One of Oskar Fischinger's earliest films, Seelische Konstruktionen (as it is known in German), clearly points the way to the masterpieces of musically-blended experimental animation he would conceive in the decades to come. The sense of masterful timing and rhythm, the easy and natural -- though patently Fischinger-esque -- character traits of the subjects, and the smooth precision of both line and movement are all present already. Unique is the black-silhouetted, semi-cartoon characters (not nearly as rigidly self-contained as Lotte Reiniger's cut-out forms) which seem to adhere to no physical limitations whatsoever. Morphing into shapes, structures, objects, patterns, and even one another, as though they were made of pure mercury and set to music. As for the "story", it's rather non-sensical, and certainly silly, but also has a slightly dark and devious tinge to it as well; men becoming monsters, uncontrollable shape-shifting and the constant, almost desperate movement.
One of Oskar Fischinger's earliest films, Seelische Konstruktionen (as it is known in German), clearly points the way to the masterpieces of musically-blended experimental animation he would conceive in the decades to come. The sense of masterful timing and rhythm, the easy and natural -- though patently Fischinger-esque -- character traits of the subjects, and the smooth precision of both line and movement are all present already. Unique is the black-silhouetted, semi-cartoon characters (not nearly as rigidly self-contained as Lotte Reiniger's cut-out forms) which seem to adhere to no physical limitations whatsoever. Morphing into shapes, structures, objects, patterns, and even one another, as though they were made of pure mercury and set to music. As for the "story", it's rather non-sensical, and certainly silly, but also has a slightly dark and devious tinge to it as well; men becoming monsters, uncontrollable shape-shifting and the constant, almost desperate movement.
1927-04-29
6.7
How very strange - as if the world were drunk!
6.2With a flu epidemic running rife, three new bumbling recruits are assigned to Inspector Mills police station. With help from Special Constable Gorse, they manage to totally wreck operations of the police force and let plenty of criminals get away, even before they arrive at the station. They all have to prove themselves or else they'll be out of a job and Sgt. Wilkins will be transferred.
6.0In answer to an orphan boy's prayers, the divine Lord Krishna comes to Earth, befriends the boy, and helps him find a loving family.
6.1The boss of the Hung Hing gang, Tian Sang, has died. Ho Nam and Hon Bun find Sangs younger brother, Yang to lead the gang. Meanwhile, Hon Bun receives news that his younger brother, a leader of the Tuen Mun gang has been assasinated. They travel to Hong Kong to settle the matter.
The film tells the story of three best friends named Ako, Aki and Awang, who are well-known in their village for their mischievous and humourous pranks. The trio work for Pak Man. One day, they are assigned to pick up his daughter Misha, who has just returned from overseas and dreams of becoming a doctor. The trio have been in love with her for a long time but she does not pay them any heed. When Misha is robbed by a snatch thief one day, she is rescued by a doctor named Shafiq. Her face reminds the doctor of his late wife, and he begins to pursue her, which annoys the trio.
5.7Divers go to work on a wrecked ship (the battleship Maine that was blown up in Havana harbour during the Spanish-American War), surrounded by curiously disproportionate fish.
6.5Prabha prepares to meet Nandini, his childhood friend, at a reunion party organised by his father. However, things take a turn when Nisha, a gangster's daughter, falls in love with him.
6.0Ronnie lost her brother. Faye lost her first love. These two best friends set off on a debaucherous road trip to the mountains to get over the death of the man they both loved.
6.4Eighteen-year-old Kosa is the best skater in Wrocław. He has a beautiful girlfriend, great friends, an adored grandfather and a clear plan for the future - he wants to win a prestigious skateboarding competition with a lot of money at stake and a trip to Los Angeles. Everything changes dramatically when, during a carefree vacation, Kosa meets Zora - a magnetic Romani girl, with whom magic and a passionate feeling that he has never experienced before enters the boy's life.
6.6The story of Charlotte Brown,a waitress and young single mother who will do anything for her daughter Jenny, and when push comes to shove, she does. With a menacing figure on the other end of the phone and a time limit of two hours,she must raise enough money to ensure that she sees the smiling face of her child again. Charlotte's customers are her only hope. The clock is ticking as we see the desperate young mother dealing with one eccentric customer after the next, displaying her charming vulnerability and inspiring strength through all the chaos. With her feet firmly planted on the ground, Charlotte maintains her focus and attempts to beat the clock and save the day.
7.4Valdis Nulle is a young and ambitious captain of fishing ship 'Dzintars'. He has his views on fishing methods but the sea makes its own rules. Kolkhoz authorities are forced to include dubious characters in his crew, for example, former captain Bauze and silent alcoholic Juhans. The young captain lacks experience in working with so many fishermen on board. Unexpectedly, pretty engineer Sabīne is ordered to test a new construction fishing net on Nulle's ship and 'production conflict' between her and the captain arises...
5.0The film aims to answer two questions: What is flamenco? Who is the singer Niño de Elche? This child prodigy, who inspired artists such as C. Tangana, started challenging the rules of flamenco in his adolescence, which led to a violent confrontation with his family and flamenco fans that continues today.
5.0HBO follows Brandon Rios for 2 days before his 29th fight as an undefeated professional boxer. His fight is not only British boxer John Murray, but also to make weight so he can defend his lightweight title. “Bam Bam” looks like a person suffering from a terminal disease in the footage right before the weigh-in.
7.5Love blossoms secretly between two old women at an elderly care home while the specter of patriarchy looms large overhead.
6.5A peasant leader under the enlightened despotism of Empress Catherine the Great, and a love story.
2.5What is love? Two robots abandoned by their previous owner are with a new owner, a scientist. A story about the meaning of love.
5.9This animated short focuses on the lives of three eccentric people living on a farm in the Ukrainian countryside. Told in a non-linear, stream of consciousness style, the film depicts the deceitful relationship between a master and his two servants. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
6.2A prophet who longed to look upon his deities. A daunting journey to a mountain peak. A confrontation with gods too powerful to name. This is the story that inspired Peter Rhodes, who worked as a filmmaker and artist during the 1920s. Few people know of his work, and it's only through luck and perseverance that we have been able to track down the elements for this "lost" film. Rhodes' films were created using silhouette animation, a technique perfectly suited to depict Lovecraft's mythic Dreamland stories. The filmmaker's involvement in New York City's occult and literary scenes provided him with a select audience for his work. Rhodes was especially influenced through his relationships with occultist Aleister Crowley and writer H.P. Lovecraft, but it was personal tragedy that moved him to produce "The Other Gods: A Tale of the Dream Cycle," his most powerful film.
7.4When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters—an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire—to rescue him.
Enter Hamlet is a collage of images in cartoon form of a word put in balloon in each jump-cut scene as that word is said by the narrator Maurice Evans during his “To be or not to be…” soliloquy recording.
7.5Wallace and Gromit have run out of cheese, and this provides an excellent excuse for the duo to take their holiday to the moon, where, as everyone knows, there is ample cheese. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive.
7.8Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.
7.6Wallace's whirlwind romance with the proprietor of the local wool shop puts his head in a spin, and Gromit is framed for sheep-rustling in a fiendish criminal plot.
6.5A symbolic reflection on issues of female sexuality, art and identity constructs.
3.2For the fourth time, it's ghost day again at Gomorronsol Castle, where we follow Little Ghost Laban, the kindest ghost in the world who is afraid of the dark. Together with Little Prince Bus and Labolina, many super scary adventures await Laban.
4.5Alice and Julius are driving a train, which is carrying a large payroll. Pete the Bear and his gang find out about it and devise a plan to rob the train.
6.8In a fancy Parisian Café, an uptight businessman discovers he forgot to bring his wallet and bides his time by ordering more coffee.
A Pop Art extravaganza by Fred Mogubgub from the late-1960s, innovative in the use of the quick cut, this film is a parade of pop icons of its time. Features a pre-Playboy, pre-N. O. W. Gloria Steinem.
7.0Scrat tries to finish his rather large collection of acorns when things start going nutty.
6.5While trapped on the island of Madagascar, the Central Park Zoo escapees receive a visit from Santa--crash landing on their territory and getting amnesia to boot! The animals must help Santa assume his rightful place in the universe, while King Julian laps up the opportunity for his subjects.
5.9Dr. Cockroach comes up with a brilliant plan to break themselves out of Area 52 – but to implement the plan, he has to trick B.O.B. into thinking it’s his birthday.
6.2Sid the Sloth takes a school of children out on a camping trip from home, only to find that in typical Sid style, he is not a very good guide and the children he takes with him don't have a very good time.
6.4A deer, disillusioned by the consumerism that defines his life. A lizard, ostracized from society, forever wandering. A chance meeting in the middle of a field. Who will survive? And who will transcend existence? Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.
5.8Elephants Dream is the story of two strange characters exploring a capricious and seemingly infinite machine. The elder, Proog, acts as a tour-guide and protector, happily showing off the sights and dangers of the machine to his initially curious but increasingly skeptical protege Emo. As their journey unfolds we discover signs that the machine is not all Proog thinks it is, and his guiding takes on a more desperate aspect. Elephants Dream is a story about communication and fiction, made purposefully open-ended as the world’s first 3D animated “Open movie”. The film itself is released under the Creative Commons license, along with the entirety of the production files used to make it (roughly 7 Gigabytes of data). The software used to make the movie is the free/open source animation suite Blender along with other open source software, thus allowing the movie to be remade, remixed and re-purposed with only a computer and the data on the DVD or download.
7.0Enigma is something of a more glamorous version of White Hole, with a wide variety of elaborate textures (often composed of iconographic and religious symbols) converging towards the centre of the screen.