Time Piece

It was only after "Sesame Street" debuted that Jim Henson became a household name. Of course, that wasn't his first foray into the public eye. The man who created the Muppets had been working on stuff since the '50s, but his avant-garde 1965 short "Time Piece" is also worth seeing. This film has no discernible plot. It focuses on time, whether as an abstract concept, or as the dominant force in our lives (to the extent that it imprisons us). Henson plays a man who walks to the beat of a ticking clock. A few other things happen, all set to a beat.

The antics of Bert & Ernie, as well as Kermit & Piggy, showed everyone that Henson was capable of creating some far-out material. But here, he goes for the surreal. In a good way. Definitely worth seeing. Watch for a young Frank Oz (the voice of Fozzie, and the director of "The Muppets Take Manhattan", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "What About Bob?", "In & Out", "Bowfinger" and the original "Death at a Funeral") in one scene.

This is an experimental film done early in Jim Henson's career--before he achieved national prominence. While I didn't enjoy it and didn't see it as a great artistic triumph (despite the Oscar he received for Best Live Action Short), I am thrilled that he made it because it gave him a chance to experiment and hone his craft. Interestingly, the film has none of his Muppets--even though for almost a decade he'd been using them on local (Washington, DC).

The film has a beat (such as drum or cymbal) every second and the action changes--almost slide show style. Much of it seemed rather random, though some of the seemingly random images weren't (such as the obvious phallic imagery). Clever at times, but not a film I'd want to see again.

Jim Henson as a filmmaker sometimes doesn't get as much credit as for his main innovations with the Muppets and establishing them throughout the years as the head producer of the Henson company. But behind the genius puppeteer that he was, he was also very good at creating a style that was all his own, whether it was with the original and enlightening fantasy films he made in the 80s or with the Muppet movies. Part of what crosses over from his time with the Muppets with this rarely seen short film, Time Piece, is the pure sense of tongue placed firmly in cheek. The theme of time is one that many art films deal with (not the least of which Bergman), but this film is like a collaboration between the crazier silent shorts of the 1920s and Chuck Jones. I laughed many times during this film, but it's also a marvel of- of course- timing, but also at getting the right rhythm with the images. It goes without saying that its directness in the editing, with its tempo always on step without going overboard, is some of the best I've ever seen in a short film.

Little moments end up making the best parts of Henson's film, where no real story emerges aside of himself sort of being witness to the follies of the world in a very crazy manner. And it's also an exercise in repetition- a few times the one spoken word of the film pops up ("Help")- by Henson, and it's always very funny. But the comic timing is explored in little themes Henson had in later films, such as food, with one of the real laugh out loud bits being when Henson and the woman eat at the table as they one-up each other. Or seeing the delirious pathway in Henson running around towards the end (being chased, no doubt, by archive footage). It all ends then, to put it mildly, down the toilet (literally I mean). This is a surprising film with as much invention that can be fused cinematically into its concept- showing time as being very musical in a sense, and possibly breaking the balance that it usually keeps with day to day life. It's an early gem, and its quite a stroke of luck to find it on-line or through a rare 16mm print; one of the true unfortunates in being unavailable to the masses and other fans of Henson.

Nine minutes of imagery with no dialogue, story, or any point. Something to laugh at while being stoned. Even though it's only 9 minutes, it seems twice that because it goes nowhere.

Henson is the "lead" in all this, which is a rare visual, since he's usually behind the camera or hiding behind a muppet. Not that he adds anything to it. It also features Frank Oz (billed with his full name: Frank Oznowicz) in a bit part as a bartender. He adds nothing either.

A curio at best.

This is a neat little film that I believe won the Academy Award for best live action short film in 1965. It is a crazy piece about the effect that time keeping have on us all. There is a lot of stop action and editing. Don't miss the dancing naked chicken!