International

Alice

This adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland mixes animation and live action to create a dreamlike world, but don't let that fool you into thinking it's simply a kid's film. Young Alice (Kristyna Kohoutová, spoken by Camilla Power) watches a stuffed and mounted rabbit come to life in her playroom and follows it through a magical drawer into a strange world that resembles a 19th-century toy store come to life, with a few specimens from a natural history museum thrown in. Czech animator Jan Svankmajer retains the familiar story elements but tweaks them with bizarre imagery brought to herky-jerky life with his spasmodic style of stop-motion animation. The caterpillar becomes a sock puppet with dentures, while other crazy creatures materialize as creepy skull-headed beings that bleed sawdust. Throughout the tale Svankmajer returns to punctuating close-ups of Alice's lips telling the story, just to remind us that this is a tale told. In the best surrealist tradition Svankmajer uses familiar objects in unfamiliar ways, giving a fantasy quality to the banal (and the not so banal) while tipping the dream logic to the edge of nightmare. While the imagery remains more unsettling than genuinely disturbing, younger children will certainly be happier with Disney's brightly colored animated classic Alice in Wonderland. Older children and adults will better appreciate Svankmajer's sly visual wit and unusual animation style. --Sean Axmaker

Bruno Bozzetto's: Allegro Non Troppo

Nominally, Allegro Non Troppo is an Italian spoof of Disney's classic Fantasia, and with its commentary on the human condition and its consequences, the film goes in thematic directions Disney would never have touched. Interspersed with the animation are black-and-white segments that involve a dictatorial conductor, a mousy animator, an orchestra full of old ladies, and a blowhard director. The animator is Italian comic Maurizio Nichetti, and the style is broad slapstick humor that stands in sharp contrast to the animated parts. Synced to Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a vignette involving a satyr and his efforts to attract nymphs while fighting the effects of age, set perfectly to the mood of the piece. "Valse Triste" is set to the story of an abandoned cat as he wanders a derelict (war-torn?) building and remembers how things were when he had a more comfortable life. An incredibly imaginative segment is set to Ravel's "Bolero"; astronauts drop a Coke bottle on a planet and the story of evolution is traced, beginning in the bottle. A piece set to Stravinsky's The Firebird begs the question: what if it were a perfect world and Adam and Eve had resisted the temptation of the apple in the Garden of Eden? The style of the animation calls to mind late-'60s pop-art icon Peter Max, Yellow Submarine, and even the paintings of Bosch; what Allegro Non Troppo lacks in the visual detail of the Disney film, it makes up for in inventiveness, emotional depth, and wit. Be advised, though, that many segments are more adult in theme and not very suitable for kids. The pratfalls and gags of the live-action interludes seem out of place until they provide some relief from the pathos of some of the animation (like "Valse Triste," a real tear-jerker). This is an important animated film that has been somewhat neglected after its popularity in the '70s, and a must-see for animation fans. --Jerry Renshaw

In a riot of color and music, master animator Bruno Bozzetto offers his irreverent tribute to Disney's Fantasia. Transcending parody, this erotic, satiric, and delirious animated feature represents Bozzetto's vision of the world. In six distinct episodes, fantastic cartoon creatures march, slither, and bounce to the classical rhythms of Debussy, Dvorak, Ravel, Sibelius, Vivaldi, and Stravinsky. Perhaps most entrancing is the visualization of Ravel's "Bolero," in which the dregs of a Coke® bottle set forth a frenzied animal evolution across a surreal landscape. Maurizio Nichetti (The Icicle Thief, Volere Volare) stars in the equally wild live-action sequences that introduce each piece. For many critics, Allegro non troppo matches or surpasses the imagination and technique of Disney's masterpiece.

Jan Svankmajer: The Ossuary and Other Tales

Cinema16: European Short Films

Cinema16 is pleased to announce the US release of Cinema16: European Short Films. This two-disc edition features previously unseen short films and early works by some of today's most notable filmmakers, as well as award-winning films from its rising stars. In addition to the films, the set contains over three hours of commentaries and a 16-page color booklet.

Film Listing:
1. The Man Without a Head- Juan Solanas (France)
2. Wasp- Andrea Arnold (United Kingdom)
3. Doodlebug- Christopher Nolan (United Kingdom)
4. World of Glory- Roy Andersson (Sweden)
5. Je T'aime John Wayne- Toby MacDonald (United Kingdom)
6. Gasman- Lynne Ramsay (Scotland)
7. Jabberwocky- Jan Svankmajer (Czech Republic)
8. Fierrot Le Pou- Matthieu Kassovitz (France)
9. Rabbit- Run Wrake (United Kingdom)
10. Copy Shop- Virgil Widrich (Austria)
11. Boy and Bicycle- Ridley Scott (United Kingdom)
12. Nocturne- Lars Von Trier (Denmark)
13. Before Dawn- Balint Kenyers (Hungary)
14. Election Night- Anders Thomas Jensen (Denmark)
15. Six Shooter- Martin McDonagh (Ireland)
16. The Opening Day of Close-Up- Nanni Moretti (Italy)

Faust

Jan Svankmajer's long awaited follow up to his acclaimed "Alice" is an equally astounding version of the myth of Dr. Faustus. Merging live action with stop motion and claymation, Svankmajer has created an unsettling universe presided over by diabolic life size marionettes and haunted by skulking human messengers from hell.

Masters Of Russian Animation - Volume 2

Films included in this volume: Seasons (I. Ivanov-Vano, 1969), Ballerina on a Boat (L. Atamanov, 1969), Armoire (A. Khrjanovsky, 1970), Battle of Kerjenets (I. Ivanov-Vano and Yuri Norstein, 1971), Butterfly (A. Khrjanovsky, 1972), Island (F. Khitruk, 1973), Fox and Rabbit (Y. Norstein, 1973), Heron and Crane (Y. Norstein, 1974), Hedgehog in the Fog (Y. Norstein, 1975), Crane's Feathers (I. Garanina, 1977), Firing Range (A. Petrov, 1975), Contact (Vladimir Tarasov, 1978).

Masters Of Russian Animation - Volume 1

An extraordinary collection of Russias most important animated short films by Russias world renowned directors and artists. Winners of the top prizes at Annecy , Cannes, Colombo, Delhi, Espinho, Grijon, Hiroshima, Huesca, Kiev, Krakow Lille, London, Mamaia, Melbourne, Moscow New York, Oberhausen, Odense, Ottawa, Stuttgart, Sydney, Tampere, Tours, Venice, and Zagreb. Presented in anthology format for the first time. As seen on Bravo and the Independent Film Channel. This DVD covers the years 1962-1968.

Fyodor Khitruk Story of One Crime 1962 20 min
Fyodor Khitruk Man in A Frame 1966 10 min
Vadim Kurchevsky My Green Crocodile 1966 10 min
Andrei Khrjanovsky There Lived Kozyavin 1966 7 min
Rasa Strautmane Mountain of Dinosaurs 1967 10 min
Yefem Gamburg Passions of Spies 1967 20 min
Andrei Khrjanovsky Glass Harmonica 1968 20 min
Nikolai Serebryakov Ball of Yarn 1968 10 min
Anatoly Petrov Singing Teacher 1968 3 min
Fyodor Khitruk Film Film Film 1968 20 min

Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 3

An extraordinary collection of award-winning animated short films by Russia's world-renowned directors and artists. Digitally restored from 35mm materials newly printed by the National Film Archive of Russia, these are the highly personal animated short films from the Soyuzmultfilm Studio. Produced from 1979 through 1985, this volume of films, many of which received highest honors at international film festivals, are each unique, crafted artistically and intellectually. Includes: Tale of Tales, Hunt, Cabaret, Last Hunt, There Was a Dog, Travels of an Ant, Lion and Bull, Wolf and Calf, Old Stair, King's Sandwich, About Sidorov Vova.

Color - Russian - Mono - Sub: English

Little Otik (Otesanek)

Surrealist master Jan Svankmajer (FAUST, ALICE) brings a famous Czech legend eerily to life in the darkly hilarious cautionary tale of LITTLE OTIK. An ordinary couple, Karel and Bozena, are unable to conceive a child. When Karel digs up a tree root and whittles something vaguely resembling a human baby, Bozena's maternal longings transform the stump into a living creature with a (literally) monstrous appetite that can't be met with baby formula. Svankmajer brilliantly mixes his wicked humor with his subversive politics and love of mythology into a stunning live-action fable for our times. This Edition also features Svankmajer's surrealist THE FLAT

Lunacy