The best stop-motion film ever made, IMO. Actually, one of the best short films ever made!
There are two other versions of this film in the archive, but one is missing about 6 minutes and one is missing the soundtrack. I've fixed some editing mistakes and synch problems that have crept into the various editions over the years and posted the complete version of this amazing film.
Starewicz had become a master animator by 1933, incorporating techniques never used before and rarely since (such as moving the puppets during the actual exposure to create blurring for fast movement). His use of rear-screen projection is also surprisingly effective.
But more important than these technical details is the great humor of his writing and his sensitivity to character. Each of the dozens of puppets in this film is imbued with a convincing personality; none more so than the title character, known as Fétiche in France and Duffy in England and the U.S. I think the scene of him hanging in a car's rear window is one of the funniest and most poignant scenes you'll find in any film. The character was so successful Starewicz starred him in four more films.
We have CGI now, but all Starewicz had was an imagination that wouldn't take "no" for an answer. Whatever he wanted to see on the screen, he created. And he wanted to see some truly bizarre stuff - every imaginable piece of scrap is called up for service: old shoes, chicken bones, utensils, broken glasses, dolls, monkeys, rats...nothing was off limits.
A sweet, funny, and also eerie film that should be seen by anyone with even a passing interest in animation. Or film, for that matter.
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Reviewer:freddenep - - January 14, 2009 Subject: thanks i'm french (my english is not very good, sorry) and i apriciate to see a film that was made in france! isn't any other movie from starevitch PD? and why arent' they available? thanks
Reviewer:Kenneth Atherton - - November 4, 2008 Subject: Amazing film I first saw the "Devil's Ball" sequence on the TV show Night Flight many years ago. I think I was half asleep when I saw it, but the music and the animation left a lasting impression on me. The ball has a beautiful, surreal quality that feels like a fevered dream from the distant past.
I was ecstatic to find the whole film on archive.org. I never thought I'd see it again.
I find the film is best watched in a quiet, dark room (probably alone) in order to appreciate the strange and wonderful atmosphere without any distractions.
Reviewer:clissold345 - - August 15, 2008 Subject: The Devil's Ball Much of the Devil's Ball sequence is very fine. For example, when the devil summons flying creatures, or when the glasses play music by breaking themselves. This version is 26 minutes long.
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