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From time to time I will be running special edition Hall of Fames and this short films one is the first.
This will work just like the regular HoF. Everyone nominates one short film to be watched and discussed by the group. Everyone will submit a list to me ranking all the films in order of most deserving to be inducted into the HoF thread to least.
I'm going to keep sign-ups open until Sunday night to give everyone a chance to sign-up. I'm not going to allow a lot of time for this; lists will be due by Sept. 28th, due to the fact that these are short films we are nominating. I'd love to have you if you want to join in, but please commit to watching all the films in the time allotted.
Start signing up if interested.
I will need your nomination as soon as possible. Please include the director, year and a short explanation as to why you nominated it.
This HoF will not interrupt the runnings of the regular ones.
And the nominations are:
If it's legitimate, I'd like to nominate this classic:
1. A Trip to the Moon (1902 George Mélies) nominated by : Cobpyth
It's probably the oldest piece of film that is able to truly impress me. In 1902, George
Mélies already understood that Cinema was meant to be creative and inventive. The result of that understanding is a piece of unforgettable cinema that is still able to generate admiration with audiences today. Extraordinary, very satisfying and of course a MUST SEE for every cinephile out there.
2. Un Chien Andalou (1929; Luis Bunuel) nominated by Jiraffejustin
It's hard to wrap this one up with a tidy little bow. I don't think it was supposed to be anything more than nightmares put on film. Nightmares to haunt, to anger, to shock, to get under your skin. The infamous eyeball scene will never leave you. You won't be happy at the end of this, but you will be thinking. You won't be right either. I don't think anybody knows what this means. Dali doesn't know what it means, and neither did Bunuel. That's why I am nominating it. I want to hear what others think of it. I love it, but I don't know why.
3. "High Note" (1960 Chuck Jones) nominated by: gbgoodies
I nominated this because I love it, and I love that it is all done with just music and animation, but no talking.
http://www.downvids.net/high-note-ch...60-549195.html
4. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)
nominated by: Skepsis
I've got a feeling this will have already been nominated so I'll hold off on the explanation until I know I'm not wasting my time. Let me know if I'm the first and I'll send you something over.
Note - You never did, but I'll let this stand as the write-up; the assumption that someone must have already nominated as it's so good and so revered speaks to the quality of the film in and of itself. 
5. Tango (Zbigniew Rybczynski, Poland 1981) nominated by Tyler1
SYNOPSIS:
Comprised of a single static shot of a simple room, then animated as a collage of live action film clips. Zbigniew Rybczynski drew and painted about 16,000 cell-mattes, and made thousands of exposures on an optical printer.
Some of the most impressive short films I have ever seen are those that distill the complex down to the essential. This highly under-appreciated short Polish animation takes on the concepts of time, memory and repetition. Basically, life is a constant loop. Our daily routines overlap, and every place holds a history that is alive and breathing. It's also a nasty little test of the limits of the viewer's attention to detail and his reconstruction of reality - a sequence of events. An endless tango.
6. Darkness Light Darkness (1989 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by Swan
Stop-motion is one of my favorite things ever, and Jan Svankmajer is one of the masters of the art. I think Darkness Light Darkness is one of the first shorts I saw by him, but I forgot about it until recently rediscovering it. It's a clever little short that I get a lot of enjoyment out of.
7. Jidlo (1993 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by donniedarko
Daily motion link
I usually pimp out another Svankmajer film- Dimesnions of Dialogue- when discussing short films, but since i nominated that one for the tournament I'll go with this for the Hall of Fame. Very interesting short film, and I love the stop motion animation. Hope someone else gets something out of it too
8. The Wrong Trousers (1993 Nick Park) nominated by: Daniel M
If someone hasn't already, I'll nominate The Wrong Trousers. I grew up watching Wallace and Gromit and always found their shorts delightful and just a whole lot of fun. Whilst I'vee enjoyed all their shorts and recent feature film, I think The Wrong Trousers is their masterpiece with the best storyline and a great villain in the penguin.
9. When It Rains (Charles Burnett, 1995) nominated by bluedeed
I've only seen 3 features and one short in Charles Burnett's small oeuvre, but I don't feel like calling him one of the finest contemporary American filmmakers is any kind of overstatement. Full credit to Jonathan Rosenbaum for turning me on to Burnett, and particularly this extraordinary, jazzy short. The film takes place in Burnett's hometown, and involves a smooth and swift narrative about a local griot trying to find money to help a woman pay rent. Burnett turns the town into a jazz song, with voice and song intersecting rather than traveling parallel. The movie is both overt and subtle, emotional and technical, specific and universal, jazz and blues. If it seems too tidy or easily resolved, you may be missing the point.
A note, When It Rains is available on youtube here:
10. The Old Man and The Sea (Alexander Petrov 1999) (nominated by Guaporense)
The Old Man and the Sea is my favorite short film. It is an exceptional film in many ways, specially among animated films in it's realistic style and reflecting mature sensibilities even though it is a western film . It is also the most beautiful short film I ever watched and is my favorite western animation. I loved the pain in glass style and the film's exceptional elegance and it's capability in evoking a strong sense of poignancy.
11. La Lettre (2001 Michel Gondrey) nominated by godoggo
I am a big Gondry fan (president and only member of his Mofo fan club) and I love this short. La Lettre has Gondry's trademark infusion of surrealism into a simple straightforward narrative. It also showcases his visual flair and I'm crazy about his usage of shadow.
I hope this doesn't get lost among the other nominations do to the simpleness of the story. Their still is a complexity in the way that it is told and Gondry had a knack for understanding and communicating the awkwardness of a situation.
12. Garden of Words (2013- Makoto Shinkai) nominated by Sane
Shinkai is a genius when it comes to creating both beautiful animated images and thoughtful characters. This short packs as much of those things into 45 minutes as possible.
13. Scorpio Rising (1964 Kenneth Anger) nominated by Thursday Next
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058555/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
This will work just like the regular HoF. Everyone nominates one short film to be watched and discussed by the group. Everyone will submit a list to me ranking all the films in order of most deserving to be inducted into the HoF thread to least.
I'm going to keep sign-ups open until Sunday night to give everyone a chance to sign-up. I'm not going to allow a lot of time for this; lists will be due by Sept. 28th, due to the fact that these are short films we are nominating. I'd love to have you if you want to join in, but please commit to watching all the films in the time allotted.
Start signing up if interested.
I will need your nomination as soon as possible. Please include the director, year and a short explanation as to why you nominated it.
This HoF will not interrupt the runnings of the regular ones.
And the nominations are:
If it's legitimate, I'd like to nominate this classic:
1. A Trip to the Moon (1902 George Mélies) nominated by : Cobpyth
It's probably the oldest piece of film that is able to truly impress me. In 1902, George
Mélies already understood that Cinema was meant to be creative and inventive. The result of that understanding is a piece of unforgettable cinema that is still able to generate admiration with audiences today. Extraordinary, very satisfying and of course a MUST SEE for every cinephile out there.
2. Un Chien Andalou (1929; Luis Bunuel) nominated by Jiraffejustin
It's hard to wrap this one up with a tidy little bow. I don't think it was supposed to be anything more than nightmares put on film. Nightmares to haunt, to anger, to shock, to get under your skin. The infamous eyeball scene will never leave you. You won't be happy at the end of this, but you will be thinking. You won't be right either. I don't think anybody knows what this means. Dali doesn't know what it means, and neither did Bunuel. That's why I am nominating it. I want to hear what others think of it. I love it, but I don't know why.
3. "High Note" (1960 Chuck Jones) nominated by: gbgoodies
I nominated this because I love it, and I love that it is all done with just music and animation, but no talking.
http://www.downvids.net/high-note-ch...60-549195.html
4. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962)
nominated by: Skepsis
I've got a feeling this will have already been nominated so I'll hold off on the explanation until I know I'm not wasting my time. Let me know if I'm the first and I'll send you something over.
Note - You never did, but I'll let this stand as the write-up; the assumption that someone must have already nominated as it's so good and so revered speaks to the quality of the film in and of itself. 5. Tango (Zbigniew Rybczynski, Poland 1981) nominated by Tyler1
SYNOPSIS:
Comprised of a single static shot of a simple room, then animated as a collage of live action film clips. Zbigniew Rybczynski drew and painted about 16,000 cell-mattes, and made thousands of exposures on an optical printer.
Some of the most impressive short films I have ever seen are those that distill the complex down to the essential. This highly under-appreciated short Polish animation takes on the concepts of time, memory and repetition. Basically, life is a constant loop. Our daily routines overlap, and every place holds a history that is alive and breathing. It's also a nasty little test of the limits of the viewer's attention to detail and his reconstruction of reality - a sequence of events. An endless tango.
6. Darkness Light Darkness (1989 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by Swan
Stop-motion is one of my favorite things ever, and Jan Svankmajer is one of the masters of the art. I think Darkness Light Darkness is one of the first shorts I saw by him, but I forgot about it until recently rediscovering it. It's a clever little short that I get a lot of enjoyment out of.
7. Jidlo (1993 Jan Svankmajer) nominated by donniedarko
Daily motion link
I usually pimp out another Svankmajer film- Dimesnions of Dialogue- when discussing short films, but since i nominated that one for the tournament I'll go with this for the Hall of Fame. Very interesting short film, and I love the stop motion animation. Hope someone else gets something out of it too
8. The Wrong Trousers (1993 Nick Park) nominated by: Daniel M
If someone hasn't already, I'll nominate The Wrong Trousers. I grew up watching Wallace and Gromit and always found their shorts delightful and just a whole lot of fun. Whilst I'vee enjoyed all their shorts and recent feature film, I think The Wrong Trousers is their masterpiece with the best storyline and a great villain in the penguin.
9. When It Rains (Charles Burnett, 1995) nominated by bluedeed
I've only seen 3 features and one short in Charles Burnett's small oeuvre, but I don't feel like calling him one of the finest contemporary American filmmakers is any kind of overstatement. Full credit to Jonathan Rosenbaum for turning me on to Burnett, and particularly this extraordinary, jazzy short. The film takes place in Burnett's hometown, and involves a smooth and swift narrative about a local griot trying to find money to help a woman pay rent. Burnett turns the town into a jazz song, with voice and song intersecting rather than traveling parallel. The movie is both overt and subtle, emotional and technical, specific and universal, jazz and blues. If it seems too tidy or easily resolved, you may be missing the point.
A note, When It Rains is available on youtube here:
10. The Old Man and The Sea (Alexander Petrov 1999) (nominated by Guaporense)
The Old Man and the Sea is my favorite short film. It is an exceptional film in many ways, specially among animated films in it's realistic style and reflecting mature sensibilities even though it is a western film . It is also the most beautiful short film I ever watched and is my favorite western animation. I loved the pain in glass style and the film's exceptional elegance and it's capability in evoking a strong sense of poignancy.
11. La Lettre (2001 Michel Gondrey) nominated by godoggo
I am a big Gondry fan (president and only member of his Mofo fan club) and I love this short. La Lettre has Gondry's trademark infusion of surrealism into a simple straightforward narrative. It also showcases his visual flair and I'm crazy about his usage of shadow.
I hope this doesn't get lost among the other nominations do to the simpleness of the story. Their still is a complexity in the way that it is told and Gondry had a knack for understanding and communicating the awkwardness of a situation.
12. Garden of Words (2013- Makoto Shinkai) nominated by Sane
Shinkai is a genius when it comes to creating both beautiful animated images and thoughtful characters. This short packs as much of those things into 45 minutes as possible.
13. Scorpio Rising (1964 Kenneth Anger) nominated by Thursday Next
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058555/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Last edited by Godoggo; 08-22-14 at 10:47 AM.
