Magic Movie

Bizarre and obscure little film that charms you into watching it with gusto once a few minutes of it pass your eyes. It's an homage to struggling independent film makers everywhere, and filled with lots of subtle bits of humor and satire and quick-to-pass messages during the F/X. This film looks like it was made for about 40 bucks but don't let that keep you from watching it. What's more, evidently Mike Jittlov cast all his friends (a LOT of them) and his mom in the film as well, and it appears that each and every one of them are having the time of their lives doing this movie.

One of my favorite scenes is when Mike enters the office that Dora Belair (portrayed by Angelique Pettyjohn, sadly her last film appearance) works from, and there's a poster on the wall behind them of her Star Trek character "Shana" dressed in that aluminum foil bikini from the episode "The Gamesters Of Treskelian". It's a nice sci-fi touch... And nobody seems to notice.

Mike has a hard time trying to get his work recognized by anyone of substance (very much like real life) and it seems there's a crooked producer at every turn waiting to rip him off, and it isn't helped by his stigma about shaking hands... which is never really explained other than that he simply "...doesn't shake hands".

Throughout the film we see Mike working on film F/X in what appears to be his own garage and his own tools and props, and we get to see him actually producing the F/X that end up running in the short that he presents as his product, "The Wizard Of Speed And Time".

This is an astonishing little film that deserves much more recognition than it ever got, and it's a gem in the rough for being so matter-of-fact and innovative. It's also a must-have for any cult film or obscure cinema collector to include in their video collection. Of my all-time top 20 films, this would have to slip into the mix somewhere by its sheer tenacity and strength of will and innovation, if not for anything else. I really would have liked to have seen Mike Jittlov do something else similar to "Wizard..." but alas nothing ever came to be. I can watch this film over and over again, and with each viewing its atmosphere and flavor makes me feel like I'm 20 years back in time.

It's not for all tastes. Some people think it's absolutely wonderful, some people think it's amateurish nonsense. Some people simply won't get it at all. I got it. I liked it a lot, and the somewhat silly segments with the terribly cliche'd producer are forgivable if not perfectly allowable for the sake of comic relief, especially seeing as how that's the real producer of this film hamming it up on camera. If you *do* appreciate films like this, you'll feel refreshed after watching it and you'll feel like you'd like to meet Mike and maybe buy him a coke... just don't try to shake his hand.

Then go out and become an independent film maker yourself.

Bravo Mike, ya done good!

I saw this first years ago, when I was kid, around the time it came out. My dad loved it, and we had it on tape. It was then lost in the streams of time and I totally forgot about it. About a year ago, my sister and her husband, while i was over visiting, pulled a video out of their shelf and asked if I'd ever seen this. It was "The Wizard of Speed and Time", and I said that it looked familiar. From about 10 seconds in, I remembered this movie competely, and was filled with merriment in the way people get when you see something again that you loved as a kid, and is still as good.

Jittlov wrote, directed, produced, audited, gripped, funded, cranked, cameraed, composed, googled, flamboozed, and starred in this almost one-man show. He's extremely talented, in all respects. The movie is extremely cleverly written, well acted, well directed, and amusing to the point of extremes. Very clever shots are taken to many different facets of hollywood, as Mike tries to complete a movie he's making. The ending is witty, the romance is credible, and this movie is just plain fun. It even has good music! Definately high on my list of all time goodies. I did get a bit sick of it after watching it about 30 times or so, but very few movies keep my attention that long. A warning though, you really have to be a certain kind of person to enjoy this movie. Most people I tried to get to watch it didn't enjoy it. Let's face it, Mike is a nerd, getting all the chicks, and stands up for nerds everywhere. You kinda have to be a nerd to enjoy this movie. And I am a nerd. 9/10

I didn't see it noted, but there were 2 versions of this movie released on video. One from SGE and one from StarMaker. Both have the same picture on the box, but the StarMaker version is easily recognized by the gold border around the picture. (The one pictured on IMDb while I write this.)

Most people agree, the SGE version is the better version.

A lot of the jokes in the film do revolve around Hollywood, unions or the IRS and the characters' somewhat Dilbert-like frustrations that the process of making films or money is not nearly the straight-forward process they'd expect.

A good bit of lore has built up around the movie as well, as many ironic stories have sprung up around it. A usenet newsgroup dedicated to Mike Jittlov fans has been around for a long time (relative to the internet anyway.)

It also has the unusual distinction of having parts being played by the real people: the filmmaker is played by a filmmaker, the evil producer is played by a ....well, producer, the musician is played by a musician, his mother is played by his mother, his brother is played by his brother... etc, etc, etc.

I first saw this movie back in 1989 with some friends of mine, we were in the habit of going to the video store and TRYING to find a movie none of us had seen. One trip brought us this rare gem. We watched it and were thoroughly amused by this story of Mike Jittlov vs. Hollywood. The stop-motion effects were simply amazing, executed with skill that would make ILM green with envy. The story was funny in a poking-fun-at-Hollywood-and-ourselves kind of way. NOTE: Our rental copy included the movies own hilarious trailer, this trailer does not seem to be included in copies available today (5 YEARS in the making! 5 DAYS in the theaters! ect). Watch it, love it, share it with your friends.

Welcome to the church of Cinematology....

The story of one man's impossible dream: to create with the aid of Hollywood a feature length motion picture with a real story, with real people and special effects that mean something.

CAN it be done?

Mike Jittlov is employed by two producers to work an a special effects extravaganza for their network. Of course they make a bet whether he can do it all in time, cue: the sleaze trying to sabotage Jittlov at every turn.

Okay, babe.

It may not sound too original but the film's quirky sense of humour, staggering attention to detail, several thousand jokes and inspirational messages and cast of characters you actually CARE about set it apart from other formulaic hokey comedies.

What a way to make a living.

And as if that wasn't enough the film features some of the most amazing stop-frame work seen since Harryhausen (except less jerky and unnatural), all building towards the film's climax - Jittlov's finished piece the "Wizard Run".

Nothing can stop the creative spirit.

What more can I say? Be amazed, be happy and (you've guessed it) may all your good dream and fine wishes come true!