This pleasantly ridiculous film was recently screened as part of a film spoof festival at (drum roll, please...) my local public library. In addition to the comic rewards of the alleged plot, which I believe has already been spoiled for you by the previous comment, many of the stylistic touches are fun to behold in all their original mid-'60s pre-mod swankiness. So many of them, from the porkpie hat and the haircut under it to the martini glass, are new again. Possibly the coolest, and definitely the most unnerving, thing about the film I saw was its color -- a monochromatic washed-out pinkish-red, creepily reminiscent of blood in the water, that got more intense as the film went on. This may be an artifact of badly aged film stock or it may have been there from the beginning. Either way, it sets a memorable tone for this little existential plaything.
3 Reviews
This almost defies description!
llltdesq19 February 2015
Warning: Spoilers
This short was nominated for the Academy Award for Live Action Short, losing to Casals Conducts: 1964. There will be mild spoilers:
This is, hands down, the strangest non-animated short I've ever seen! When the most "normal" thing you see in the short is a man opening a door to see a cigar store Indian, you know Toto's not in Kansas any more.
There's one actor and one actress is credited. I suppose one could accurately say that the man does a great many "normal" things in this short, they simply happen in abnormal ways or have unusual repercussions. The best advice I can give for anyone who might watch this film is, don't expect anything! This is, in many ways, like a Tex Avery cartoon done in live action and turned inside out and on its ear.
There's a scene between the actor and actress which would have been rather risqué in 1965, but which is quite tame today, though like everything else in this short, is quite bizarre.
This short can be found online and must be seen to be believed. Recommended.
This is, hands down, the strangest non-animated short I've ever seen! When the most "normal" thing you see in the short is a man opening a door to see a cigar store Indian, you know Toto's not in Kansas any more.
There's one actor and one actress is credited. I suppose one could accurately say that the man does a great many "normal" things in this short, they simply happen in abnormal ways or have unusual repercussions. The best advice I can give for anyone who might watch this film is, don't expect anything! This is, in many ways, like a Tex Avery cartoon done in live action and turned inside out and on its ear.
There's a scene between the actor and actress which would have been rather risqué in 1965, but which is quite tame today, though like everything else in this short, is quite bizarre.
This short can be found online and must be seen to be believed. Recommended.
Hilarious! Bizarre! Surreal!
JohnnyCNote1 April 2003
This is one of the craziest things I've ever seen. A beatnik lives on a raft with bathroom furnishings. He sits in the tub typing on toilet paper, which he files in the toilet. A feminine hand appears from the drain, he paints one nail, and it leaves. He opens the medicine cabinet and finds a guy shaving on the other side. "Close the door, dammit!" are the only words in the whole thing. Finally the raft is torpedoed by a toy sub and sinks.
Watch it if you ever get a chance!
Watch it if you ever get a chance!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
