Customer Reviews

Norman McLaren: The Masters Edition

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My interest in Norman McLaren's work started with the handful of the American shorts (made in NYC) that he worked on. They were included on the excellent Unseen Cinema box set (7-disc set from Image Entertainment and Anthology Film Archives). YouTube also has several of his short films.

I was too late on buying the "Creative Process" 2-disc set that Milestone put out since it's out of print and fetching over $150 for used copies. Well, this box set from the NFB and Home Vision completely went under my radar screen. Not only is it in print, but it has every existing film by McLaren.

The NFB's new digital restorations are absolutely stunning. Layers of dirt, flickering, and scratches are gone. Since his hand-drawn films were made unconventionally (india ink on clear film with color added in optical printing), color had not maintained its quality on some. They were able to color correct them to the point where the color jumps off the screen and it looks brand new!

The supplements are excellent, too. The 15 featurettes cover every aspect of McLaren's films. There's also longer documentaries, outtakes and test footage, as well as synthetic sound tests. To top it off, the set has seven discs in thinpaks and a large booklet. Most of the films also have a choice of the original monaural audio, stereo, and 5.1. While the older films aren't that enhanced, a few really stand out in the 5.1 remix. Neighbours, Synchromy, and Pas de Deux sound fantastic in 5.1.

The films themselves are usually great. The hand-painted works like Begone Dull Care, Stars and Stripes, and Fiddle-de-dee are visual delights. The live-action films are often funny, but often beautiful. Neighbours is hilarious, but disturbing since it shows how ridiculous fighting can be (like in wars). Pas de Deux is probably the most beautiful film I've seen. The combination of the swelling music and the silhouetted dancers really works well.

Overall, get this set if you're an animation fan. These may come off as pretentious or inaccessible, but McLaren's best are just as fun to watch as a Looney Tune.

Awesome set! the films have been re-mastered, and they look without doubt amazingly! MacLaren was an arist with visionary poetry. For him the clash of two shots constituted more than a mere mechanical artifice, it meant a new language, which he explored and advanced enormously.
For me McLaren's works are an enormous source of inspiration. I remember when I watched "Neighbors" for the first time, I was astounded by the way he created his movements, and in the same time I realized that Norman McLaren is a genius, a true "poet of animation", how he was called.
Norman McLaren said that he was influenced by Sergei Eisenstein's films, and indeed, the influence of Eisenstein is seen in many of his films. Also, Eisenstein's conflict ("Art is always conflict") becomes in McLarens `films either movement or dispute.
First, in "Neighbors" "the conflict" becomes the battle between Munro and Ladouceur, in "A Chairy Tale" is the fight between Jutra and the chair, in "Opening Speech" is the dispute between McLaren and the microphone.
Second, where "the conflict" becomes movement, it becomes the "conflict" of forms, is the one that is seen in "Begone Dull Care", in "Le Merle", in "Fiddle-de-dee", or in "Hen Hop".
Also must be remembered that like Eisenstein, McLaren "reinvented" the monumental pose, the "mi-e" from the Japanese Kabuki Theatre, and I believe that "Pas de Deux" speaks for itself. I don't want to make a parallel between Eisenstein and McLaren, but I want to prove the immense contribution that McLaren had on the development of animation. Or in other words, what the name Eisenstein means for film, the name McLaren means for animation.
For me, McLaren is a true "wizard of movement", an original artist and innovative inventor. But instead of telling you things that you already know, I will tell you some things that you might not know about his films. For example, in "Neighbors" he sent an anti- war message using comic devices. Like Chaplin did in "The Great Dictator", or like Kubrick did in "Dr Strangelove". And to do something like this one must have the character of a genius, because it is very difficult to join two opposite elements and make them work together. Also, when I watched "Pas de Deux" or "Narcissus"; I remember experiencing something that a few movies could make me feel. I am talking about that kind of experience when the body is static, and the only thing that is "moving", is the mind. I am talking, of course, about the feeling of escaping time and space. And this happens only when the film is not made by an ordinary filmmaker, but an exceptional one. I must add here, that the same experience I had when I watched "The Passion of Joan of Arc", "Ivan Grozny" or "Orpheus".
In conclusion, I have to say that I consider Norman McLaren one of the most prolific filmmakers of the last century, and I believe that his works rank with Eisenstein's films or Cocteau's works.

Norman McLaren was god's gift to the art of animation. This may sound over-the-top, but one viewing of this DVD will prove it. As the driving force behind the now world-famous Animation unit of the National Film Board of Canada (NFBC), McLaren spent his life experimenting with animation and filmmaking processees like a genius mad scientist. From perky pixilation and jazzy drawing-on-film to precise cut-outs and optical designs that pre-date and hold their own next to modern-day motion graphics, McLaren's endless creativity and spirit of discovery will inspire you to create your own moving artworks.

Norman Mclaren is not only a great animator but also did many experimental cinema, one of his best works is the shortcut "Neighbors ", done using amazing time-lapse and with such great story won Cannes that same year. His one of the geniuses of the century.

I took a chance on this after seeing two or three of McLaren's shorts on other compilations and I'm glad I did!

These films are generally both "experimental" (often rather abstract) and lots of fun! "Begone Dull Care" might be described as "The missing Jackson Pollock segment from Fantasia" - captivating! Not only do you get dozens of marvelous short films, there are also quite a number of themed mini-documentaries that outline McLaren's different approaches, his collborators, etc.

These are NOT, however, typically narrative films that one often associates with the NFBC - such as "The Cat Came Back" or "The Big Snit" - those can be found elsewhere (though a comprehensive box set of their best shorts, similar to this one, would be much appreciated). These aren't cartoons for most kids (though some will love them), but more for thoughtful adults with an interest in the arts.

The box set is a bit pricey, so you might want to search out his stuff on other compilations or on youtube before buying this, but if you like what you see there, this box is well worth the price!

I have other collections of the Norman McLaren's films, but this one is the most complete.

Very well organized documentation of the works by precursor of moving visualization of music. Helpful in teaching in animation and dynamic graphic design. Very valuable materials for students learning on moving pictures and sound making. Important for teachers working with dynamic pictures and sound.

Norman McLaren is the founder of modern animation cinema, pieces like "La poulette", "Love your neighbour", even when this last is extremely violent, probably giving pleasure to those prone to the behaviour it pretends disacrediting, are in the basements of modern cinema

First time I used Amazon. Everything was all right, times (shorter than advertised), expenditures, and so on; no surprises; only the Italian customs charged me 19,90 Euros !, which is quite a lot, and I hadn't foreseen this; in the future I shall have to consider this additional charge before placing an order.

A fantastic set of marvelous films. Will convince anyone about animation as an art form. The long awaited, definitive McLaren collection.

Dr. Andras Szekfu
Associate Professor
Peter Pazmany Catholic University
Budapest, Hungary