever make this movie is retarded and don't know nothing about space travel at all. 0/10 would not bang

They do have gravity on the moon.

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Cobpyth's Movie Log ~ 2019

The movie with Sandra Bullick and Goerge Cloony they was floating in space that is gravity and they just walked all over the moon in trip to the moon and thats why that movie sucks and its not really even a movie its only ten minutes long and they have scientists dressed like dumbledore. 0/10 still thanks for trying tho lol loser

A Trip to the Moon: A really fun sci-fi epic made before that even existed. Melies really was a magician.

Un Chien Andalou: I nominated it, so obviously I love it.

High Note: Fun enough, I suppose. I've seen much better from Chuck Jones though.

La Jetée: Masterpiece.

Scorpio Rising: Probably the most interesting of all the shorts. Excellent use of music, dazzling camera work, and dicks galore.

Tango: The other contender for most interesting nominated short. I was sucked in from the get-go. Another great nomination.

Darkness Light Darkness: This Svanmkmajer fellow has my attention, I am going to further explore his output. If the rest of them are this cool then it will be worth my time. Also claymated dick if you are into that kind of thing.

Jidlo: Yeah, this Svankmajer fellow again. I think I like him. Wacky slapstick stuff that I really loved. Also a man is served his dick for dinner... if you are into that kind of thing.

The Wrong Trousers: Another great nomination. Superbly fun claymation short film that deserves the reputation it has.

When It Rains: I like what bluedeed said about Burnett turning the town into a jazz song. I'll probably keep this on my harddrive and revisit it several times. The same way I would a song.

The Old Man and the Sea: The most aesthetically appealing animation of this round goes to this one. The voice acting for the little boy isn't great, but that is a minor complaint and the only one I can think of.

La Lettre: Pretty good depiction of the way first crushes go. Very stylish and surreal. I enjoyed this.

Garden of Words: Gorgeous. And definitely one of the more grown-up anime films I've seen. Forbidden love

Had I seen it before this, I think I would have expected most people to really like it, but then I'm never a very good judge at that sort of thing.

I've seen around half of these now, so a few thoughts:

Scorpio Rising
Exactly. The combination, or juxtaposition, of images and sound is what makes this film. I can’t say for sure how influential this was on subsequent films and music videos, but at any rate this is MTV long before MTV. Is it a documentary or a fictional film? Neither, really; in a way it shows the transformative power of film, by filming something and through editing and music turning it into something else. I think it's just fascinating.

A Trip to the Moon
Well, points for getting there first That moon is certainly an enduring iconic image. Both marvellously inventive and ridiculous (those guys wouldn’t be my first picks for the space program).

High Note
It’s okay I suppose, but not anything really special. I don’t find the slapstick elements of these Looney Tunes films particularly amusing, though.

La Jetee
Is it a movie if the pictures don’t move? There are some great ideas here, though, and by the end you almost don’t notice. (Almost.)

Tango
It’s a bit like watching the Sims, isn’t it? Interesting concept, definitely. I think short films do have much more scope for doing interesting and different things like this which over the course of a feature length film might become tiresome.

The Wrong Trousers
Have you seen this chicken? My absolute favourite of the Wallace and Gromit films. It definitely has the best storyline and the penguin is great. This was a family favourite and practically a Christmas tradition in my family for several years. All the little details are fantastic.

La Lettre
I really liked this, I liked the black and white cinematography. The dream where he has the head of a camera was good, and the way everything looks like a negative as he cycles home. A simple story that felt true to life, well told.

When it Rains
I didn’t really know what to make of this one. Yeah, it is like a jazz song. I don’t really like jazz. But there were a couple of moments of wry humour I liked.

The Old Man and the Sea
A really interesting style, it was like a moving painting. I liked the hills which became elephants. The little boy was particularly annoying, though.

Darkness Light Darkness
Totally weird! I liked it.

Jidlo
Even weirder! It felt as if it could have been a third of the running time, it seemed like each section laboured the point just a little bit much. Still, it was interesting and definitely memorable. Makes me never want to eat again...

Un Chien Andalou
I liked some bits but not others. As a whole... Well, does it add up to a whole? I don’t know. I like a bit of surrealism like I like a bit of jam on bread, but films like this are all jam and no bread. I much preferred it to L’Age D’Or, though, and I might watch it again.

Garden of Words is the only one I haven’t been able to find.

I’ve found all of these interesting to watch, there hasn’t been anything I really didn’t like, so ordering them will be difficult. I might watch some of them for a second time before I make my mind up.

Watched Garden of Words. Absolutely beautiful, really stunning. The scenery, the rain, the buildings, the scene with the foot measuring, the tanka were all great. I wanted to love it but I didn't completely buy the love story/connection between the two characters. I thought towards the end it ventured into more cliched territory.

I rewatched The Wrong Trousers myself, as it had been a while since I saw it, and it was even better than I remembered it. It might even be my favourite animation of all time. An absolute masterpiece in terms of control, the effects, sounds and visual delights of the film are unlimited. It makes full use of its environment for a lot of fun. I mentioned how Chuck Jones is sometimes referred to the Buster Keaton of animation with his control and visual stunts in his animations, but this film is like Buster Keaton in stop motion. The penguin is one of the greatest villains of all time, so simple yet so menacing, it's great how from the start the film is able to create a sense of doom around him through his body language and sound effects. There are many great individual scenes too, the robbery is great, and filled with suspense, and then of course there is the famous chase scene which is an absolute delight to watch.

I watched bluedeed's nomination today, When It Rains. All the negative reviews made me curious as to why you guys did not really enjoy it, and I myself thought it was pretty great. I am paraphrasing here, but like bluedeed says, you don't so much follow the story but instead the rhythms. A strange, feel good film that uses the music as a means of narrative instead of a usual story, and it works perfectly, the sound in each scene is fantastic and for most the part, uplifting. I can't say as much as some in terms of the movies themes and goals, but it is an interesting look at a particular community, cultures, and personalities, each character is memorable and adds something new. The ending left me with a smile on my face, very relevant and in fitting with the film

Yay! Someone liked it (I'm not forgetting about you though, JJ)! I really find the whole thing delightful, so all of the ambivalence confused me.



Have some Charles Mingus, HoF members, with John Handy (whose Monterey album forms the climax of When It Rains) on dat alto sax.

I have narrow tastes so it's normal I dislike most stuff in general.

One of my top 40 animated films (together with The Old Man and the Sea).

High Note - Interesting concept, like the other Chuck Jones masterpiece "Duck Amuck!" which I nominated for the previous short film tournament. There's no shortage of creativity in classic animation.

Jidlo - + I don't think there's another animation genius I rate more highly than Svankmajer, except the Quay brothers. I especially love Darkness Light Darkness, Dimensions of Dialogue, Down to the Cellar, The Flat and The Pit and the Pendulum among others in his oeuvre. Check those out.

When It Rains - There's something about music that binds it to life. Or is it the other way around?

Garden of Words - Beautiful animation, but offers little room for contemplation when it becomes a bit too straightforward.

Scorpio Rising - One of Kenneth Anger's best films, and certainly his most iconoclastic.