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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A student film by someone named Lucas, among other things..., January 22, 2005
Who wants shorts? Short films, that is...well, here's twelve interesting little ditties, some Academy Award winners...along with student film by some guy named George Lucas, entitled Electronic Labyrinth (the original title was Electronic Labyrinth THX 1138 4EB but was changed as to the shorter version as not to confuse it with a film he later released titled THX 1138). This is actually number 10 in a series called Short, which highlights the art of short films.
The DVD is broken out into six sections, listed below;
The first section is called Chaos, and features three films, all titled Chaos, which is also part of the title of the DVD itself (let the confusion begin)...anyway, the first short is a one-minute bit featuring skateboarders wiping out. I don't know why, but I seem to enjoy watching smug little punks rack themselves on crossbars. The second clip in this trio is a hand drawn animated bit that last all of 20 seconds (don't blink, you'll miss it). The third feature (5 minutes) is quite good, and shows what happens when men in animal suits are allowed to mingle within society unchecked...
The second section, titled Classic, features George Lucas' first short film titled Electronic Labyrinth (about 15 minutes in length), made in 1967, and tells the tale of a man trying to free himself of an oppressive society where the watchers are always watching...also included are three small pieces (entitled The Myth, The Truth, and The Legacy) that talk about George Lucas and his relationship to his former film school USC. There's also a little bit about his THX sound system, and productions notes (oh, by the way, in case your curious, the short appears to be presented as it was originally released, without any alterations or special effects added...most of George's later releases weren't so lucky).
The third group is called Narrative and includes three films, the first titled Five Feet High and Rising (29 minutes) about the awakening of sexual awareness among some inner city kids and includes a companion short, extra scenes, and production notes. The Fly (3 minutes) depicts life (and death) through the eyes of a common housefly...this was one of those Academy Awards winners I spoke of early. It also has production notes. The last is an animated feature titled Kebabaluba (2 minutes) and takes a humorous look at a Turkish kebab stand. Include is a recipe for kebabs and production notes.
The fourth group is titled Student and includes three shorts, the first titled Still Revolutionaries, a 16-minute documentary that focuses on two women and their involvement with the Black Panther Party. Included is a directory commentary and production notes. The second entry, titled deliriouspink (4 minutes) is a black and white short featuring Xeroxed pictures filmed in sequence to tell a story. The third and final short from this group is titled The Bottomless Cup (15 minutes) and is about a young man stopping at a roadside diner ultimately having a Twilight Zone experience (it would have never happened to me as I dislike coffee). Included with this short is a director's commentary, an interview with one of the actresses, behind-the-scenes photos, and production notes.
The fifth group is titled Experimental, and includes only one short called Po Mo Knock Knock (3 minutes). Normally I dislike experimental films, and I tend to think they're pretty pretentious, and here is no different. Included is director's commentary, writer/actor/director commentary (so much commentary for 3 minutes of film), a special edition track, a making of documentary, and production notes.
The sixth and final group is called Music, but it's a bit of a misnomer, in my opinion. The short here, titled Burnout (6 minutes), might be considered a music video, if your definition of such includes a gravelly voiced narrator speaking over background music. The box indicates this is an official selection of the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, if that means anything to anyone.
Along with the material listed above, there are some extra features including a listing of other DVDs in the Short, Circuit: A Music Journal, and Afrocentricity series, and trailers for the films The Perfect Storm (2000), and The In Crowd (2000). There is also a feature that, when clicked on, will issue a different, random short (each seemingly about five seconds long). Did you ever watch a show called Image Union? It featured independent short films, and was shown in here in Chicago on the PBS station, usually later at night, on the weekends, and after the British comedies. If you managed to catch it, then you will have an idea of the kind of material contained within this DVD...it's certainly not going to appeal to everyone, but if you have an adventurous nature, then you should give this a chance.
Cookieman108
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Short s... the race for new film makers., October 23, 2000
Why buy a magazine on dvd if you can get movies? It's simple. Short delivers a variety of new film makers with fresh ideas; with short films from around the world, short gives your dvd a new horizon difficult to find for the VHS format: the short stories. Remember those times you want to see a film but you are running out of time? Here is the solution. Animation, documentary, narrative, experimental; whatever your interest, this magazine delivers, in every single issue, a new world to be discovered. Billy's ballon, Mr. Resistor and The Last Supper, are a few of the examples of short films featured in prior issues, all of which were worth the price of the dvd itself all alone. Most of the films contained in the short collection won't sound familiar, but, who ever said that great films are allways popular? This collection of short films is a most for a real dvd fan!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"This is Authority...", July 19, 2003
This collection of shorts is highlighted, unsurprisingly, by the film that helped establish the reputation of George Lucas as one of filmmaking's leading visual directions: his short film Electronic Labyrinth, which won the National Student Film Festival and caught the attention of Francis Ford Coppola. Coppola took Lucas on as a protege and funded THX 1138, the feature film version of the short, directed by Lucas. The film remains an sci-fi and arthouse classic; its reputation grew with the subsequent fame of the director. While THX has many visual similarities to some of the later works in Lucasia, Electronic Labyrinth serves as a montage of some of the directing techniques used by Lucas (and directors of other Lucasfilm productions, whom Lucas frequently directed). Check out the odd angles, the pans, the use of light. Electronic Labyrinth is incredibly abstract and yet utterly simplistic; while it is not nearly as enjoyable and engrossing as THX 1138, it is interesting to see the first glimpses of genius.
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