The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993
The surreal visions of the Brothers Quay, identical-twin animators from Minnesota who have since made London their home, are an offbeat mix of clockwork mechanics, wire, thread, and 19th-century curios, all set to life in a series of beautiful but elusive set pieces. Directed in a highly stylized manner, with a shallow plane of focus that intentionally keeps certain objects blurred and a camera that moves with conspicuous mechanical precision, their works have a dreamlike quality about them. This is directly alluded to in the subtitle of one of their most handsome films, "The Comb (From the Museum of Sleep)," where scenes of a latticework of ladders shooting through an angular construction are intercut with shots of a sleeping woman. "Street of Crocodiles," their most famous short work, references turn-of-the-century cinema as a man peers through a Kinetoscope to watch the nightmare-tinged fantasy of a figure overwhelmed by mysterious forces on the deserted streets of a city after dark. These are the longest and most accomplished short films in The Brothers Quay Collection, a compendium of ten works from 1984 to 1993, but the tape contains other spellbinding works, from the early "The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer," a tribute to the great Czech animator and the Quay's spiritual godfather, to the inventive art history documentary "De Artificiali Perspectiva, or Anamorphosis," to the four short works in the "Stille Nacht" series. These films, along with "The Epic of Gilgamesh" and "Rehearsals For Extinct Anatomies," showcase a vision of quivering objects and surreal narratives in a shadowy, self-contained dream world. --Sean Axmaker
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Last updated: November 11, 2009, 5:55 pm
The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993 Customer reviews:
Average Rating: 4.0 Total Reviews: 45
(D. Helm, 2007-12-27) I love the quays but this dvd is terribly designed. It has shoddy menus and is difficult to navigate. I think the other dvd they have (Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers) might be better and I think the animations are the same.
(wiredweird, 2007-04-12) If your experience of stop-animation ended with "Davey and Goliath" or Gumby, you're in for a shock. The Quays present a series of works in unique, symbolic style. The question is, just what do those symbols mean? The short pieces are nearly monochrome - something that seems to detach the works from any one time period. Puppets and props are finely crafted, and create conflicting moods. That one character, with head made from an open book, is an example. The steel blades that it uses for hands whisper of every slasher movie you've seen. Then you realize that they're pen tips for drafting pens, an artist's creative tools. Babydolls with open heads spew their stuffing, remains of birds return to something like life, dark characters lurk stained and scuffed landscapes filled with bizarre beings and machines. They're some of the most eloquent animations I've ever seen - lyrical poems or dark chants turned into images, but in a language that I can't quite make out. Don't look for a close understanding, since you'll see something different each time you look. But you'll want to look, again and again. //wiredweird
(Ian Mccausland, 2007-02-10) A lot of people owe a great deal of debt to these two
(Bakunin, 2007-02-08) To be honest I haven't seen all the shorts in this collection but can say without hesitation that it is great. Every short film of theirs that I have had the pleasure to see has been fulfilling on multiple levels; from lighting to composition to the amazing detail and story that is conveyed without words. They share a twisted and thoughtful beauty that cannot be aptly put into words. These are not quite what you would call "classic narrative" but will definitely take your breath away.
(Shevaron, 2007-01-17) Street changed me. It hand a profound effect on me. I was 19 years old when I first saw it, I'm now 41. It is so easy to see other artists who have been influenced by it. The TOOL vids were a good imitation of there style. NIN Closer vid was straight out copying there style. Some movies that had some Quay type imagery are The Cell, The Illusionist, and Mirror Mask.