Anything with “dark” in the title is guaranteed to be good
September 19th, 2005
And sometimes things just appear at your fingertips. Today (thanks to del.icio.us/popular) I stumbed upon Ðarkςτridεr.net.
Damn. This site is amazing: a look at stop-motion animation from around the world, concentrating on Czech and other Eastern European animators. It is filled with video clips and seems to be updated very frequently too. I watched about an hour’s worth of clips (a couple of them are as much as ten minutes long) and everything ranged from pretty good to astonishingly great. I might even follow some of the tips and suggestions for purchasing foreign DVDs (and I wouldn’t be too afraid of websites in West Slavic languages), because the tiny resolution and screen size make the video clips almost tantalizing in their hints of majesty and wonder that a larger screen would bring.
Here I am again with the Eastern European thing. I swear that wasn’t the plan for the day, it just keeps coming up. And sure, a few of the entries were sort of Worker and Parasite-esque, but I actually like that kind of thing anyway. On the clips page, there are fairies and fairy tales, giant squid and flying elephants. It’s just a stunning testimony to the power of the imagination.
I am also intrigued by the author of the page, who is working on animation projects himself. From the blog entries, it seems like one of his long-term projects remains unscripted but is called “The Ahab Project”… man I got to start writing that dude a script! To combine two of my obsessions (claymation and Moby-Dick)! Just the thought of it makes me laugh in exhilaration…
Now I’m jealous. I want to make puppets and stuff.
On some related topics, I heard that Corpse Bride got good reviews. I was skeptical but I will go see it for myself. Also I was thinking about writing something about Brian Froud and looked at his website. It is okay, but buried in the news section was the recent bombshell that a Dark Crystal sequel is in the works! Not sure what to think about that. It says that “puppets will again be used and now complemented by numerous technologies not available twenty years ago.” Hmm. Again I’m not holding my breath. I think they pretty much wrapped up all the loose ends in the original, didn’t they? Maybe the crystal will shatter again?
Well, time will tell. For now I am super excited about all this low-budget stop-motion animation with its creepy Slavic overtones. It’s definitely worth spending some time at Ðarkςτridεr.net.
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Admittedly, there are quite a few creative efforts with “dark” in the title that are almost preternaturally good. Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon,” Henson’s Dark Crystal, Donnie Darko, Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, Jessica Alba as Dark Angel—all smack of genius. There is something about these works that do justice to the elemental nature of the word. They deserved the word because they sought to deepen our understanding of it. But we cannot forget the pretenders—Darkman, the Alone in the Dark, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, the Dark Tower series (I know some hold this half-assed, prolix series sacrosanct but I implore you: wake up)—those who would leech the power from this noble word. Darkman could just as easily have been titled Photosensitiveman and nothing would have been lost.
This Darkstrider guy seems worthy. Avant-garde animation is always inherently disturbing. When I was a kid I saw an animated film called Twice Upon a Time which was actually very lighthearted and done in nice bright colors, but all the characters looked like random bits of construction paper that had come to life. That was a little unnerving for a kid who liked to play with construction paper. They also spent a lot of time in surreal landscapes like the guts of giant clocks that controlled peoples’ dreams. Claymation just amplifies the psychological trauma. Everything looks so meaty and plausible in claymation. Additionally, claymation came into its own in the 70’s so I associate it with that grainy 70’s film stock that makes me feel all grimy when I see it. This is fine when you’re watching Taxi Driver or Cotton Comes to Harlem, but when you’re watching the fantastical exploits of lumps of greasy playdough it’s a bit enervating.
I was probably thinking of Dark City (one of my favorite movies), Heart of Darkness, the Dark Crystal, and maybe some others. But now I would have to add Darkness on the Edge of Town (Bruce Springsteen)… The Dark Is Rising (great children’s books by Susan Cooper)… Darkness at Noon (Arthur Koestler)… The Darkness (the band)… I Love You But I’ve Chosen Darkness (another band)…
I kind of like the “Dark Tower” series but I haven’t read all of them. I don’t know anything about “Alone in the Dark” or “Under Siege 2” though, and I can’t really remember anything about Darkman. I guess I could say “Anything with ‘dark’ in the title is about 95% certain to be good.”
Good call on Jessica Alba as Dark Angel though.
Something that is probably right up your alley is Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. Ostensibly a childrens’ series, it is gaining notariety as “the anti-Potter” for being just as readable but without any of the happy-go-luckyness. Dæmons and armored talking bears and strange archaic nautical devices given mystical properties (the books are The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass) wielded by child protagonists who actually kill others in the course of the story (though become beset by profound guilt) while trying to save other children from evil scientists and simultaneously save and possibly unite our own universe with a parallel one. It’s been boycotted by some parents groups as Satanic (though Pullman muses that he actually wrote it with a deliberate athiestic slant as a reaction to his hatred of CS Lewis’ Catholic apologetics in the Narnia books).
Hey Jeff.
I just ran across your site and it brought a big smile to my face. Thanks for spreading the cheer and darkness! To be honest, I had to stop and think about maybe working eith you on a script, but this is really way too personal of a project. It’s definitely going to be dark, surreal and have that Eastern European thang goin’ on. I’ve dreamed up several possible scenarios, but nothing that feels quite right yet. Not sure why I’m so obsessed with the atmosphere and imagery of Moby Dick, I guess I’m not alone there though. I see this as a project that is driving me ahead, the dark carrot dangling before me always drawing me on. It may be some time before my skills are worthy of really tackling it, but so be it.
And I really think I heard the Twilight Zone theme when I read the plug for Philip Pullman… i just recently discovered His Dark Materials and did two excited blog entries about it. I just ordered the trilogy and am anxiously awaiting it’s arrival.
Greetings from the darkness my friend!
Mike