Shorts List Discussion and Suggestions (Lists Project Vol 2)

[zedz]

Since we're going ahead with the Shorts List (well, a few of us, at any rate) and it's such a vast field of endeavour, I'll try to kickstart the discussion with some suggestions drawn from my previous decade-by-decade lists. Here's ten from each period for your consideration.

(I'll break this up into a couple of posts just so I don't crash the forum or anything!)

Silent Era

Interior New York Subway 14th Street to 42nd Street (Bitzer, 1905) – Just as some contributors found it hard to consider short films alongside features, I find it hard to assess actualities alongside more ‘creative' short films. But I adore this early marvel as a proto-structuralist film, a dazzling sequence of moving shapes and mysterious light. (on Treasures from American Film Archives Vol 1, Unseen Cinema)

Mystery of the Leaping Fish (Cabanne / Emerson, 1916) – Explicit drug references! The past really is another, gleefully coke-fuelled, country. (on The Gaucho (Kino))

The Sinking of the Lusitania (McCay, 1918) – Maybe McCay's most accomplished animation, with intriguing implications of a strange parallel universe for non-fiction filmmaking. (on Winsor McCay: The Master Edition)

The Playhouse (Keaton, 1921) – Technical genius in both filmmaking and performance. Funny, too. (on Buster Keaton Shorts box (MoC) and The General (Kino))

Never Weaken (Newmeyer, 1921) – The last reel is perhaps the most astounding stunt film ever made, and the black humour that precedes it is pretty unusual for this or any other time in Hollywood. (on The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection)

Menilmontant (Kirsanov, 1926) – Thanks heavens this burst of brilliance squeezes in under 40 minutes (according to imdb). More invention in its half-feature length than many entire filmographies. (on Avant Garde set (Kino))

Walking from Munich to Berlin (Oskar Fischinger, 1927) – Ultra-montaged journey that's unique within Fischinger's oeuvre and cinema as a whole. (on Oskar Fischinger: Ten Films (CVM))

There It Is (Muller, 1928) – An indescribable madcap oddity (Goons-surrealism avant la lettre). Not available on the (fine) Charley Bowers DVD set, but on the indispensible American Film Archives one. (on More Treasures from American Film Archives)

Un Chien Andalou (Bunuel / Dali, 1929) (on Un Chien Andalou / L'Age d'Or (BFI))

Tusalava (Lye, 1929) – Amazing ethno-abstract first film (unavailable on DVD?)


1930s

Study No 7 (Hungarian Dance) (Fischinger, 1931) – A couple of years into the sound era, and Fischinger has already perfected visual music. (on Oskar Fischinger: Ten Films (CVM))

Mor'Vran (Epstein, 1931) – Brilliantly atmospheric Breton documentary with vestigial narrative threaded through it. (unavailable on DVD?)

Study No 8 (The Sorcerer's Apprentice) (Fischinger, 1931) (unavailable on DVD?)

La Cartomancienne (Hill, 1932) – Amateur and, to a degree, amateurish, but there are some gorgeously lyrical water shots in here. (on Unseen Cinema)

Las Hurdes (Bunuel, 1933) (on Los Olvidados (MK2))

Thru the Mirror (Hand, 1936) – One of the most visually inventive Disney shorts of the era, but they're all executed exquisitely. (on Walt Disney Treasures: Mickey Mouse in Living Color Vol 1)

Lot in Sodom (Watson / Webber, 1937) – One of the first “symphonies for optical printerâ€

[zedz]

More shorts worth tracking down:

1960s

La Jetee (Marker, 1962) – The best science fiction film ever made, unless you think that science fiction is about special effects and not ideas. Wait a minute – this science fiction film probably has the greatest special effect in cinema, and the special effect is cinema. (on La Jetee / Sans Soleil (Criterion))

Window Water Baby Moving (Brakhage, 1962) (on By Brakhage (Criterion))

Big City Blues (van der Linden, 1962) – Very nasty, but stylistically compelling. Boy, girl, bunny, building site = terror and timeslips. (unavailable on DVD?)

The House Is Black (Farrokhzad, 1963) – On the strength of this, her single film, Farrokhzad is one of the greatest filmmakers in the rich tradition of Iranian cinema. Unforgettable. (on The House Is Black (Facets), or with issue of French publication Cinema)

Scorpio Rising (Anger, 1964) – Pop culture – and pop music – would never be the same. (forthcoming on The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 2 (Fantoma))

La Corne d'Or (Pialat, 1964) – This lyrical travelogue is probably Pialat's least characteristic film, but on its own terms it's pure visual and aural seduction, with the most gorgeous score Georges Delerue ever wrote (I'm not kidding!) (on Pialat integrale Vol 1 (French release))

Film (Schneider, 1965) – A one-of-a-kind film (Samuel Beckett + Buster Keaton + Boris Kaufman = ?), perpetually intriguing and damned funny. The most minimal sound film ever made. (on Film (Films sans Frontieres))

Pas de Deux (McLaren, 1968) – Possibly the most ravishing use to which an optical printer has ever been put, and one of the most revelatory dance films. (on Norman McLaren: The Masters Edition)

A Quiet Week in the House (Svankmajer, 1969) – The tension between the smart, comic framing story (a not-too-distant cousin of both Blood of a Poet and Film) and the extravagant lyricism of the animated interludes is exquisite. Svankmajer is not just one of the greatest animators cinema has produced, he's one of the greatest, most original editors. (on The Complete Short Films of Jan Svankmajer (BFI))

A Day with the Boys (Gulager, 1969) – A surprising discovery by David Gordon Green and a must-see for any fans of Laszlo Kovacs. (on George Washington (Criterion))


1970s

The Ossuary (Svankmajer, 1970) – I've only recently seen the ‘original' version, but my vote would be for the one with the Liska soundtrack. My favourite score from one of the greatest composers of film music, and the visuals are that much more hallucinatory with this soundtrack. I even made a pilgrimage to Sedlec on the strength of this film. (on The Complete Short Films of Jan Svankmajer (BFI))

The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes (Brakhage, 1971) – Not a pretty picture, but a pretty unforgettable one. (on By Brakhage (Criterion))

Melody (Averty, 1971) – Dazzling early-video-art visualisation of Serge Gainsbourg's entire Histoire de Melody Nelson album, so its soundtrack alone is one of the best of any 70s film. (on D'autres nouvelles des etoiles (UK release))

Lucifer Rising (Anger, 1972) – This film has always struck me as sort of ludicrous, but it's cinematically compelling nevertheless. (forthcoming on The Films of Kenneth Anger Vol. 2 (Fantoma))

El Cabina (Mercero, 1972) – Probably the creepiest half-hour of television ever created, even if it's kind of ridiculous on paper. (unavailable on DVD?)

Powers of Ten (Eames, 1977) (on The Films of Charles and Ray Eames: the Power of Ten, Vol. 1)

La Soufriere (Herzog, 1977) – So purely Herzogian it could all be an elaborate hoax. There are plenty of great short films in his filmography: see also the wildly different Last Words and Nobody Wants to Play with Me. (on Documentaries and Short Films box set, or The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner etc. disc)

Hello Skinny (Whifler, 1979) – Surely the creepiest music video ever shot. The song is eerie enough, but the images drag it into a whole ‘nother underworld. (on Icky Flix)

Tale of Tales (Norstein, 1979) – In the world of animation, this is an achievement on a par with Tarkovsky's Mirror. (on Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 3 (Image))

Asparagus (Pitt, 1979) – Brain-shredding feminist psychedelia. (on El Doctor, Joy Street and Asparagus)

[zedz]

And last but not least:

1980s

Sing, Beast, Sing (Newland, 1980) – Gloriously funny animation, with dead-on deadpan pacing. The Toledo Mung Beast sings the blues. (unavailable on DVD?)

Ulysse (Varda, 1982) – Smart, witty interrogation of a photograph. (unavailable on DVD?)

Death and Transfiguration (Davies, 1983) – The entire Terence Davies Trilogy is indispensible, but the despairing, transcendent coda is its high point. A Hard Day's Night and Steptoe and Son would never be the same. (unavailable on DVD?)

Devotions (Broughton, 1983) – A heart-warming vision of a gay utopia, an unbelievably tender film. (on The Films of James Broughton (Facets))

A Girl's Own Story (Campion, 1984) – Still her best film. (on Sweetie (Criterion))

Street of Crocodiles (Quay Brothers, 1986) – I've lost count how many times I've seen this, but it's forever strange and new. (on The Quay Brothers: the Short Films (BFI) or Phantom Museum)

Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies (Quay Brothers, 1988) – Hard to beat for pure visual sensation. (on The Quay Brothers: the Short Films (BFI) or Phantom Museum)

Darkness Light Darkness (Svankmajer, 1989) (on The Complete Short Films of Jan Svankmajer (BFI))

25 Ways to Quit Smoking (Plympton, 1989) – The ultimate Bill Plympton film. Hilarious, beautifully paced. What went wrong? (on Plymptoons: The Complete Works of Bill Plympton)

Elephant (Clarke, 1989) – A startling concept executed (ahem) with steely perfection. One of the few films to process the profound implications of Jansco's aesthetic and not just adopt his surface style. And, absolutely central to Clarke's aesthetic, it was made for TV. (on The Alan Clarke Collection box set or The Firm / Elephant (both Blue Underground))


1990s

Screen Play (Purves, 1992) – Wonderfully imaginative animation that's more Double Suicide than Wallace & Gromit. (unavailable on DVD?)

Ali Click (Lefdup / Flash / Eno, 1992) – Kaleidoscopic music video in the best Fischinger / McLaren tradition. (unavailable on DVD?)

Sweetness (Davies, 1992) – Eerie transformed narrative of abuse. (unavailable on DVD?)

Hotel E (Parn, 1992) – Several viewings later, I still have little idea of the specifics of the allegory, but this is a brilliantly original piece of animation. (unavailable on DVD?)

Rules of the Road (Friedrich, 1993) – Dazzlingly original, and moving, narrative film compiled from the least likely elements (lots of shots of old faux-wood-pannelled station wagons). (on The Films of Su Friedrich (Outcast))

The Wrong Trousers (Park, 1993) (on Wallace and Gromit: Three Amazing Adventures)

Black Ice (Brakhage, 1994) – This film makes me feel like I'm seeing into an extra dimension. (on By Brakhage (Criterion))

Sugar Water (Gondry, 1996) – Audacious head-spinning visual / temporal palindrome, with homemade wormholes. The fact that this could be imagined in the first place is almost as impressive as carrying it out. (on The Work of Director Michel Gondry (Palm))

Alone: Life Wastes Andy Hardy (Arnold, 1998) – The best of the hypnotically-manipulated-found-footage school (see also Matthias Muller). (unavailable on DVD?)

Let Forever Be (Gondry, 1999) – Busby Berkeley enters the twenty-first century, by way of 1981. (on The Work of Director Michel Gondry (Palm))


00s

The Heart of the World (Maddin, 2000) – Who needs the bloated Metropolis when you can get through this in a fraction of the time? (on Twilight of the Ice Nymphs)

Star Guitar (Gondry, 2001) – Wonderfully subtle CGI work in which the passing landscape embodies the music. (on The Work of Director Michel Gondry (Palm))

Come Into My World (Gondry, 2002) – The most poetic use of motion-capture technology yet perpetrated. A short film that secures Gondry's reputation as one of modern cinema's greatest stylists. (on The Work of Director Michel Gondry (Palm))

Lifeline (Erice, 2002) – Our only Erice so far this century, with all the mastery of his features. (on Ten Minutes Older: The Trumpet (UK release))

The Skywalk Is Gone (Tsai, 2002) – In a sense this is really just the connecting tissue between What Time Is It There? and The Wayward Cloud, but that's nothing to sneeze at. Tsai is so squarely in the tradition of Beckett that I'd like to see him explore such short forms more often. (on Goodbye Dragon Inn)

.tibbaR (Wentink, 2004) – Stylish, perverse reverse-film. (unavailable on DVD?)

The Hand (Wong, 2004) – Maybe his most controlled work. Again, this is a director I'd like to see work under the discipline of the short form more often. (on Eros)

Ydessa, the Bears and etc. (Varda, 2004) – Penetrating whimsy and great personal filmmaking. (unavailable on DVD?)

Outerborough (Morrison, 2005) – Mesmerising found footage deconstruction. (unavailable on DVD?)

Green Bush (Thornton, 2005) – Impressive, atmospheric first film from an Australian Aboriginal director. (unavailable on DVD?)

[souvenir]

Thanks for this zedz. I know it would take some work, but adding where one could find/watch these shorts would be very helpful as well.

[zedz]

I'll give it a go, where I have information - any other availability info readily accepted!

EDIT: Sources added (R1 unless noted), corrections and additions invited.

[toiletduck!]

I know that Film is out in R2, but my mind is apparently slipping. I'll do some looking.

-Toilet Dcuk

EDIT: Ah, thank you, foggy eyes!

[foggy eyes]

Film has been released by MK2 (although I can't get the specific link to work), and is also available to watch at your leisure here.

[Gropius]

This list should actually be a pretty interesting one (depending on how many people enter), given that the field of short film is less obviously canonised than features.

Many of my own potential choices have already been covered above by Zed, although I have seen a somewhat narrower range.

I imagine La Jetée will score very highly, taking into account the bonus buzz from the recent Criterion.

[Scharphedin2]

Thanks for putting together this huge list, zedz.

Luis Buñuel's Las Hurdes/Land Without Bread is included as an extra on Films sans Frontiere's release of Los Olvidados (R2 France).

Another very interesting short film director that will definitely make my list is Alexandre Alexeïef. A collection of his works is out from Cinedoc (again in France) entitled Le cinéma épingle.

And then I will add one more collection that I am sure zedz will second -- The Cameraman's Revenge & Other Fantastic Tales (Image Entertainment) being a set of 8 animated shorts by Ladislaw Starewicz.

[Gropius]

Isn't it possible that - applying the 'must have two votes to be eligible' rule - there might not in fact be 100 eligible titles, depending on how many entries there are and the wilfulness of their eclecticism?

[zedz]

I think you're right that there's a much smaller 'canon' of short films and that this might be reflected in a comparatively short consensus list. We'll see what happens, but I'm anticipating way less than 100. The payoff is that we might end up with more surprises per inch.

The Cameraman's Revenge was indeed on my initial Silent Era list, but fell off when I cut each decade down to only ten films.

Another favourite film that I overlooked / omitted was Mike Kuchar's The Secret of Wendel Samson, a film that 'other-izes' heterosexuality in an impressively original way. It's available on the Sins of the Fleshapoids DVD.

Brother George shouldn't be forgotten either, but his films are more elusive. According to imdb, his filmography runs to over 200 films. I've only seen a handful, but can recommend Hold Me While I'm Naked, the comparatively reserved Wild Night in El Reno, I, an Actress (a bad acting masterclass), and Forever and Always, which includes my favourite cinematic motor accident. George Kuchar is probably single-handedly responsible for the ten all-time greatest film titles.

[jonp72]

To liven things up, I've decided to offer an unranked, semi-chronological list of short films that I'm probably going to include on my top 50 list.

Silent Era: The Cameraman's Revenge, Ballet Mecanique, Charleston (Renoir), Un Chien Andalou, Paris Qui Dort/The Crazy Ray

1930s: Land Without Bread, Colour Box, The Mascot (Starewicz)

1940s: At Land, Meshes of the Afternoon, Jammin' the Blues, Red Hot Riding Hood, Blood of the Beasts, Ecole Des Facteurs, Begone Dull Care, Puce Moment

1950s: Duck Amuck, A Movie (Conner), Science Friction (Van der Beek), Les Astronautes (Marker/Borowzyk), Statues Meurent Aussi (Marker/Resnais), Night and Fog, Free Radicals, Yantra (Whitney), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Window Water Baby Moving (but 1962 according to IMDB)

1960s: La Jetee, Breakaway (Conner), Report (Conner), Alphabet (David Lynch), Pas de Deux (McLaren), Bambi vs. Godzilla

1970s: Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia (Frampton), Rendezvous (Lelouch), Colloque de Chiens/Dogs' Dialogue (Raul Ruiz), Two Solutions for One Problem (Kiarostami), Mongoloid (Bruce Conner)

1980s: Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy (Martin Arnold), Your Face (Plympton), Rocket Kit Kongo Kit (Craig Baldwin)

1990s: the Heart of the World (Maddin)

That's about 30-something right now, and I haven't even started to go through my Keaton and Chaplin shorts. I also have another short that I'm quite fond of, but I'm afraid nobody would able to spell it, even if they had heard of it. Thom Andersen, who may be best known for the essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself, did a very wonderful short film early in his career that he called an example of "pop structuralism." (Think Paul Sharits meets Bruce Conner with Day-Glo filters and a soundtrack made of microsecond snippets of Top 40 music circa 1966.) The film's title was \/ / , or the symbol for an iamb in poetic meter. I can't even find the right keys on my keyboard to render the title properly. I guess you had to be there, but the short was great.

[jonp72]

Here's a list of my favorite shorts so far:

Silent Era: The Cameraman's Revenge, Ballet Mecanique, Charleston (Renoir), Un Chien Andalou, Paris Qui Dort/The Crazy Ray

1930s: Land Without Bread, Colour Box, The Mascot (Starewicz)

1940s: At Land, Meshes of the Afternoon, Jammin' the Blues, Red Hot Riding Hood, Blood of the Beasts, Ecole Des Facteurs, Begone Dull Care, Puce Moment

1950s: Duck Amuck, A Movie (Conner), Science Friction (Van der Beek), Les Astronautes (Marker/Borowzyk), Statues Meurent Aussi (Marker/Resnais), Night and Fog, Free Radicals, Yantra (Whitney), Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome, Window Water Baby Moving (but 1962 according to IMDB)

1960s: La Jetee, Breakaway (Conner), Report (Conner), Alphabet (David Lynch), Pas de Deux (McLaren), Bambi vs. Godzilla

1970s: Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia (Frampton), Rendezvous (Lelouch), Colloque de Chiens/Dogs' Dialogue (Raul Ruiz), Two Solutions for One Problem (Kiarostami), Mongoloid (Bruce Conner)

1980s: Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy (Martin Arnold), Your Face (Plympton), Rocket Kit Kongo Kit (Craig Baldwin)

1990s: the Heart of the World (Maddin)

That's about 30-something right now, and I haven't even started to go through my Keaton and Chaplin shorts. I also have another short that I'm quite fond of, but I'm afraid nobody would able to spell it, even if they had heard of it. Thom Andersen, who may be best known for the essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself, did a very wonderful short film early in his career that he called an example of "pop structuralism." (Think Paul Sharits meets Bruce Conner with Day-Glo filters and a soundtrack made of microsecond snippets of Top 40 music circa 1966.) The film's title was \/ / , or the symbol for an iamb in poetic meter. I can't even find the right keys on my keyboard to render the title properly. I guess you had to be there, but the short was great.

[toiletduck!]

Bambi Vs. Godzilla? Hell yeah!

This might just be the first list I participate in -- for the first time, I feel like I've got a good knowledge base, which seems a little odd.

-Toilet Dcuk

[souvenir]

I probably missed this somewhere, but are portions of omnibus films eligible? I'm thinking specifically of Truffaut's Antoine and Colette, but other notables would include the RoGoPaG and Boccaccio '70 segments.

[jonp72]

Bambi Vs. Godzilla? Hell yeah!

Here's a copy of the film on Video Google. Now, that's minimalism! It's also available on a discontinued DVD of Spike & Mike's Classic Festival of Animation and on a Region 2 Swedish release of Godzilla.

[Michael Kerpan]

I would like to plug a few essentials for starters--

Frederick Back's works -- especially Crac and (if it isn't too long) Man who Planted Trees.

Yuri Norstein's work -- especially Hedgehog in the Fog anf Tale of Tales.

Osamu Tezuka's work -- especially Jumping and Story of a Certain Street Corner

Starewicz's Cameraman's Revenge

Harold Lloyd's Ask Father

Godard's All Boys are Named Patrick

If parts of omnibus films count, then I recommend Atsushi Sanada's Say, Marimo:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=22fSspZCA-c

also, director unknown, Ahiru no waltz (Waltz of the Duck -- sung by Aoi Miyazaki):

www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ReIsjnrEM

[zedz]

I say sections of omnibus films are in (because I can - and because they've been nominated on their own for the big brother lists in the past) - as long as the segment in question is under 40 minutes.

[toiletduck!]

Thanks for the link, jonp! I hadn't seen that since the old VHS of La Jetee my college library had.

And I should probably toss this over here as well (from the 60s list thread):

So are short films still eligible for the main lists as well? I've been long awaiting the 60s list to campaign for one of the most hopeless causes of the project: Barbara Rubin's 1963 short Christmas on Earth. Coming from Warhol's Factory, this half-hour double-projection film is an experience bordering on conceptual art: it is accompanied by a radio turned on and allowed to play and the projectionist randomly passing different colored gels in front of the projector, all while showing Rubin's friends in sexually explicit (and body-painted) situations.

I don't know where you're going to manage to find a way to see this if you haven't already, but keep your eyes peeled. Mind-altering stuffs.

Oh, and did I mention Rubin was 19 when she made it?

-Toilet Dcuk

[zedz]

On the Factory-related note: Danny Williams' work is a terrific recent discovery, especially Factory Film. It's fascinating to see the same material and superstars featured in Warhol's films from such a radically different aesthetic perspective.

[zedz]

Ali Click (Lefdup / Flash / Eno, 1992) – Kaleidoscopic music video in the best Fischinger / McLaren tradition. (unavailable on DVD?)

But if you can handle the low-res, it is available on YouTube.

Also worth a look is Aleksandr Petrov's recent My Love. Petrov has long been one of the great exponents of hand-painted animation, but this film goes to a new level. It's probably one of the great technical feats in animation history.

[Magic Hate Ball]

Thom Andersen, who may be best known for the essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself, did a very wonderful short film early in his career that he called an example of "pop structuralism." (Think Paul Sharits meets Bruce Conner with Day-Glo filters and a soundtrack made of microsecond snippets of Top 40 music circa 1966.) The film's title was \/ /, or the symbol for an iamb in poetic meter. I can't even find the right keys on my keyboard to render the title properly. I guess you had to be there, but the short was great.

Actually, I'm pretty sure it's called "—- ———-", whatever the hell that means.

[Michael Kerpan]

Also worth a look is Aleksandr Petrov's recent My Love. Petrov has long been one of the great exponents of hand-painted animation, but this film goes to a new level. It's probably one of the great technical feats in animation history.

I believe it is out (or will soon come out) on DVD in Japan -- is it available elsewhere ?

[jonp72]

Actually, I'm pretty sure it's called "—- ———-", whatever the hell that means.

Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it?

[zedz]

Two weeks or so until those lists are due!