Vengeance du ciné-opérateur

110 years on this remains an impressive piece of stop-motion animation, and it would still be impressive if it were made today. For fans of animation, especially stop-motion animation, this is an interesting watch. The time and effort that must have gone into producing a stop-motion film of this length using real insects, and with detailed and functioning set designs, really shows throughout. The story is slightly clichéd and contrived, but still manages to amuse nonetheless.

Władysław Starewicz's best known short is "Mest' kinematograficheskogo operatora" ("The Cameraman's Revenge" in English). The plot involves an extramarital affair, but the story gets told using insects! It goes to show that animation doesn't have to be "cute". Some of those cartoons from animation's infancy were outright surreal. More importantly, these shorts are more interesting than these animated features starring the celebrity of the moment. A trick that this one uses is the title of the movie getting shown in the theater (Russian-speakers will recognize it).

A nice little short. Check it out.

This short is a puzzlement. Words fail me here, as this is almost indescribable, Technically exceptional after more than 90 years (the visuals are remarkable and even occasionally amazing), this is not something you watch if you like things that are mundane or "normal'-because it most certainly is not either. This be an odd one, gang. Well worth checking out, but if things like Ren and Stimpy make your head hurt, you may want to skip this. Recommended.

Decades before David Lynch or Gary Larson were even born, Wladyslaw Starewicz was creating surreal animated films featuring insects living in houses, driving cars and committing adulterous affairs. Yes, this short feature is way ahead of its time and remains to this day quite extraordinary. The very idea of depicting a domestic love triangle with insect characters is bizarre to say the least. The fact that the subject matter is clearly one aimed at adults not children shows that at this very early stage in the development of animation it wasn't necessarily obvious that this new form was perfect for children's features. No, this is more like a surrealist film, except of course, surrealism hadn't actually been invented yet! Yes, it has to be said that The Cameraman's Revenge is a highly original bit of work, and one that without question should be far better known.

The story is about a jealous grasshopper cameraman who films an illicit affair between Mr. Beetle and an exotic dragonfly dancer from the 'Gay Dragonfly' nightclub. Mr. Beetle's wife, Mrs. Beetle is simultaneously conducting a secret friendship with a floppy hat wearing artist insect. Mr. Beetle catches them in in a compromising situation and angrily drives him away. The Beetles then make up and go to the cinema but lo and behold the projectionist is our grasshopper friend and he splices in footage of the adulterous Mr. Beetle in action. Mrs. Beetle goes crazy and batters him over the head with an umbrella. The fight escalates and ends up in the projection booth catching fire and the Beetles are imprisoned for their actions. In jail they start to make up with one and other.

I don't usually bother to write synopsis in my reviews, or if I do I make it very brief. But I have made an exception for this film, as recounting this madness is a bit of a strange pleasure actually. This really is a one off as far as I can tell, I am unaware of any other insect-based love triangle films. The animation itself is excellent and is a clear precursor for the stop-motion work of the more famous Willis O'Brien and Ray Harryhausen. But for sheer originality and general weirdness, Cameraman's Revenge is the one. I would recommend this to anyone with a wish to see something a bit different to the norm.

Ladislas Starewicz's curiosity with insects and cinema melds into a short film about a love triangle between Mr. Beetle, an artistic grasshopper, and Mrs. Beetle. The rather simple story of an adulterous beetle couple that both seek stimulation outside their marriage is similar to a Biograph or Vitagraph short of the time. Starewicz's twist on the story is to use embalmed beetles with wires straightening the legs in frame-by-frame animation. The story builds as Mr. Beetle is unknowingly caught on camera with a dragonfly from the local nightclub by a jealous grasshopper. When Mr. Beetle comes home to find his wife in the arms of her artistic friend, he chases her around angrily, but eventually forgives her and takes her out to see a movie. However, Mrs. Beetle soon learns of her husband's infidelities as the movie they watch is the jealous grasshopper's footage of Mr. Beetle and the dragonfly together. Mrs. Beetle thrashes Mr. Beetle with her umbrella, Mr. Beetle jumps through the screen, and they both end up in jail after the projector they wreck catches on fire. The insects are placed in humanized settings such as a house or a nightclub, and are given human characteristics of jealousy, anger, lust, and revenge. The insect characters carry briefcases, drive motorcars, and even wear shoes yet they also twitch their antennae and open and close their mandibles as real insects would. The novelty of the story doesn't wear itself out, even after multiple viewings, but as fluid as the movements are, the film moves slowly. Action happens with intricate detail, but rapidity and a quicker pace of filming is lost in the process. Despite its pace, the film is an excellent example of Starewicz's early puppetry and is highly recommended.