Vizsla a volánnál!

Vizsal at the wheel!

A wonderful bit of video from a Hungarian newsreel site via my friend Andrew who blogs over at The Regal Vizsla:

FILMHIRADOK

Sadly, while I could grab screenshots, the clip isn’t embed-able, but go. Watch it. I’ll wait.

In 1948 ‘special effects’ largely consisted of expert training, handling, driving and editing skills. And even though I’m sure I could see the handler’s knee guiding the wheel in one scene, I still think that this is a lot more impressive than the computer animated version we’d typically see today.

The dog in the video appears to be much darker in color than any of the modern Vizslas I’ve seen. Susu looks like a dog whose seen a bit of field work. And his attitude toward work very much reminds me of the OddMan.

We love working dogs.

Love at first sight

“My Dog Zero,” released in 1992, was Joe Murray’s third independent film and his first color film. About the film he writes:

In 1991, I did an 11 minute indie film about a man’s quest to overcome high expectations when it came to finding a perfect canine companion. It was done on a shoestring budget, with students painting cels in exchange for food and coffee and a donated Iron camera stands that needed to be moved with a fork lift.

Here is a clip where Mildo decides a Dog is what he needs, and travels to the local Dog pound to pick out the perfect pet. You know how we always see pets resembling their owners? This is that scene.

It was love at first sight and Murray captures the scene in all of its wonderful and absurd delight.

Hard workin’ dog

“It takes all kinds of dogs to make a world.”

For your Monday morning pleasure – a bit of vintage Sesame Street goodness.

“All I know how to do is take a hundred cows and teach ’em some manners.”

I love that the dog never says what breed he is. He’s probably a border collie but he could be a long-tailed Australian shepherd or an English shepherd – or a purpose bred mutt. He does, however, make a point of saying that he’s sure he’s not a show dog.

Dog’s eye view

A wonderful little short film from the late 1970’s that gives us a not-so-bad dog’s eye view of the world.

Non-dog-related trivia for the day – her owner is played by Paul Benedict, Sesame Street’s Mad Painter.

Fierlingers’ Dog Tulip

I’m a huge fan of Paul and Sandra Fierlinger. Their Still Life With Animated Dogs is not only one of the most captivating animated shorts ever made, it also presents an utterly brilliant commentary on modern life with dogs.

The Fierlingers’ long-awaited (at least by me) animated feature My Dog Tulip will be released by New Yorker Films this week. The film is based on J. R. Ackerley’s 1956 book about his sixteen year love affair with a German shepherd named Tulip. Parent please note, this animated feature was created for adults not children.

According to the film’s website:

A profound and subtle mediation on the strangeness that lies at the heart of all relationships, My Dog Tulip was written, directed and animated by award-winning filmmakers Paul and Sandra Fierlinger and is the first animated feature ever to be entirely hand drawn and painted utilizing paperless computer technology.

It features the voices of Christopher Plummer as Ackerley, Lynn Redgrave (who died earlier this year) as his annoying sister and Isabella Rossellini as Tulip’s veterinarian.

I haven’t read the book – yet. But according to the Amazon.com book review:

In 1947, J.R. Ackerley rescued an 18-month-old German shepherd, and from the start her every look and move were to undo him. “Tulip never let me down. She is nothing if not consistent. She knows where to draw the line, and it is always in the same place, a circle around us both. Indeed, she is a good girl, but–and this is the point–she would not care for it to be generally known.” As he anatomizes her from head to toe with the awe-struck precision of a medieval courtier, Ackerley instantly turns us into Tulipomanes. Alas, many of the mere mortals she encounters feel differently, for there are indeed two Tulips. One is highly strung but heroic, flirtatious but true. The other is a four-legged rejoinder to authority: a biter, a barker, and a dab hand at defecating her way around London. Not that any of these are her fault. “You’re the trouble,” Tulip’s one good vet tells Ackerley as she banishes him from the surgery. “She’s in love with you, that’s obvious. And so life’s full of worries for her.”

I’m not generally a fan of movies glorifying bad dogs (this is why the book is still on my ‘to be read’ pile) – but I’m certain that the Fierlingers’ lyrical animation, their brilliant observations on men, women, dogs and the weird and wonderful ways our lives intersect will make this film one you don’t want to miss.

Here’s the trailer:

AT-AT Day Afternoon

A wonderful short film by Patrick Boivin

“When I was a kid, there are two things I wanted badly and never got… A real dog and a Kenner AT-AT Walker.”

Via SlashFilm – a short film on how the video was made:

Sweetgrass

Sweetgrass is:

An unsentimental elegy to the American West, “Sweetgrass” follows the last modern-day cowboys to lead their flocks of sheep up into Montana’s breathtaking and often dangerous Absaroka-Beartooth mountains for summer pasture. This astonishingly beautiful yet unsparing film reveals a world in which nature and culture, animals and humans, vulnerability and violence are all intimately meshed.

Heart-breaking. Beautiful. Brilliant.

Updated with this link to an excellent video interview with the filmmakers on WNYC.

Dog Years

This sweet and deceptively simple little film was created by Omni Productions back in 2004. The film was produced for  The Joy of 8, a celebration of the restraints of shooting on Super 8mm film format. It was reportedly produced on a five pound budget.

Each filmmaker was limited to shooting a single fifty foot / 3 minute cartridge, edited sequentially in camera that could be screened alongside a separate audio soundtrack as a coherent film. The filmmakers didn’t see the finished product until the night it was screened. Incredible.

Behind the Kennel Door

Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie is (I think) the first mass-marketed hardcore dog movie.  The live-action film presents the story of a young Labrador who goes into heat for the first time and runs away to the city to avoid getting spayed. The movie features an all-canine cast with voice-overs provided by well-known humans including Marilyn Chambers, Ron Jeremy, Paul Rodriguez, Too $hort, Heidi Fleiss, Tera Patrick and Dustin “Screech” Diamond.

As reported at thestranger:

Director Greg Blatman told AVN.com, “I did a lot of research ahead of time. My concern, as a dog lover, was for [the dogs’] safety. I talked to two veterinarians [and] a couple of animal trainers, and made sure that there was absolutely no chance of harm… For the male dogs, we used professional stud dogs… We had to check all the dogs for sexually transmitted diseases, because breeders can’t have that passed on… We’re not going to put a condom on the dog… also, it’s the female that makes the decision, so we brought in the professional male stud dogs, but Sadie only chose who she wanted to have sex with. The males could do all they wanted, but Sadie’s a big girl, and she told them exactly what she wanted, and when she was satisfied with the partner or the pairing, she went at it.”

And from the official Porndogs website:

“Porndogs: The Adventures of Sadie” is an outrageous comedy that pretends to be hardcore porn film by featuring live dogs as the actors. Over thirty of our canine friends, a chicken and a man in a dog suit star in this 82 minutes motion picture.

Sponsored by the Screen Actors Guild, think of it as “Benji Does Dallas.” or “Animal Planet on Viagra”. “Porndogs” is at once a parody on human sexuality and a satire on adult films where the dogs talk and act just like people… or is it people who act like dogs?

The Return of Frankenweenie

From FireFox News:

Fresh off “Sweeney Todd,” Burton is turning his eyes back towards his first project, a movie about a boy and his dog called “Frankenweenie.” 

“Frankenweenie” is the story of a pet dog who is brought back to life by his adoring owner.  Like the “Nightmare Before Christmas” (one of my favorite movies ever), the film will be created using a combination of stop-motion and 3D techniques. Burton’s original “Frankenweenie” was a black and white short film created back in 1984. Rumor has it that Disney shelved the original project because the content was not deemed appropriate for children.

Here’s Burton’s teaser for the film.  (Links to the original Frankenweenie in three parts at the end of this post)

Burton created the short as a parody of the 1931 film “Frankenstein”.  Young Victor Frankenstein’s pet Bull Terrier Sparky is hit by a car and Victor decides to bring him back to life. But when the stitched up, bolt-necked bully breed wreaks havoc and terrifies Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them and his parents that, despite his appearance, Sparky’s still the good loyal friend he’s always been.

….hmmmm, is it just me that sees a presaging of BSL there?  Be sure to check out the scene where Sparky “wreaks havoc” on his neighbors in part III.  It is truly horrifying.  And all too much like many people’s reactions to bully dogs.  Now if only those folks would come around to sanity in the end like Spark’s neighbors did…

“Frankenweenie” Parts I, II and III