Eclectic Shorts by Eric Leiser

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Visionary, February 21, 2007 By Jennifer M. Colville "Muna Esker" (London, England) - See all my reviews

This collection of works will be treasured as the early work of two young Visionaries- a must for any connoisseur of the Avant-Garde. What emerges in it- through it- is a unique and powerful synthetic Vision that vibrates with positive intent- that of Wonder. We need not compare it to Burton or any of the 'Masters' because what emerges here is no mere mimicry of previous filmmakers- but a sensitive and skilled adaptation and elaboration of film language- crafted and emerging as its own unique voice or I should say duet- maybe chorus? Burton and Svankmejer- even the Brothers Quay did not have such collaboration- such cohesion with their soundtracks, and indeed Jeffery Leiser's soundtracks are intimately linked with the images of his brother- adding levels and depths of motion, color and life through sound. And as for my own tastes- indeed the Leiser Brothers are far less tritely morbid, serialized and clichéd as Burton and far more symbolically sophisticated. Eric Leiser's work is far more joyfully mystical and whimsical than Svankmejer- but it contains within it similar eerie and uncanny boundaries crossed between animate and inanimate; animal, vegetable and mineral. The Quay Brothers Animate a dead world- a world of identification with objects and dead matter- nothing is ever quite alive. The Leiser Brothers see a world in which everything is deeply infused with life and light- a Vision, it could be said, which is highly infectious- in a good way.

I found the first bit of stop motion animation intriguing and the mostly live action short with the girl going about in whatever country it was kept my interest, but the other 11 odd shorts really didn't pique my interest or make me think of anything at all. The music and 8mm footage all seemed to be so random that it all just seemed random. I would not recommend this to any one unless you get to see it free.

As for the music being so in step that didn't come across either. I rented the DVD because I thought it was all stop motion animation or SMA mixed with live action and only the first short was SMA, the second had a little stop motion mixed with mostly live action. There was paper cut-out stuff in one, and the rest was outdoor shots from an 8mm camera with the music bed. Just didn't have any meaning to it I could see.

The shorts were always emotional, being that there was always some connection i could feel with the creators. I really liked it's optimism with the low budget as opposed to cynicism a lot of times seen with people who have low budget, and create nothing great, but all these shorts were great, very great. I loved all of them, the camera was alive! and it was hungry for beauty, the music was great and MADE you appreciate what you think is dull and mundane to be beautiful. I really loved it, on the flip side don't go with the expectation of what you impose films should be, but these films don't care about that, because art isn't recycling the same process over and over. They're more interested in transcending that mentality with pure brilliance, that's all i can say. I'm very much amazed with he creative energy in this truly amazing. It was so so sweet,heartfelt,honest,personal and very much encouraged me with what I'm going through right now.

"With distinct relations to Jan Svankmajer, Eric Leiser is the Tim Burton of a new generation" Nickelodeon wiz-kid Eric Leiser displays his boundless creativity in this collectible shorts collection; A stunning compilation of works presented with a mixture of live action, stop motion animation, puppetry and pixilation techniques, produced between 2001 and 2006. From a vast array of obscure images, wild locations and masterful set creations, Leiser presents a stark and comprehensive world with unrelenting vision and an original voice. Music by Jeffrey Leiser is a perfect fit to his brothers vision which work together to create unforgettable worlds anyone with imagination can enjoy. if you like this check out their strongest work and second feature film "imagination".

This collection of works will be treasured as the early work of two young Visionaries- a must for any connoisseur of the Avant-Garde. What emerges in it- through it- is a unique and powerful synthetic Vision that vibrates with positive intent- that of Wonder. We need not compare it to Burton or any of the 'Masters' because what emerges here is no mere mimicry of previous filmmakers- but a sensitive and skilled adaptation and elaboration of film language- crafted and emerging as its own unique voice or I should say duet- maybe chorus? Burton and Svankmejer- even the Brothers Quay did not have such collaboration- such cohesion with their soundtracks, and indeed Jeffery Leiser's soundtracks are intimately linked with the images of his brother- adding levels and depths of motion, color and life through sound. And as for my own tastes- indeed the Leiser Brothers are far less tritely morbid, serialized and clichéd as Burton and far more symbolically sophisticated. Eric Leiser's work is far more joyfully mystical and whimsical than Svankmejer- but it contains within it similar eerie and uncanny boundaries crossed between animate and inanimate; animal, vegetable and mineral. The Quay Brothers Animate a dead world- a world of identification with objects and dead matter- nothing is ever quite alive. The Leiser Brothers see a world in which everything is deeply infused with life and light- a Vision, it could be said, which is highly infectious- in a good way.