Rarely-seen stop-motion films in S.F. this Saturday

Oddball Films presents an evening of Czech Visionary Cinema featuring several of the greatest animators in Czech cinema. The Fabulous World of Jules Verne (1958) is an awe-inspiring and surreal vision of Verne’s story Face au drapeau (“Facing the Flag”) directed by Czech cinema master Karel Zeman. Also featured is Jiri Trnka’s allegorical puppet film The Hand (1965), plus selected animated shorts. Seating is limited so RSVP’s are essential. RSVP to: Info@oddballfilm.com or 415-558-8117.
 
The Fabulous World of Jules Verne is Karel Zeman’s ground-breaking work in the genre of stop motion animation. It’s an awe-inspiring, meticulous cinematic rendering of the aesthetic and conceptual inventions of proto-science fiction genius Jules Verne. The film’s intricate art direction successfully renders the visual style of nineteenth century woodcuts and engravings into motion pictures and creates a stylized and surreal graphic world within which Verne’s fanciful tale unfolds. Zeman captivates us with his countless charming visions of strange, impossible aircraft flying through the skies, bizarre animated machines, a gargantuan cannon, articulated drawings of fish, and even British soldiers riding roller skating camels.
 
Zeman’s eclectic cinematic style influenced many contemporary quirky directors such as Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. Mixing slapstick comedy, slightly satirical, larger-than-life performances of the cast, action pacing and Melies-style film magic, this little known Czechoslovakian gem transcends the literature at its source to create a bizarre and futuristic visionary novel come to life.

Jiri Trnka’s The Hand (1965) is his last, and many say his best work. The Hand is an allegorical take on the Stalinist Czech dictatorial regime. Trnka directed some of the most acclaimed animated films ever made. In 1966, four years before his death, Newsday lauded him as "second to Chaplin as a film artist because his work inaugurated a new stage in a medium long dominated by Disney." Trnka, was a 1936 graduate of Prague’s School of Arts and Crafts. In 1945 he set up an animation unit with several collaborators at the Prague film studio; they called the unit "Trick Brothers." Trnka specialized in puppet animation, a traditional Czech art form, of which he became the undisputed master. His films are brilliant, bizarre and meticulously rendered. The show includes additional Eastern European animated shorts.

Date: Saturday, September 13, 2008 Time: 8:00PM
Venue: Oddball Films, 275 Capp Street, San Francisco
Admission: $10.00 RSVP Only to: 415-558-8117 or info@oddballfilm.com