A personal journal of film and documentary reviews, and reviews of anything else that intrigues me.
J Searle Dawley, “Frankenstein” (1910) Made by Edison Studios in 1910, this is the first adaptation of the famous Gothic horror novel by Mary Shelley onto…
Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, “The Eye and the Ear / Oko i Ucho” (1944 / 1945) Abstract and experimental animation has a long and illustrious history…
Zbigniew Rybczinski, “Tango” (1981) Winner of the 1981 Oscar for Best Animated Short, this 8-minute film is a collection of live-action film clips, all of which…
Jerzy Kucia, “Reflections / Refleksy” (1979) Black-and-white animation has never been used so well as in this little film about the slings and arrows of outrageous…
Zofia Oraczewska, “The Banquet / Bankiet” (1976) Its style seems outdated for a short animation of its vintage but I believe this is still a much…
Marek Skrobecki, “Ichthys” (2005) For once I didn’t need to look up an English translation for the title of this Polish animation short which uses animated…
Witold Giersz, “The Red and the Black / Czorwane i Czarne” (1963) / “The Horse / Kon” (1967) I was held spellbound by these two very…
Ryszard Czekala, “Son / Syn” (1970) This short silent animation piece is one that Polish animator Ryszard Czekala is best known for and it’s easy to…
Ingmar Bergman, “Smultronstället / Wild Strawberries” (1957) Few movies feature 80 or 70-something actors as lead characters so to see Bergman’s “Wild Strawberries” with Viktor Sjöström in…
Stanley Kubrick, “A Clockwork Orange” (2013) Not a bad film but for what it is, “A Clockwork Orange” is fussy and relies too much on shock,…