Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé

The mesmerizing, utterly unclassifiable science films of Jean Painlevé (1902-89) have to be seen to be believed: delightful, surrealist-influenced dream works that are also serious science. The French filmmaker-scientist-inventor had a decades-spanning career in which he created hundreds of short films on subjects ranging from astronomy to pigeons to, most famously, such marine-life marvels as the sea horse and the sea urchin. This definitive three-disc collection brings together the best of these, and also includes the French television series Jean Painlevé Through His Films, rock band Yo La Tengo's eight-film score The Sounds of Science, and an essay by film scholar Scott MacDonald.

France
315 minutes
Color
1.33:1
French
Spine #468

Special Features

THREE-DISC SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

New, restored digital transfers of all twenty-three films:

Disc One POPULAR FILMS

HYAS AND STENORHYNCHUS (HYAS ET STENORINQUES) 1927 10 minutes Black & White
SEA URCHINS (OURSINS) 1954 11 minutes Color
HOW SOME JELLYFISH ARE BORN (COMMENT NAISSENT DES MÉDUSES) 1960 14 minutes Black & White
LIQUID CRYSTALS (CRISTAUX LIQUIDES) 1978 6 minutes Color
THE SEA HORSE (L'HIPPOCAMPE) 1933 14 minutes Black & White
THE LOVE LIFE OF THE OCTOPUS (LES AMOURS DE LA PIEUVRE) 1967 14 minutes Color
SHRIMP STORIES (HISTOIRES DE CREVETTES) 1964 10 minutes Color
ACERA, OR THE WITCHES' DANCE (ACERA OU LE BAL DES SORCIÈRES) 1972 13 minutes Color
THE VAMPIRE (LE VAMPIRE) 1945 9 minutes Black & White
FRESHWATER ASSASSINS (LES ASSASSINS D'EAU DOUCE) 1947 24 minutes Black & White
SEA BALLERINAS (LES DANSEUSES DE LA MER) 1956 13 minutes Color
DIATOMS (DIATOMÉES) 1968 17 minutes Color
PIGEONS IN THE SQUARE (LES PIGEONS DU SQUARE) 1982 27 minutes Color

THE SOUNDS OF SCIENCE

Eight films with original score by Yo La Tengo
Interview with Yo La Tengo

Disc Two EARLY POPULAR SILENT FILMS

THE OCTOPUS (LA PIEUVRE) 1927 13 minutes Black & White
SEA URCHIINS (LES OURSINS) 1928 10 minutes Black & White
DAPHNIA (LA DAPHNIE) 1928 9 minutes Black & White

SILENT RESEARCH FILMS

THE STICKLEBACK’S EGG (L’OEUF D’ÉPINOCHE) 1925 26 minutes Black & White
EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT OF A HEMORRHAGE IN A DOG (TRAITEMENT ÉXPERIMENTAL D'UNE HÉMORRAGIE CHEZ LE CHIEN) 1930 4 minutes Black & White

FILMS FOR LE PALAIS DE LA DÉCOUVERTE

THE FOURTH DIMENSION (LA QUATRIÈME DIMENSION) 1936 10 minutes Black & White
THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL (IMAGES MATHÉMATIQUES DE LA LUTTE POUR LA VIE) 1937 14 minutes Black & White
VOYAGE TO THE SKY (VOYAGE DANS LE CIEL) 1937 11 minutes Black & White
SIMILARITIES BETWEEN LENGTH AND SPEED (SIMILITUDES DES LONGEURS ET DES VITESSES) 1937 10 minutes Black & White

ANIMATION

BLUEBEARD (BARBE-BLEU) 1938 13 minutes Gasparcolor
New and improved English subtitle translations
More than two hours of interviews with the filmmaker, drawn from the eight-part television series Jean Painlevé Through His Films, directed by Denis Derrien and Hélène Hazera
PLUS: A new essay by film scholar Scott MacDonald

New cover by Rodrigo Corral

DVD 3 Discs $27.96 SRP: $39.95