Meiermovies Short Films by Star Rating
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MeierMovies Short Films by Star Rating Theatrically released motion pictures of 40 minutes or less For every great feature, there’s a great short, and this list attempts to chronicle just some of those tiny masterpieces – and their not-so-masterful counterparts. For films to make this list, they must have played in at least one film festival or showcase, or theatrical venue, for a paying audience. Films shown only on television (or available only on DVD, Blu-ray, video or online) are reserved for my Television list. Also not included here are student films and similar projects that have never been presented at a theatrical venue that charged admission to viewers. (Please note that this is slightly more lenient than the qualifications for the feature- film lists, which require that a film of more than 40 minutes play at least two major festivals, or have a limited or general release.) Theatrical newsreels (pre-television) and theatrically released trailers are not eligible for this list, although mini-documentaries and travelogues (typically playing alongside trailers and B-features in the 1930-1950s) are. Short films shown at theme parks and museums are eligible, but not if they rely on animatronic/interactive/live elements. Shorts produced for timed competitions, such as 48-hour or 24-hour projects, are not included here, unless those films were subsequently screened at a second venue. The ratings system is the same as that of the feature-film list, just with no half or quarter stars. That difference is due to simplification and also to the fact that it’s admittedly difficult, and perhaps somewhat unfair, to compare a 2-minute film to a 40- minute one using quarter stars. (So please keep in mind there is some variation with each star rating.) I discourage you from comparing a 5-star short with a 5-star feature, as they are different animals. Instead, please compare shorts to shorts, and features to features. This list also differs from the feature-film lists in that many of these short films were directed and written by amateurs, first- timers and students working with little time and virtually no budget. Therefore, I would strongly suggest that you avoid condemning filmmakers who produce a 1-star or 0-star short film. Indeed, it might be more appropriate when judging a student film to treat a 2-star rating as a thumbs-up, a 1-star as mediocre and a 0-star as a learning experience on the road to better things. Also note that, somewhat unlike the feature-film list, I give some short films more credit than they deserve here, if judged by today’s standards, by virtue of their historic contribution to cinema. Examples include the first motion ever captured by a single-lens camera (Louis Le Prince’s Roundhay Garden Scene from 1888) and films by the Lumière Brothers, Edwin Porter, Georges Méliès and Alice Guy, and, to a lesser extent, the Biograph movies of D.W. Griffith. (On a historical note, this list does not recognize Louis Le Prince’s Man Walking Around a Corner from 1887 as a true film by the modern definition, as it was shot on a 16-lens camera, not a single-lens one. Also not included here are the stop-motion creations of Eadweard Muybridge using multiple cameras, the earliest of which was a race-horse study in 1878; the 12-images-per-second photo collages of Etienne Jules Marey; and the phenakistiscope creations of Joseph Plateau as early as the 1830s. However, these experiments are worth mentioning as links between true cinematography and the magic-lantern and still-photograph sequences of the early and mid 19th century.) Short films originally released in theaters as part of a feature are not listed here, even if they later received separate releases outside of the feature format. Examples include Disney’s Peter and the Wolf as part of Make Mine Music, and Disney’s Wind in the Willows as part of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. This means no content appears on both this list and the feature lists. Another shortcoming of this list is that it does not attempt – and never could – to chronicle all the short films I’ve ever seen, unlike the feature-film lists, which do just that. It’s simply too tough. Making it even more difficult to compile such a list is the fact that the industry makes it too difficult to see new shorts after they have played at film festivals or other, similar venues. For this reason, I passionately support fellow film lovers who advocate a system of greater exposure for short films, both online and as feature- film companions in mainstream cinemas. And I encourage you to contribute your voices to this cause – and to support studios such as Disney that play shorts before their features. Sadly, the over-priced American film-going experience now consists of a bombardment of loud and obnoxious content – commercials, TV promos, dumbed-down trailers and other junk – so I would argue that it makes sense, both financially and aesthetically, to include a good short film among this pre-feature smorgasbord. For a guide to colors and symbols, see Key. Click back to home page of MeierMovies.com 5 stars (great films and masterpieces) Location seen (if known) Year Director 1. Dissonance (English-narration version) FL Florida Film Festival 2016 2015 Till Nowak The Ballad of Holland Island House Global Peace FF 2015 Lynn Tomlinson Le Ballon Rouge (The Red Balloon) FL 1956 Albert Lamorisse The Band Concert 1935 Wilfred Jackson/Walt Disney Bao * 2018 Domee Shi Beanstalk Bunny 1955 Chuck Jones Bear Story * Manhattan Short FF/Oscar Shorts 2014 Gabriel Osorio Vargas Blind Vaysha Oscar Shorts 2017 2016 Theodore Ushev The Blue Umbrella Wide release 2013 Saschka Unseld/John Lasseter Body Memory (Keha Malu) Florida Film Festival 2013 2011 Ulo Pikkov Un Chien Andalou SlWS (sound on disc) 1929 Luis Buñuel/Salvador Dali Clock Cleaners 1937 Ben Sharpsteen/Walt Disney Copy Shop 2001 Virgil Widrich Curfew * Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2012 Shawn Christensen DeKalb Elementary Oscar Shorts 2018 2017 Reed Van Dyk Destino 1946/2003 D. Monféry/S. Dali/J. Hench/W & R Disney A Dog’s Life Sl 1918 Charlie Chaplin Dood Van Een Schaduw (Death of a Shadow) FL Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2012 Tom Van Avermaet Duck Amuck 1953 Chuck Jones Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century 1953 Chuck Jones Easy Street Sl 1917 Charlie Chaplin Edith+Eddie Oscar Shorts 2018 2017 Laura Checkoway The Elephant’s Song 2018 Lynn Tomlinson The Eleven O’Clock Oscar Shorts 2018 2016 Derin Seale Emit Orlando Film Festival 2013 2013 J.S. Mayank Ennemis Interieurs (Enemies Within) FL Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2016 Selim Azazzi The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore * 2011 William Joyce/Brandon Oldenburg La Femme et le TGV (The Woman and the TGV) FL Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2016 Timo von Gunten Ferdinand the Bull * 1938 Dick Rickard/Walt Disney Flowers and Trees * 1932 Burt Gillett/Walt Disney Friday Manhattan Short FF 2012 Seb Edwards Galapagos (3-D version) Smithsonian 1999 David Clark/Al Giddings Garden Party Oscar Shorts 2018 2017 F. Babikian/V. Bayoux/V. Caire/L. Navarro Geri’s Game * Wide release 1997 Jan Pinkava/John Lasseter Get a Horse! (3-D version) Wide release 2013 Lauren MacMullan Grave Hands FL Florida Film Festival 2020 2020 Aaron Inman Guaxuma FL Florida Film Festival 2019 2018 Nara Normande Hair-Raising Hare 1946 Charles M. Jones The Hand 1965 Jirí Trnka Head Over Heels Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2012 Timothy Reckart Helium FL * Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2013 Anders Walter Henry FL Enzian (Oscar Shorts) 2012 Yan England The Immigrant Sl 1917 Charlie Chaplin I Am Yup’ik Florida Film Festival 2016 2015 Daniele Anastasion/Nathan Golon I Have a Message for You FL Ct. Florida Jewish FF 2018 2017 Matan Rochlitz Impressions de France (Impressions of France) Disney World (Epcot) 1982 Rick Harper Joe’s Violin Oscar Shorts 2017 2016 Kahane Cooperman/Raphaela Neihausen Lend a Paw * 1941 Clyde Geronimi/Walt Disney Life Overtakes Me FL Oscar Shorts 2020 2019 John Haptas/Kristine Samuelson Little Red Riding Rabbit 1944 Friz Freleng Lost & Found 2018 Andrew Goldsmith/Bradley Slabe Lost Property Office Oscar Shorts 2018 2017 Daniel Agdag La Luna (The Moon) Wide release 2011 Enrico Casarosa Magic Journeys (3-D version) Disney World (Epcot and MK) 1982 Murray Lerner The Man Who Planted Trees (a.k.a. L'Homme Qui Plantait des Arbre) * 1987 Frédéric Back Mémorable FL Oscar Shorts 2020 2019 Bruno Collet Ménilmontant Sl 1926 Dimitri Kirsanoff Meshes of the Afternoon SlWS 1943/59 Maya Deren/Alexander Hammid Mickey and the Beanstalk 1947 Hamilton Luske/Bill Roberts/Walt Disney Click back to home page of MeierMovies.com 2 Mickey’s Christmas Carol 1983 Burny Mattinson Mickey’s Fire Brigade 1935 Ben Sharpsteen/Walt Disney Mickey’s Garden 1935 Wilfred Jackson/Walt Disney Mickey’s Trailer 1938 Ben Sharpsteen/Walt Disney Mindscape/Le Paysagiste 1976 Jacques Drouin Negative Space Oscar Shorts 2018 2017 Ru Kuwahata/Max Porter Neighbours (a.k.a. Voisins) (original director’s version) * 1952 Norman McLaren Nuit et Brouillard (Night and Fog) FL 1955 Alain Resnais The Old Mill * 1937 Walt Disney One Froggy Evening 1955 Chuck Jones One Week Sl 1920 Buster Keaton Operation: Rabbit 1951 Chuck Jones Paperman * Wide release 2012 John Kahrs Pas de Deux (a.k.a. Duo) 1968 Norman McLaren The Pawnshop Sl 1916 Charlie Chaplin Pay Day 1922 Charlie Chaplin The Phone Call * Enzian (Oscar Shorts 2015) 2013 Mat Kirkby/James Lucas Pigs is Pigs 1937 Friz Freleng Pitter Patter Goes My Heart FL Florida Film Festival 2016 2015 Christoph Rainer Pluto’s Judgement Day 1935 David Hand/Walt Disney Presto Wide release 2008 Doug