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The Brothers Quay - (For fans of stop-motion animation)  Recently, you may have seen a brief example of their work at some point during the Live Earth broadcast...  
 
 
...Alice In Not So Wonderland The reclusive but über-talented duo were also contributors to the landmark Peter Gabriel video... 
...Sledgehammer But neither of these examples are where the good stuff is. A bit of background... The extraordinary Quay Brothers are two of the world’s most original filmmakers. Identical twins who were born in Pennsylvania in 1947, Stephen and Timothy Quay studied illustration in Philadelphia before going on to the Royal College of Art in London, where they started to make animated shorts in the 1970s. They have lived in London ever since, making their unique and innovative films under the aegis of Koninck Studios. Influenced by a tradition of Eastern European animation, the Quays display a passion for detail, a breathtaking command of color and texture, and an uncanny use of focus and camera movement that make their films unique and instantly recognizable. Best known for their classic 1986 film STREET OF CROCODILES, which filmmaker Terry Gilliam recently selected as one of the ten best animated films of all time, they are masters of miniaturization and on their tiny sets have created an unforgettable world, suggestive of a landscape of long-repressed childhood dreams. In 1994, with INSTITUTE BENJAMENTA, they made their first foray into live-action feature-length filmmaking. The Quays have also directed pop promos for His Name is Alive, Michael Penn, Sparklehorse, 16 Horsepower, and Peter Gabriel (contributing to his celebrated “Sledgehammer” video), and have also directed ground-breaking commercials for, among others, MTV, Nikon, Murphy’s beer and Slurpee. The Quays’ work also includes set design for theatre and opera. In 1998 their Tony-nominated set designs for Ionesco’s The Chairs won great acclaim on Broadway. In 2000 they made IN ABSENTIA, an award-winning collaboration with Karlheinz Stockhausen, as well as two dance films, DUET and THE SANDMAN. In 2002 they contributed an animated dream sequence to Julie Taymor’s film FRIDA. In 2003 the Quays made four short films in collaboration with composer Steve Martland for a live event at the Tate Modern in London (read about the collaboration in The Guardian) and in 2005 premiered their second feature film, THE PIANO TUNER OF EARTHQUAKES, at the Locarno Film Festival. ...http://www.zeitgeistfilms...=filmmaker Some time ago, I found a copy of the out of print... 
...The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993 (Kino Video - 2000) *The Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer *The Epic of Gilgamesh: or The Unnameable Little Broom *Street of Crocodiles *Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies *Dramolet (or Stille Nacht I) *The Comb *Anamorphosis *Are We Still Married? (or Stille Nacht II) *Tales from the Vienna Woods (or Stille Nacht III) *Can't Go Wrong Without You (or Stille Nacht IV) This year, Zeitgeist Films released the 2 DVD set...  
 
  ...Phantom Museums: The Short Films of the Quay Brothers The first disc is an expanded version of The Brothers Quay Collection: Ten Astonishing Short Films 1984-1993. The second disc... *Nocturna Artificialia *The Calligrapher *The Summit *In Absentia in Scope *Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies in Scope *Quay Brothers Introduction *Archive Interview *The Falls Excerpt *BFI Distribution Ident *Institute Benjamenta and Piano Tuner of Earthquakes Trailers Btw, there are a few Quay Brothers clips on YouTube. tA  Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 [Edited 7/9/07 7:40am] "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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Great stuff!
I showed The Street of Crocodiles once in a course on world lit where we were reading the Schulz novel (an incredible book). The film is moody, meticulous, and compelling whereas the book is moody, funny, cosmic, absurd, slapstick etc. But to say the film is nothing like the book is to miss the point of both book and film.  | |
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2the9s said: Great stuff!
I showed The Street of Crocodiles once in a course on world lit where we were reading the Schulz novel (an incredible book). The film is moody, meticulous, and compelling whereas the book is moody, funny, cosmic, absurd, slapstick etc. But to say the film is nothing like the book is to miss the point of both book and film. 
... Street of Crocodiles It's one of the Brothers Quay clips on YouTube. Unfortunately, it appears that the original soundtrack has been replaced with a Tool piece. I'll have to make a note to get the Bruno Schulz book. (  Something to read on my trip to NYC in October)
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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 Incredible stuff  | |
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I'll have to check this out. I love Stop Motion Animation. Christian Zombie Vampires | |
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Everybody has seen this technique.
A few well known U.S. practitioners... 
...Willis O'Brien The Lost World (1925) King Kong (1933) Song of Kong (1933) Mighty Joe Young (1949) The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956) The Giant Behemoth (1959) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= 
...Ray Harryhausen (O'Brien protege) The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1956) Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers (1956) The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) Jason and the Argonauts (1963) One Million Years B.C. (1966) The Valley of Gwangi (1969) Clash of the Titans (1981) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= On televsion there were claymation-type shows like Gumby and Davey and Goliath done by... 
...Art Clokey =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= The Quay Brothers work however... 
...is in a different category all together. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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I never liked stop motion in general. Not until the 80's, stop motion just didn't look good enough next to hand drawn, but now with shutter like camera's and new technoledgy, its seemless. Still, i prefer hand drawn, but admire the painstaking craft that is stop motion. | |
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I also love Barry Purves' work from Canada:
Next is one of my favorite films of all time! crappy youtube version: http://www.youtube.com/wa...3dQFR8oWb4 | |
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Mach said: Incredible stuff They are quite good. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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superspaceboy said: I'll have to check this out. I love Stop Motion Animation.
I'm sure you'll enjoy them. Imagine scoring music to their visuals. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: Mach said: Incredible stuff They are quite good.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 I really enjoyed Alice In Not So Wonderland  | |
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heartbeatocean said: I also love Barry Purves' work from Canada:
Next is one of my favorite films of all time! crappy youtube version: http://www.youtube.com/wa...3dQFR8oWb4 I'll give this a look. Thanks for the tip.
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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heartbeatocean said: Next is one of my favorite films of all time! Very cool. A brighter ambience than the Quays but with its own dark elements. I noticed that this was produced by Aardman Studios in England. These were the same folks that produced the Sledgehammer video along with Wallace and Gromit and the Chicken Run movie. Btw, Disc 1 of the Quay's set added In Absentia. It's a film with music composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Can't wait until it arrives. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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love this stuff! thanks tA 
LOVE ♪♫♪♫ ♣¤═══¤۩۞۩ஜ۩ஜ۩۞۩¤═══¤♣ | |
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Mach said: I really enjoyed Alice In Not So Wonderland I thought their clip was the most effective of the ones that were shown during Live Earth. Because there was no dialog, you had to really pay attention. The point was well made in a visually engaging and powerful way. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: heartbeatocean said: Next is one of my favorite films of all time! Very cool. A brighter ambience than the Quays but with its own dark elements. I noticed that this was produced by Aardman Studios in England. These were the same folks that produced the Sledgehammer video along with Wallace and Gromit and the Chicken Run movie. Btw, Disc 1 of the Quay's set added In Absentia. It's a film with music composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen. Can't wait until it arrives. tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 Glad you watched it!  Yes, a very different sensibility than Brothers Quay. I like the intricacy of Brother's Quay and the oddity, but sometimes it feels too solipsistic to me.
Their live action feature Institute Benjamenta is also interesting. I haven't seen the whole thing, but they are definitely art film masters. | |
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heartbeatocean said: Glad you watched it! Yes, a very different sensibility than Brothers Quay. I like the intricacy of Brother's Quay and the oddity, but sometimes it feels too solipsistic to me.You're gonna have to expand on that one so that I have a better idea exactly how this applies to their films. Btw, I also ordered the Czech animation master Jan Svankmajer's... 
...The Ossuary and Other Tales tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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| I'm a big Fan of The Quay Brothers!!!
and Harryhausen and Willis O Brien were my Childhood Heroes(I have a few stop-Motion books autographed for me by Harryhausen!!) I also dig (or, more accurately, been weirded out by) Ladislas Starewicz's stuff: here's part of one of his most famous pieces, "The Mascot"(1934)--This portion has also been called "The Devil's Ball".... The Mascot('Devils Ball' sequence)(1934) http://www.youtube.com/wa...qGNPVpQigA 
... ... [Edited 7/13/07 13:26pm] " I've got six things on my mind --you're no longer one of them." - Paddy McAloon, Prefab Sprout | |
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CHIC0 said: love this stuff! thanks tA
You welcome CHICO-suave. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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paligap said: I'm a big Fan of The Quay Brothers!!!
and Harryhausen and Willis O Brien were my Childhood Heroes(I have a few stop-Motion books autographed for me by Harryhausen!!) I also dig (or, more accurately, been weirded out by) Ladislas Starewicz's stuff: here's part of one of his most famous pieces, "The Mascot"(1934)--This portion has also been called "The Devil's Ball".... The Mascot('Devils Ball' sequence)(1934) http://www.youtube.com/wa...qGNPVpQigA
...  That was creepy good.
It's too bad the poster altered the music track. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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one is needing to do a lot of catch up,,
damn this thread is givin me the reviving creeps 
bookmarks | |
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PricelessHo said: one is needing to do a lot of catch up,,
damn this thread is givin me the reviving creeps
bookmarks It'll be alright. 
tA Tribal Disorder
http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431 "Ya see, we're not interested in what you know...but what you are willing to learn. C'mon y'all." | |
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theAudience said: [center][img]
The reclusive but über-talented duo were also contributors to the landmark Peter Gabriel video...
...Sledgehammer TA, I had encountered some of their stuff. But I do beleive that the Sledgehammer project definitely put them under more people's radar. | |
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