Friday, June 4, 2010

Short Film Showcase - Vincent (1982)

Vincent, 1982.

Written and Directed by Tim Burton.
Narrated by Vincent Price.

After three years working as an artist at Disney, Tim Burton's potential was spotted by Head of Creative Development Tom Wilhite, who gave the young filmmaker $60,000 to produce a stop-motion animated short based on a poem entitled Vincent that he was developing as a children's book.

The resulting five minute film took two months to complete, with Burton working alongside cameraman Victor Abdalov and animators Steven Chiodo (director of the cult 80s horror-comedy Killer Klowns from Outer Space) and Burton regular Rick Heinrichs (recipient of an Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Direction for his work on Sleepy Hollow).

Shot in black and white in a stark German expressionist style, Vincent tells the story of a strange young boy who is obsessed with the tales of Edgar Allan Poe and - imagining himself to be Vincent Price - begins to slip between reality and his own macabre fantasy world. Burton's childhood idol provides narration and would later describe his admiration for the piece and its director, stating that his involvement was "better than a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame".

Vincent enjoyed a two-week theatrical run with Matt Dillon teen drama Tex, and gained critical acclaim and a number of awards when screening in competition at the Chicago and Annecy film festivals.

Vincent:


Embed courtesy of DailyMotion.

Related:


Freakishly Clever: A Tim Burton Profile


Click here to view more short films and public domain features.

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