25 MUST-SEE short films!
25 MUST-SEE SHORT FILMS:
Though they are shorts, every film listed below is very much worth watching. Most - if not all - are available to view online, so try GoogleVideo or just ask me; I'll be more than happy to provide a link.
Not all listed films have comments, simply because I've never formally reviewed them. Order doesn't really matter (except for my top ten), so don't get upset about your favourite film's placing. Also, feel free to make a recommendation! 25) L Arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat {Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat}
Year: 1895; Director: Auguste Lumière, Louis Lumière; Country: France
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000012/
There doesn't seem to be anything particularly exciting about an approaching steam locomotive, but somehow this image has stuck, the first iconic scene in cinematic history. The 50-second long film, like most other Lumière shorts, successfully captures a brief snippet of everyday life, chronicling the gradual approach of the train, its slow to a halt, and the disembarkment of its passengers.
Auguste and Louis Lumière obviously recognised the power of illusion offered by their Cinématographe. In order to maximise the shock value of the approaching train, they have mounted the camera as close as possible to the edge of the platform, so that the audience feels as if they are almost standing right in the locomotive's path.
For many years, there has been an enduring myth than, upon the first screening of the film, the audience was so overwhelmed by the image of the train bearing down upon them that they fled the room in terror. This has been shown to be something of an embellishment, though the film would undoubtedly have astounded and mesmerised audiences.
24) Harvie Krumpet
Year: 2003; Director: Adam Elliot; Country: Australia
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382734/
Harvie Krumpet (born Harvek Milos Krumpetzki in 1922) has perhaps the worst luck in the world. Afflicted with Tourette's Syndrome from birth, he has always found it difficult to fit in. When his mother and father freeze to death outside their burnt-down home, and World War II comes to his native Poland, Harvie emigrates to Spotswood, Australia to start a new life.
In 2004, Adam Elliot's 'Harvie Krumpet' caused a sensation in Australia when it was awarded the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. Elliot's poignant depiction of a man finding a reason to live amidst a life fraught with bad luck had a profound effect on audiences. Created entirely using claymation a wonderful art that is growing scarcer with the advent of CGI animation the film is great to look at, and narrated by the warm voice of Geoffrey Rush.
23) Whats Opera, Doc?
Year: 1957; Director: Chuck Jones; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382734/
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
Disney animation legend Chuck Jones' 'Merrie Melodies' short, 'What's Opera, Doc?,' is a pleasant and enjoyable cartoon tribute to the classic operas that have inspired audiences for generations. The film features the voice talents of Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan, voicing the classic Disney characters of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, respectively. As we all know, Elmer's primary preoccupation is "hunting wabbits," and, in this film, he plans to do so as the demigod Siegfried, using the mighty powers of his "spear and magic helmet.
The seven-minute film is essentially an operatic parody of Richard Wagner's operas, particularly 'Der Ring des Nibelungen / The Ring of the Nibelung.' Several pieces of Wagner's music are used in the film, to great effect, as both characters sing their lines in tune to the classic score.
Quite surprisingly, the film ends with the death of Bugs Bunny, and with Elmer instantly regretful for the death he has caused, marking one of those rare occasions when Elmer has actually succeeded in "killing the wabbit!" Luckily, however, despite the unavoidable tragic opera conclusion, good old Bugs eases our worries by raising his head in the final seconds to declare, "Well, what did you expect in an opera? A happy ending?"
22) Balance
Year: 1989; Director: Christoph Lauenstein, Wolfgang Lauenstein; Country: West Germany
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096880/
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
'Balance,' the Academy Award-winning animated short from German twin brothers Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein, is a fascinating film. Five identical men (differentiated only by the numbers written on their backs) stand together on a mysterious unstable platform which balances precariously in space. When one man changes his position, the other four must also do so to maintain the intricate balance that is keeping them all alive. However, when one man recovers a cryptic musical chest from below, each person desires to examine it, their selfish wants eventually destroying the teamwork that is sustaining them.
The animation itself, though perhaps minimalist in style, is perfect for the mood of the film. The five characters are tall, straight and virtually identical, each with gaunt white, Nosferatu-like faces.
The final image of the film is poignant and haunting, as a single remaining individual (notably #23, the only prime number of the group), stands precariously on the perfectly-balanced platform, the chest unreachable on the far side. Thanks to his own selfishness, #23 now finds himself unable to move even an inch, lest the perfect equilibrium be broken. It is a worrying, and all-too-accurate, allegory for the human condition
21) Gertie the Dinosaur
Year: 1914; Director: Winsor McCay; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0004008/
Often erroneously touted as the first animation film ever made (J. Stuart Blackton's 'An Enchanted Drawing' of 1900 takes that title), Gertie the Dinosaur remains, to this day, a charming example of early animation. The live-action segments bookending the animation scenes involve a group of real-life animators portraying themselves, as one of them, Winsor McCay, bets George McManus that he can make a "Dinosaurus" live again by a series of hand-drawn cartoons.
During dinner, McCay introduces his young, playful female Apatosaurus named Gertie. She emerges somewhat tentatively from her cave, before proceeding to swallow a rock and then an entire tree. As McCay gives her instructions from off-screen, Gertie attempts to follow them, though her endless enthusiasm for mischief often leads her master to scold her.
Just as the film explicitly states, the animation of Gertie required about ten thousand hand-drawn images (by both McCay and his assistant, John A. Fitzsimmons, who traced the backgrounds), which they inked on rice paper and mounted on cardboard. In the film, it took McCay six months.
20) 12:01 PM
Year: 1990; Director: Jonathon Heap; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098962/
Imagine that, for some inexplicable reason, the entire Universe has been set to a continuous time loop. As soon as the specified time is over, everything in the Universe is reversed back to where it was, the loop restarts, and nobody even realises that this is happening over and over and over again
except for you. If, in your mind's eye, you've already formulated a mental image of a frustrated-looking Bill Murray and a cute little groundhog named Punxsutawney Phil, then you can be forgiven for the oversight. I am not referring to the hit 1993 film 'Groundhog Day,' but to a fascinating short film from three years earlier entitled '12:01 PM.'
'12:01 PM' is based on a short story of the same name, written by Richard A. Lupoff and published in the December 1973. The film stars Kurtwood Smith as Myron Castleman, a meek office worker who finds himself stuck in the aforementioned predicament. However, unlike Bill Murray, Myron is only afforded 59 minutes at a time before the inevitable loop repeats itself. Desperate to uncover an explanation for the maddening phenomenon, he eventually seeks the help of a physicist, Prof. Nathan Rosenbluth (Don Amendolia), who had predicted the "time bounce."
Stunningly acted by Smith, and astoundingly clever and original in its execution, '12:01 PM' is an intriguing science-fiction short, sometimes funny and sometimes terrifying.
19) Feed the Kitty
Year: 1952; Director: Chuck Jones; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044609/
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
'Feed the Kitty' is a relatively well-known short amongst animation enthusiasts, and the first to feature two of Chuck Jones' lesser known characters the loving bulldog Marc Antony and the cute, little kitten named Pussyfoot.
Marc Antony and his sleepy, newfound friend Pussyfoot get into all sorts of adventures, the most memorable occurring when the former believes his feline friend to have been accidentally blended and baked by his mistress to make cookies. The final minutes of the film are very touching, as an anguished Marc Antony watches the blending through blood-shot eyes, the slightest peek causing him to faint on the spot
This is one of the best examples of personality animation that I've seen; the sheer raw emotion shown by Marc Antony, as he carries a kitten-shaped cookie on his back, is simply unforgettable, and his elation upon discovering that Pussyfoot is alive and well is equally memorable. This is a highly recommended animated short that will touch you surprisingly deeply.
18) The Great Train Robbery
Year: 1903; Director: Edwin S. Porter; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0000439/
17) Zhil-byl pyos {There was a Dog}
Year: 1981; Director: Eduard Nazarov; Country: Soviet Union
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216434/
Eduard Nazarov's 'Zhil-byl pyos' (or, alternatively, There was a Dog) is based upon a classic Ukrainian fairytale that told of a dog making friends with a wolf, re-enforcing the age-old wisdom that good is always rewarded by good. When the clumsy and lazy domestic dog (voiced by Georgi Burkov) is banished from his home after neglecting to stop a burglar, he depressingly retreats into the forest and seems as though he is about to hang himself. However, a wheezy old wolf (Armen Dzhigarkhanyan) manages to talk him out of it, and he offers the dog his assistance in reclaiming the love of his family.
The following winter, the dog, long ago returned to his home, hears the mournful howls of the wolf, and he follows the sound. He finds the wolf huddled cold, weak and hungry amidst the snow, and so sets about returning the favour that had saved his life previously.
A combination of wonderful animation and a touching morality tale makes 'Zhil-byl pyos' one of the finest Russian animated shorts that I've seen.
16) One Froggy Evening
Year: 1955; Director: Chuck Jones; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048449/
Released on December 31 1955 as part of the Warner Brothers' 'Merrie Melodies' series, 'One Froggy Evening' is one of the most highly-regarded of all cartoons, voted #5 of all time in 1994 by members of the animation field.
A 1950s construction worker has just completed demolishing a building built in 1892. Hidden in a cornerstone, he discovers a small box containing a tired frog, which eases itself into the open air and, surprisingly, bursts into full song, performing "Hello! Ma baby," in an act complete with a top hat and cane. Notions of fame and wealth pass through the construction worker's mind, and he snatches the frog to be used in his money-making schemes. There is one problem, however, and we would find out. This flamboyant amphibian performer refuses to display his talent in front of anybody else.
Though unnamed at the time of the cartoon's release, director Chuck Jones later dubbed his frog "Michigan J. Frog" after one of the songs he performs. The voice behind the frog was long considered a mystery, but the 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection' credits the vocals to baritone Bill Roberts, who was a Los Angeles nightclub entertainer in the 1950s.
15) Un chien andalou {An Andalusian Dog}
Year: 1929; Director: Luis Buñuel; Country: France
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0020530/
14) Shoulder Arms
Year: 1918; Director: Charles Chaplin; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0009611/
Charles Chaplin's 'Shoulder Arms' of 1918 was his longest film to date, though, at just over 45 minutes in length, it was not quite a feature film. With World War One just drawing to a close, many popular entertainers of the time were doing their part to inspire their native troops, and Chaplin was no exception. And so the lovable Tramp went to war!
The film begins with the Tramp in training, and the character is hilariously inept at even the simplest military drills, including marching and gun-slinging, much to the disgust of his drill sergeant. The Tramp then finds himself in the trenches, faced with a more formidable foe, though the Germans eventually turn out of be infinitely more incompetent than even he. The uproarious moment when the Tramp declares that he single-handedly captured thirteen German soldiers by "surrounding them" will have you in stitches.
However, the most memorable scenes in the film undoubtedly involve Chaplin skulking behind enemy lines disguised as a tree. The reactions of the bumbling German soldiers, unknowingly just metres from a sworn enemy, as they are single-handedly disabled one-by-one, are highly amusing, especially when one soldier grapples an axe with the intention of cutting down a tree for firewood.
13) Frankenstein
Year: 1910; Director: J. Searle Dawley; Country: USA
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0001223/
*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS ***
The first adaptation of Mary Shelley's classic horror novel, 'Frankenstein,' this 16 minute short by Edison Studios, remains a hidden cinematic gem, brimming with imagination and clever production values for its day. The film was considered long-lost for many decades, However, in the mid-1970s, it was revealed that a Wisconsin film collector, Alois F. Dettlaff, had been sitting on a print of the film since the 1950s, unaware of its rarity.
Though keeping with Mary Shelley's basic premise, the film deviates quite significantly from the source material. A young, brilliant student, Victor Frankenstein (Augustus Phillips), returns from college, fascinated with the concepts of life and death. It isn't long before he has discovered the secret of life, and so he attempts to create the "most perfect human being that the world has yet known."
The birth of the Monster itself (Charles Ogle) is a surprisingly frightening spectacle. As Frankenstein observes expectantly through a hole in the chamber, the hideously-disfigured shadow of the Monster rises ominously from the fiery cauldron, wreathed in flames and flailing violently amidst the heat.
The film's carefully-planned final scene, played out in front of a mirror, is also very memorable. Rejected for the final time by his "father," the hideous Monster stands before the mirror with its arms wide, as if imploring the reflection to consume him. He eventually fades from existence, though we can still clearly see his likeness in the mirror's reflection. Frankenstein rushes into the room and peers into the mirror, stunned to discover not his own likeness but that of his Monster, suggesting the tantalising possibility that his Monster represents the "evil" side of the scientists personality, the monster within the man.*** Continued Below ***
Last Film Seen:
* Duck Soup (1933, Leo McCarey) (7/10)