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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

85 minute foreign feature film DVD.

This collection of the director's short works include The Last Trick, Don Juan, The Garden, Historia Naturae, Johann Sebastian Bach, The Ossuary, Castle of Otranto, Darkness/Light/Darkness, and Manly Games.

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 during from 1986 through 1990 -- perestroika -- this volume of films, many of which received highest honors at international film festivals, are each unique, crafted artistically and intellectually. Vol 4 includes twelve films, seven directed by women. Door, Dream and Alter Ego are all by Nina Shorina; Boy is A Boy and Cat and Clown are both by Natasha Golovanova; Girlfriend is by Yelena Gavrilko and Croak x croak is by Yelena Fedorova. Also Liberated Don Quixote by Vadim Kurchevsky, Martinko by Eduard Nazarov, Bit Underground Ball by Stanislav Sokolov, Kele by Mikhail Aldashin & Peep Pedmanson, and Cat and Company by ALexander Guriev.

Based on French science fiction novelist Stefan Wul's Oms en Serie ("Oms by the Dozen"), René Laloux's La Planète Sauvage (its title changed to Fantastic Planet for the U.S. release) paints an animated tale of humans kept as domesticated pets by an alien race of blue humanoid giants called Traags. The story takes place on the Traags' planet Ygam, where we follow our narrator, an Om called Terr, from infancy to adulthood, when he escapes his subjugation with a Traag learning device with which to educate the savage Oms and incite them to revolt. As a French-Czech coproduction, this story had much resonance for its makers as an allegory of Czechoslovakia's invasion by Soviet troops in the late '60s, and had to be completed in Paris due to political pressure. While the story does not distinguish itself in the annals of science fiction, the imagination invested in the surreal backdrops, with its eerie creatures and landscapes, does. The animation technique--moving paper cutouts across backgrounds--contributes to the overall feeling of other-worldliness. Fantastic Planet won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in 1973. Included on the DVD are three early short subjects by Laloux showing his evolution toward Fantastic Planet. You have your choice of audio: French with English subtitles, or English with English subtitles. But choose the latter so you can see how much the subtitles are cheating you. --Jim Gay

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)

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.

Studio: Zeitgeist Films Release Date: 02/20/2007