This is a DVD collection of 16 short films of different directors and time periods (from 1943 to 2005), and of varying lengths (from 3 to 41 minutes). I will briefly go into each one:
1) "A Lunch Date" (1990) - A chance meeting in a train station between a woman who has just missed her train and a man, perhaps homeless, who sits uninvited at her table and starts eating her salad! The story has a clever twist that you might miss if you don't pay close attention - I admit I did the first time until I rewound and picked it up. ***
2) "Five Feet High And Rising" (1999) - Two hot summer days in a poor Latino neighborhood where a young boy starts coming of age. Writer-director-cameraman Peter Sollett shows promise with his documentary-like approach, and the young nonprofessional (then) cast is quite impressive, but much of the dialogue is indecipherable (the sound recording is a little problematic). ***
3) "Freiheit" (1966) - A man runs for freedom but he gets shot. That's it. I know this is an early work of the famous George Lucas, but it's too short (2 minutes and 47 seconds) to even merit a rating.
4) "The Daybreak Express" (1953) - A train trip through New York, with some stunning images and time-lapse photography, shot in color with no dialogue, just Duke Ellington's music. It looks as if it was made much later than it was, but, again, it's not something you can "rate".
5) "Vincent" (1982) - This early animated small masterpiece by Tim Burton is a love poem to Vincent Price (who narrates in his haunting and cultivated voice), Edgar Allan Poe, and everything macabre. ***1/2
6) "Terminal Bar" (2002) - A documentary on a now-long-closed New York bar on the corner of 8th Avenue and 42nd Street. The director, with the help of the photographs of the customers that the bar's manager, and also his father, was taking for years, tries every trick in the book, but I just wasn't that interested in the subject. *1/2
7) "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" (2004) - A one-joke idea (professional linebacker tackles office employees to keep them in line and focused on their work), albeit a cute one. **
8) "Necrology" (1969) - Apparently shot in a single, continuous take, this black & white, dialogue-free short is quite a technical achievement, but you'll probably have enough of it after 2 minutes. The end credits add a humorous touch - but they are also too long! **
9) "The Discipline of D.E" (1982) - D.E. stands for Doing it Easy, in a deadpan comedy from Gus Van Sant. **
10) "The Wraith Of Cobbie Hall" (2005) - Well-done low-tech claymation effort about a boy who is tempted to betray the trust of a kind old man. **1/2 out of 4.
11) "George Lucas In Love" (1999) - Sweet, knowing fiction comedy about how George Lucas was inspired to write "Star Wars", filled with in-jokes for fans. ***
12) "Meshes In The Afternoon" (1943) - Absolutely amazing to watch, pioneering for its time especially for an American production, just don't ask me to explain or describe what I saw! ***
13) "Carmen" (1970) - A silent-comedy takeoff of the famous opera. No more than a curio, but has, of course, wonderful music. **
14) "Feelings" (1984) - Another unrateable, 2&1/2 minute item: Todd Solonz commits suicide.
15) "Paperboys" (2001) - Pleasant documentary about paperboys, done mostly via interviews with real paperboys, aged 11 to 14, all of whom are smart and spontaneous. But there is nothing especially revealing about this film, the longest of the bunch at 41 minutes. **1/2
16) "Andy Warhol Screen Test: Helmut" (1964) - Breakneck-paced, filled with plot twists....nah, I'm kidding. It's just a man staring at the camera for 4&1/2 minutes. You can count how many times he blinks....or you can count sheep. No possible rating.
On the whole, I do recommend getting this collection, above all for "Vincent" and "Meshes In The Afternoon". One viewing is definitely not enough for those.
1) "A Lunch Date" (1990) - A chance meeting in a train station between a woman who has just missed her train and a man, perhaps homeless, who sits uninvited at her table and starts eating her salad! The story has a clever twist that you might miss if you don't pay close attention - I admit I did the first time until I rewound and picked it up. ***
2) "Five Feet High And Rising" (1999) - Two hot summer days in a poor Latino neighborhood where a young boy starts coming of age. Writer-director-cameraman Peter Sollett shows promise with his documentary-like approach, and the young nonprofessional (then) cast is quite impressive, but much of the dialogue is indecipherable (the sound recording is a little problematic). ***
3) "Freiheit" (1966) - A man runs for freedom but he gets shot. That's it. I know this is an early work of the famous George Lucas, but it's too short (2 minutes and 47 seconds) to even merit a rating.
4) "The Daybreak Express" (1953) - A train trip through New York, with some stunning images and time-lapse photography, shot in color with no dialogue, just Duke Ellington's music. It looks as if it was made much later than it was, but, again, it's not something you can "rate".
5) "Vincent" (1982) - This early animated small masterpiece by Tim Burton is a love poem to Vincent Price (who narrates in his haunting and cultivated voice), Edgar Allan Poe, and everything macabre. ***1/2
6) "Terminal Bar" (2002) - A documentary on a now-long-closed New York bar on the corner of 8th Avenue and 42nd Street. The director, with the help of the photographs of the customers that the bar's manager, and also his father, was taking for years, tries every trick in the book, but I just wasn't that interested in the subject. *1/2
7) "Terry Tate, Office Linebacker" (2004) - A one-joke idea (professional linebacker tackles office employees to keep them in line and focused on their work), albeit a cute one. **
8) "Necrology" (1969) - Apparently shot in a single, continuous take, this black & white, dialogue-free short is quite a technical achievement, but you'll probably have enough of it after 2 minutes. The end credits add a humorous touch - but they are also too long! **
9) "The Discipline of D.E" (1982) - D.E. stands for Doing it Easy, in a deadpan comedy from Gus Van Sant. **
10) "The Wraith Of Cobbie Hall" (2005) - Well-done low-tech claymation effort about a boy who is tempted to betray the trust of a kind old man. **1/2 out of 4.
11) "George Lucas In Love" (1999) - Sweet, knowing fiction comedy about how George Lucas was inspired to write "Star Wars", filled with in-jokes for fans. ***
12) "Meshes In The Afternoon" (1943) - Absolutely amazing to watch, pioneering for its time especially for an American production, just don't ask me to explain or describe what I saw! ***
13) "Carmen" (1970) - A silent-comedy takeoff of the famous opera. No more than a curio, but has, of course, wonderful music. **
14) "Feelings" (1984) - Another unrateable, 2&1/2 minute item: Todd Solonz commits suicide.
15) "Paperboys" (2001) - Pleasant documentary about paperboys, done mostly via interviews with real paperboys, aged 11 to 14, all of whom are smart and spontaneous. But there is nothing especially revealing about this film, the longest of the bunch at 41 minutes. **1/2
16) "Andy Warhol Screen Test: Helmut" (1964) - Breakneck-paced, filled with plot twists....nah, I'm kidding. It's just a man staring at the camera for 4&1/2 minutes. You can count how many times he blinks....or you can count sheep. No possible rating.
On the whole, I do recommend getting this collection, above all for "Vincent" and "Meshes In The Afternoon". One viewing is definitely not enough for those.
