Short Movies only

NumberNineDream · 03-20-2010, 01:03 PM

A very creepy, hallucinogenic, psychedelic, psychotic short film, from the early 60s.

URSULA (1961) by Lloyd Michael Williams

Here's the description written next to the uploaded video. I don't think I can add much to it:
The titular heroine of Lloyd Michael Williams' Ursula (1961) is also trapped in a horror film. Unfortunately it's one of those scary-old-lady films that were a mainstay of that decade (to be fair, this film predates Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? [1962], Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte [1964], and Die! Die! My Darling! [1965]). Little girl Ursula, disturbingly voice-dubbed by a grownup, tears her pretty dress and oversleeps, to the chagrin of her psychotic mother, who punishes Ursula by chopping up her pets. Ursula goes insane in a slow parade of hallucinogenic film effects that call to mind early Mario Bava.

Enjoy.

NumberNineDream · 04-03-2010, 04:02 PM

A Martin SCORSESE special...

If you want to understand a director, you should see where he started and how he evolved, that's why I'm going to talk about the first 3 short movies of the great director Martin Scorsese.

Episode 1:
What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like This (1963)

His first short film student project.
Plot: A writer named Algernon (but called Harry by his friends) buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible. He attempts to function again by consulting an analyst and becoming married, but eventually succumbs to his strange anxiety by disappearing into the picture.-IMDB

You can notice from this film, the distinct Scorsese characteristics that will pop out in many of his later features: The narrator, the jovial music, the introduction to the main character's past in the first person, photo montages...
The very contrasted Black and White is definitely a great add to the cinematography, reminding us of the signature Antonioni b&w aesthetic.
One of the weak points of this movie though, is the redundancy, between sound/narrator and image. Although it adds some humour, after a while, it just gets old.

After watching that short, you can't but notice how peaceful and poetic the story is, even the ending can be considered as "happy", something that will rarely happen in Scorsese movies to come.

NEXT
Episode 2: It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964)
Episode 3: The Big Shave (1967)

H.Z · 04-03-2010, 04:38 PM

Description (from youtube):

"A film by Torill Kove
Narrated by Liv Ullmann

Can we trace the chain of events that leads to our own birth? Is our existence just coincidence? Do little things matter?

The narrator of The Danish Poet considers these questions as we follow Kasper, a poet whose creative well has run dry, on a holiday to Norway to meet the famous writer, Sigrid Undset. As Kasper's quest for inspiration unfolds, it appears that a spell of bad weather, an angry dog, slippery barn planks, a careless postman, hungry goats and other seemingly unrelated factors might play important roles in the big scheme of things after all. "

NumberNineDream · 04-17-2010, 07:07 AM

A LETTER TO COLLEEN (2007) by Andy London

A short I stumbled upon, on TV last night and thought I need to share.

Plot: Andy London is haunted by the events of his 18th birthday. In this animated autobiographical short, he writes a letter to Colleen in an attempt to make peace with his demons. -IMDB

The animation is simple, raw in some places, giving us a taste of the animosity of the characters. It's just one of those shorts that get hooked in your brain, and that alone makes it a must.

Enjoy.

NumberNineDream · 04-22-2010, 08:33 PM

So I've been reading this very long informative article, I found in some thrown out cinema magazine at Uni, and it's about the beginning of Chinese animation, so I had to search for the videos on the net. Starting with the beginning:

A Chinese Animation special.

It all started with the Wan Brothers, by adapting Chinese myths, stories and poems, inspired by the traditional Chinese painting techniques. The first animation was called Uproar in the Studio (1926), the first animation with sound was their short, Dance of the Camels (1930), and the first feature film animation, was also theirs, Princess Iron Fan (1941). Sadly, I wasn't able to find any of their shorts on youtube, but I found their feature film divided to 14 episodes, if anyone's interested.

But for now, I'll post the first two shorts I found, who are made by one of the biggest innovators of the business, Te Wei. He tried as much as he can to stick with the traditional aesthetics, preserving this way the Chinese sensibility of the classic aquarell painting on silk, and I honestly think he succeeded to achieve this goal.

His most famous work, is his second short, titled Where is Mama (1960), about the adventure of a group of tadpoles searching for their mother. It was painted with classic Chinese Ink.
Unfortunately, there's no English version on youtube, but I don't think the narrating is necessary to the story, everything can be understood quite fine. It's a cool film, a bit redundant and stretched, but the whole atmosphere is very well fitting for a children story.

WHERE IS MAMA (1960) by Te Wei

As for the second vid I'll be posting, and the fourth and final short by Te Wei, is his Feeling from Mountain and Water (1988).
This one is obviously more professional. There are no spoken words, so there's no problem with the language. The whole focus is on the music (which is just beautiful btw), and the mesmerizing scenes of mountains confined by fog and water. There's not much of a story really, it's more of a poem. A visual poem coming to life from animated painted silk. Plunge into the soothing magical world of China.

FEELING FROM MOUNTAIN AND WATER (1988) by Te Wei

Enjoy.
Will be getting back in here, for more Chinese animation.

Meph1986 · 04-22-2010, 09:41 PM

Outer Space by Peter Tscherkassky (1999)

"Outer Space is difficult to compare to any other style of film. It is the kind of violent brilliance that mainstream films such as Fight Club (1999) and Se7en (1995) attempt to appropriate in their mimicry of optically printed experimental styles. It is extraordinarily intense and, though only ten minutes in length, relentless in its sensory assault. At the same time, shot in 35mm cinemascope Outer Space is quite simply, a lush cinematic production."

Read more here:
Outer Space: The Manufactured Film of Peter Tscherkassky

piknik · 04-28-2010, 12:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NumberNineDream

Logorama (2009): Nicolas Schmerkin
is re-uploaded to youtube. Hope it stays long this time.

Here ya go:

Edit:
Damn it! It's gone again.

i downloaded that the other day. it's fantastic.

NumberNineDream · 07-04-2010, 05:36 PM

An homage to the masters of the macabre - Cab Calloway and the Fleischer brothers.
Max Fleischer presents, three episodes of Betty Boop, with the epic swing music and the dark story-telling lyrics of Cab Calloway.

Enjoy.

TheCunningStunt · 07-04-2010, 05:42 PM

Signs

NumberNineDream · 07-24-2010, 09:27 AM

THE OSSUARY (1970) by Jan Švankmajer

Jan Švankmajer is a Czech surrealist artist. One of the great influences for directors like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton.

He was asked to make a documentary about the Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel in the Czech Republic all made out of human bones. From this came this awesomely nightmarish short The Ossuary , with jazz arrangement by Zdeněk Liška of the poem "Comment dessiner le portrait d'un oiseau" ("How to Draw the Portrait of a Bird") by Jacques Prévert.

Enjoy.

Edit: Thought I'd add in a bit of his fictional work, with a montage made from his feature film Alice (1988), an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece Alice's adventures in Wonderland.

GODSPEED YOU ALICE

Music by Godspeed you Black Emperor!

Enjoy II.

03-20-2010, 01:03 PM	#31 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	A very creepy, hallucinogenic, psychedelic, psychotic short film, from the early 60s. URSULA (1961) by Lloyd Michael Williams Here's the description written next to the uploaded video. I don't think I can add much to it: The titular heroine of Lloyd Michael Williams' Ursula (1961) is also trapped in a horror film. Unfortunately it's one of those scary-old-lady films that were a mainstay of that decade (to be fair, this film predates Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? [1962], Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte [1964], and Die! Die! My Darling! [1965]). Little girl Ursula, disturbingly voice-dubbed by a grownup, tears her pretty dress and oversleeps, to the chagrin of her psychotic mother, who punishes Ursula by chopping up her pets. Ursula goes insane in a slow parade of hallucinogenic film effects that call to mind early Mario Bava. Enjoy. __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge

04-03-2010, 04:02 PM	#32 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	A Martin SCORSESE special... If you want to understand a director, you should see where he started and how he evolved, that's why I'm going to talk about the first 3 short movies of the great director Martin Scorsese. Episode 1: What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like This (1963) His first short film student project. Plot: A writer named Algernon (but called Harry by his friends) buys a picture of a boat on a lake, and his obsession with it renders normal life impossible. He attempts to function again by consulting an analyst and becoming married, but eventually succumbs to his strange anxiety by disappearing into the picture.-IMDB You can notice from this film, the distinct Scorsese characteristics that will pop out in many of his later features: The narrator, the jovial music, the introduction to the main character's past in the first person, photo montages... The very contrasted Black and White is definitely a great add to the cinematography, reminding us of the signature Antonioni b&w aesthetic. One of the weak points of this movie though, is the redundancy, between sound/narrator and image. Although it adds some humour, after a while, it just gets old. After watching that short, you can't but notice how peaceful and poetic the story is, even the ending can be considered as "happy", something that will rarely happen in Scorsese movies to come. NEXT Episode 2: It's Not Just You, Murray! (1964) Episode 3: The Big Shave (1967) __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge

04-17-2010, 07:07 AM	#34 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	A LETTER TO COLLEEN (2007) by Andy London A short I stumbled upon, on TV last night and thought I need to share. Plot: Andy London is haunted by the events of his 18th birthday. In this animated autobiographical short, he writes a letter to Colleen in an attempt to make peace with his demons. -IMDB The animation is simple, raw in some places, giving us a taste of the animosity of the characters. It's just one of those shorts that get hooked in your brain, and that alone makes it a must. Enjoy. __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge

04-22-2010, 08:33 PM	#35 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	So I've been reading this very long informative article, I found in some thrown out cinema magazine at Uni, and it's about the beginning of Chinese animation, so I had to search for the videos on the net. Starting with the beginning: A Chinese Animation special. It all started with the Wan Brothers, by adapting Chinese myths, stories and poems, inspired by the traditional Chinese painting techniques. The first animation was called Uproar in the Studio (1926), the first animation with sound was their short, Dance of the Camels (1930), and the first feature film animation, was also theirs, Princess Iron Fan (1941). Sadly, I wasn't able to find any of their shorts on youtube, but I found their feature film divided to 14 episodes, if anyone's interested. But for now, I'll post the first two shorts I found, who are made by one of the biggest innovators of the business, Te Wei. He tried as much as he can to stick with the traditional aesthetics, preserving this way the Chinese sensibility of the classic aquarell painting on silk, and I honestly think he succeeded to achieve this goal. His most famous work, is his second short, titled Where is Mama (1960), about the adventure of a group of tadpoles searching for their mother. It was painted with classic Chinese Ink. Unfortunately, there's no English version on youtube, but I don't think the narrating is necessary to the story, everything can be understood quite fine. It's a cool film, a bit redundant and stretched, but the whole atmosphere is very well fitting for a children story. WHERE IS MAMA (1960) by Te Wei As for the second vid I'll be posting, and the fourth and final short by Te Wei, is his Feeling from Mountain and Water (1988). This one is obviously more professional. There are no spoken words, so there's no problem with the language. The whole focus is on the music (which is just beautiful btw), and the mesmerizing scenes of mountains confined by fog and water. There's not much of a story really, it's more of a poem. A visual poem coming to life from animated painted silk. Plunge into the soothing magical world of China. FEELING FROM MOUNTAIN AND WATER (1988) by Te Wei Enjoy. Will be getting back in here, for more Chinese animation. __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge

04-22-2010, 09:41 PM	#36 (permalink)
Meph1986 How High? Join Date: May 2008 Location: FL Posts: 684	Outer Space by Peter Tscherkassky (1999) "Outer Space is difficult to compare to any other style of film. It is the kind of violent brilliance that mainstream films such as Fight Club (1999) and Se7en (1995) attempt to appropriate in their mimicry of optically printed experimental styles. It is extraordinarily intense and, though only ten minutes in length, relentless in its sensory assault. At the same time, shot in 35mm cinemascope Outer Space is quite simply, a lush cinematic production." Read more here: Outer Space: The Manufactured Film of Peter Tscherkassky __________________

04-03-2010, 04:38 PM	#33 (permalink)
H.Z Groupie Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 16	Description (from youtube): "A film by Torill Kove Narrated by Liv Ullmann Can we trace the chain of events that leads to our own birth? Is our existence just coincidence? Do little things matter? The narrator of The Danish Poet considers these questions as we follow Kasper, a poet whose creative well has run dry, on a holiday to Norway to meet the famous writer, Sigrid Undset. As Kasper's quest for inspiration unfolds, it appears that a spell of bad weather, an angry dog, slippery barn planks, a careless postman, hungry goats and other seemingly unrelated factors might play important roles in the big scheme of things after all. "

07-04-2010, 05:36 PM	#38 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	An homage to the masters of the macabre - Cab Calloway and the Fleischer brothers. Max Fleischer presents, three episodes of Betty Boop, with the epic swing music and the dark story-telling lyrics of Cab Calloway. Enjoy. __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge

07-04-2010, 05:42 PM	#39 (permalink)
TheCunningStunt love will tear you apart Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Manchester, UK. Posts: 5,107	Signs __________________ I don't feel and I feel great. Last FM

07-24-2010, 09:27 AM	#40 (permalink)
NumberNineDream Blue Bleezin' Blind Drunk Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: The land of the largest wine glass (aka Lebanon) Posts: 2,200	THE OSSUARY (1970) by Jan Švankmajer Jan Švankmajer is a Czech surrealist artist. One of the great influences for directors like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. He was asked to make a documentary about the Sedlec Ossuary, a chapel in the Czech Republic all made out of human bones. From this came this awesomely nightmarish short The Ossuary , with jazz arrangement by Zdeněk Liška of the poem "Comment dessiner le portrait d'un oiseau" ("How to Draw the Portrait of a Bird") by Jacques Prévert. Enjoy. Edit: Thought I'd add in a bit of his fictional work, with a montage made from his feature film Alice (1988), an adaptation of Lewis Carroll's masterpiece Alice's adventures in Wonderland. GODSPEED YOU ALICE Music by Godspeed you Black Emperor! Enjoy II. __________________ Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do cats eat bats? Do cats eat bats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats?Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Do bats eat cats? Welcome to the Black Lodge Last edited by NumberNineDream; 07-24-2010 at 11:24 AM.