Vengeance du ciné-opérateur

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.

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.

The Cameraman's Revenge is an unusual short not because of the subject matter (adultery) or because it's animated (Winsor McCay had introduced Little Nemo on film by this time) but because it depicts bugs to tell the story! Ladislaw Starewicz had originally wanted to film actual bugs fighting but couldn't get them to do it on camera because of the hot lights they suffered through so he took dead ones and started using stop-motion techniques to manipulate movements to his satisfaction. This short does a good job of putting human characteristics on little creatures such as riding motorcycles, painting, filming, kissing, and dancing. Starewicz would also make Frogland (1922) and The Mascot (1933) but his first notable work would be this one. If you're interested in this and the other shorts mentioned, check your local library to borrow the DVD The Cameraman't Revenge and Other Fantastic Tales from Image Entertainment.

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.

In this 1912 film, the main characters are insects (except for a vaudeville frog). Using, I assume, stop-action animation, we are told the story of two beetles who have a turbulent marriage. Mr. Beetle goes off to a nightclub where he cavorts with a beautiful dragonfly. In the process, he anger a grasshopper who is a filmmaker. The guy gets upset and films Mr. Beetle's dalliance. Mrs. Beetle also has an affair with an artist bug who comes to her house and is discovered by the cheating husband. There is indeed revenge. Had the story been told with regular actors, it would not have been much. What was done with early century technology is striking.