Tuesday Musings - Lotte Reiniger again

After last Tuesday's Musings and the realization that "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" (1926) was on the Criterion Channel, we settled in to watch it again...it had been many, many years! The print was beautiful, with richly coloured backgrounds making the silhouettes stand out in all of their (considerable) glory. It's a visually stunning film, and quite ingenious in the ways the director worked out various effects. The cutouts are so incredibly intricate and gorgeous! The story, well...based on a mixture of stories from The Arabian Nights, there are manly heroes, fainting princesses, an evil magician and a pompous Caliph. At first you think there are no strong women, but then....enter the Witch! And this bizarre, ogre-like creature becomes The Hero of the whole story, saving the protagonists (both male and female) many times, vanquishing evil and making for a happy ending (for everyone except the evil Magician, of course!). There are even some funny bits in the film. So, although dated (especially in the representations of various people), I really do recommend watching this, the earliest surviving animated feature ever made, for the sheer technical skill and wondrous experimentation in fimmaking involved.


*******

UPDATES!

"Joyfully" has been selected by the Miami Independent Film Festival, in competition at the moment; results later this month.

AND, in the Web Series Universe: (!!!!!!!)

Yikes! I just realized I didn't get an October calendar up yet; I'll get on that by the end of the week. There aren't screenings you'll be missing, so no hurry!