Product Description

The legendary Ladislaw Starewicz created some of the most imaginative and loveliest works of puppet animation ever filmed. While working in Russia, he directed his first classic "The Cameraman's Revenge" (1912), a story of love and infidelity among the insects, and the recently rediscovered "The Insect's Christmas" (1913), a dazzlingly beautiful film of the Yuletide celebrations of a Christmas-tree ornament and his tiny friends. After relocating to Paris, Starewicz made the political allegory "Frogland" (1922), the gorgeous hand-colored fable "Voice of the Nightingale" (1923), the irresistible "The Mascot" (1933), and the snowland fantasy "Winter Carousel" (1958). Starewicz's grasshoppers, dogs, frogs, dolls and other creatures portray heroics and follies with an exuberance of humor and invention. They will delight viewers both young and old!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108742 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-10-10
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Animated, Black & White, Color, DVD, Live, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 80 minutes

Amazon.com
The six shorts on this presentation offer animation buffs a look at the work of the pioneer stop-motion artist Ladislas Starewicz (1882-1965), whose films have been difficult to find in the West. Born in Moscow to a family of Polish origin, Starewicz displayed early interests in photography and entomology. He began experimenting with animation in 1910, when the stag beetles he wanted to film fighting refused to cooperate. These experiments led to The Cameraman's Revenge (1912), a droll tale of insect infidelity. Starewicz's most satisfying films involve insects and other bizarre creatures. The Frogs Who Wanted a King (1922), an adaptation of Aesop's fable, is crowded with the odd little amphibians who petition Jupiter for a king--and pay dearly for their folly. The eerie revels held by a devil doll and his grotesque, skeletal followers in the live-action and animation combination The Mascot (1933) are far more entertaining than the adventures of the little stuffed puppy whose heart is a mother's tear. The scenes of the puppy and the saccharine sequences in The Voice of the Nightingale recall the criticisms leveled at Starewicz's feature, Le Roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox, 1937): the images are often beautiful, but the pacing is very slow, with little acting in the animation. Contains bizarre imagery and minor violence; suitable for ages 12 and older. --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

A Miracle.
The Mascot is just one entree of an incredible visual feast by Russian/Polish Animator Ladislaw Starewicz.This is especially true when compared to the poverty of digital imagination we are witnessing today. It is avision of such texture and pure creativity that itcould inspire whole new artistic movements. I had to laugh outloud at the unexpectedness and depth of theimages. This film is made for children. But notchildren as defined by Disney or Hasbro or Sesame Street. Rather for real children who love strange mythologies and flights of dark fantasy. The tale follows the quest of a stuffed puppy doll in search of an orange. (!?) It follows the animated puppy through the city streets of Paris into hell (!) to protect the orange. The little film was made by Ladislaw Starewicz who is credited with being the first man to make stop motion animated stories in 1910. Starewicz is truly the inspiration for the masterfully weird puppet films of the Brothers Quay and Jan Swankmejer. And in someways his little films surpass them.... which is hard to believe. But it's true. Starewicz has a taproot inserted deeply into the soil of arcane ancient Europa.It is a world of puppets and gargoyles, of dolls and devils,of fairytales and medieval woodcuts. The silent qualitiesin this nearly silent film only emphasize the dense textures and old European qualities. There is a deep source of inspiration here for artists, film makers, and humans who still exercize their imagination. This film is featured in a compilation of Starewicz's work entitle THE CAMERAMAN'S REVENGE AND OTHER SHORT FILMS. All of these short films are worth their weight in artist gold.

Essential Viewing for Animation Fans
Simply amazing work from the man who practically invented stop-motion animation. Films included are:

* Cameraman's Revenge (1912)
The unusual subject of insect infidelity is tackled. The oldest film in the collection, and fascinating - If he didn't used real bugs in this, he used VERY realistic models.

* Insect's Christmas (1913)
A "Santa" ornament jumps of a Christmas tree, and brings Christmas to the banks of a pond for various insects and frogs.

* Frogland (1922)
The story of the frogs that wanted a king. Zeus sends down a succession of undesirable candidates, then (apparently) gets annoyed with the request and sends them a Stork!

* Voice of the Nightingale (1923)
A little girl captures a nightingale. A hand-tinted film, and very beautiful.

* The Mascot (1934)
A dog puppet attempts to help a poor, sick girl by bringing her an orange. Along the way he encounters other toys and a host of demons!

* Winter Carousel (1959)
A bear and a rabbit court a pretty girl bear while playing in the snow.

While "The Mascot" is undoubtedly the prize to this collection, I'm also very fond of "Voice of the Nightingale", a touching hand-colored film combining stop-motion and live action. (trivia - the girl in the film, billed as "Nina Star" is actually Ladislaw's daughter Irene).

My only beef with this release is that it's the exact same films as on the older VHS/Laserdisc release. I know that "Nose to the Wind", "The Dragonfly and the Ant", "Christmas Eve", and "The Lily of Belgium" have been released on other video compilations which are now out of print - couldn't they have gotten some of those added? And when are we going to get to see his masterpiece, "The Tale of the Fox (Le Roman de Renard)?

The Mascot Rules!
This film is worth the price just for "The Mascot," an amazingly sophisticated short film with more subtle character development and more disturbing images than just about any other animated film. To create the character of the Mascot (an endearing stuffed dog), and place him at the Devil's Ball (with the most bizarre assemblage of creatures imaginable), reveals just how masterful Starewicz was, and why there has never been anyone like him to this day. If you've never seen The Mascot, you have a gaping hole in your appreciation of great animation.