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Information Machine, The (1958)

Applies graphic sensitivity to medium in cartoon form, and traces the history of storing and analyzing information from the days of the cavemen to today's age of electronic brains.


This movie is part of the collection: Prelinger Archives

Production Company: Eames (Charles And Ray)
Sponsor: IBM
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: need keyword

Creative Commons license: Public Domain

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Reviewer: rrandcoyote - - January 13, 2009
Subject: What a riot!
It looks more like an animatic than a finished film, but the content is hysterical. The drawing style is sophisticated, from the era of Jay Ward's Rocky and Bulwinkle. It's funny to think of computers as labor saving devices, since working on computers is very labor intensive. A neat insight into the history of the Information Machine.

Reviewer: sys64738 - - July 7, 2006
Subject: Somwhat fun
But it got until half the movie before coming to the point.

Reviewer: Karma Hawk - - April 16, 2005
Subject: Number Crunchers
I really didn't enjoy this movie all that much, Spuzz already summed up my complaints with the short already, it's too straightforward. Spuzz also mentioned that he liked the score and I have to agree with him thier's just something hypnotic about a guy playing the piano in the background. The animation itself is done in a fractured-fairy-tale meets child hood ilustrations sort of way, which is cool, but overall I was expecting a lot more, good look back at when computers were just adding machines though.

Reviewer: Spuzz - - November 7, 2003
Subject: Animation for scientists
I'm not the biggest fan of the Eames' work. For some odd reason, I find they're animated stories stiff and too formal. In the case of The Information Machine, it's a cartoon about computers told somewhat straight forward as the Eames can tell it. The animation isn't all THAT great, one thing that does save it is the score by Elmer Bernstein.

Reviewer: Steve R - - October 2, 2003
Subject: A gem from the Late 50s - Charles and Rae Eames
This short film was written, produced and directed by Charles and Rae Eames for the IBM Pavillion at the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Animation by John Whitney. Music by Elmer Bernstein. Topic is the computer in the context of human development. MUST VIEW!

Reviewer: dynayellow - - September 15, 2003
Subject: If I only had a heart
Wonderfully trippy little cartoon on the function of computers. The color's a little muddy, but it explains the use of computers--in the service of man, not its master--as a tool for the control of information and work, design, and for simulating reality.

Not sure what need this short really fulfills, but it's fun (kinda like a Fractured Fairytale-style), doesn't pander, and doesn't panic.