Time Piece | |
---|---|
Directed by | Jim Henson |
Written by | Jim Henson |
Produced by | Jim Henson [1] |
Starring | Jim Henson Jane Henson Frank Oz Jerry Juhl |
Cinematography | Ted Nemeth [2] |
Music by | Don Sebesky |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Pathé Contemporary Films |
Release date | 1965 |
Running time | 9 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Time Piece is a 1965 American experimental short film directed, written, produced by and starring Jim Henson. [4] The film depicts an ordinary man living in constant motion, in a desperate attempt to escape the passage of time. [5] Time Piece is notable as one of the few live-action projects Jim Henson produced that did not involve any form of puppetry. [6] The short film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1966. [7]
The fast-paced scenes in Time Piece are edited together in a rhythmic pentameter, with an underlying use of sounds and repetitive beats. The film begins with a young man (who provides only four brief words of dialogue who just quotes "help") sitting patiently in a hospital bed. An unidentified doctor enters the room and checks the man's heart rate, which begins to pulse rhythmically.
As the rhythm increases, the film begins to follow the man's daily habits such as crossing a busy street, in different clothes and different locations, working in a busy office, working on a conveyor belt, walking through different locations and ending up in a forest where he has the appearance of Tarzan, eating dinner with his wife, walking down the street seeing pogo stick riders, and visiting a strip club while simultaneously maintaining himself in motion.
Eventually, the man is imprisoned for shooting the Mona Lisa while intoxicated (signified by a scene of him painting an elephant pink) and dressed as a cowboy and is forced to perform acts of labor like working in the rock pile. The man eventually escapes from prison and begins to frantically run across a long distance with different disguises like a man in a top hat and Tarzan while evading cowboys. The man then jumps off a diving board and soars into the sky (aided by a flying device) where he is subsequently shot down by the world's military powers. He falls from the sky defeated and lands in a muddy puddle in the form of a rustic clock. The clock strikes twelve and the film's events flash quickly on-screen.
Back in the hospital room, the doctor covers the man's seemingly lifeless body. The camera then pans up towards the doctor's face, revealing him to be the same man smiling gleefully and winks at the camera.
Unlike most films, Time Piece was not written as a script. Instead, Jim Henson had storyboarded the entire film prior to filming. [5] Between shuffling performances with The Muppets for The Jimmy Dean Show and film commercials, Henson shot the film intermittently from June 1964 to May 1965. [5] Due to this restricted time frame, every shot in the film lasts only one to four seconds. Henson even calculated the amount of frames each shot would contain. [5]
Henson solely produced the film's animation sequences, while Muppet designer Don Sahlin was responsible for the film's visual effects shots. [5]
Legendary Blue Note Records engineer Rudy Van Gelder recorded the music. [8]
Henson premiered Time Piece at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 1965. The film also had a lengthy screening run at the Paris Theatre in Manhattan. [5]
Time Piece was released theatrically in the United States with Claude Lelouch's A Man and a Woman . In addition to its Academy Award nomination, [9] the film also won the CINE Eagle Award and the American Film Festival's Blue Ribbon Award, and received recognition at the XII International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. [5] [10]
James Maury Henson was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and Fraggle Rock (1983–1987) and director of The Dark Crystal (1982) and Labyrinth (1986). He was born in Greenville, Mississippi, and raised in Leland, Mississippi, and University Park, Maryland.
The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential style of variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are the focus of a media franchise, now owned by The Walt Disney Company, that encompasses television, film, music, and other media associated with the characters.
The Muppet Show is a sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and featuring the Muppets. The series originated as two pilot episodes produced by Henson for ABC in 1974 and 1975. While neither episode was moved forward as a series and other networks in the United States rejected Henson's proposals, British producer Lew Grade expressed enthusiasm for the project and agreed to co-produce The Muppet Show for the British channel ATV. Five seasons, totalling 120 episodes, were broadcast on ATV and other ITV franchises in the United Kingdom and in later first-run syndication in the US from 1976 to 1981. The programme was produced and recorded at ATV Elstree Studios, England.
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Jim Henson's Muppet Babies, commonly known by the shortened title Muppet Babies, is an American animated television series that aired from September 15, 1984, to November 2, 1991, on CBS. The show portrays childhood versions of the Muppets living together in a nursery under the care of a human woman identified only as Nanny, who appears in almost every episode, but her face is never visible; only the babies' view of her pink skirt, purple sweater, and distinctive green and white striped socks is shown. The idea of presenting the Muppets as children first appeared in a dream sequence in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984), released two months before Muppet Babies debuted, in which Miss Piggy imagined what it would be like if she and Kermit the Frog had grown up together.
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The Jim Henson Company is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for its innovations in the field of puppetry, particularly through the creation of Kermit the Frog and the Muppets characters.
The Muppet Movie is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the film was written by The Muppet Show writers Jerry Juhl and Jack Burns. Produced between the first and second half of The Muppet Show's third season, the film tells the origin story of the Muppets, as Kermit the Frog embarks on a cross-country trip to Los Angeles, encountering several of the Muppets—who all share the same ambition of finding success in professional show business—along the way while being pursued by Doc Hopper, a greedy restaurateur with intentions of employing Kermit as a spokesperson for his frog legs business.
The Muppets Take Manhattan is a 1984 American musical comedy film directed by Frank Oz. It is the third theatrical film in The Muppets franchise. In addition to the Muppet performance, the film features special appearances by Art Carney, James Coco, Dabney Coleman, Gregory Hines, Linda Lavin, and Joan Rivers. Filmed in New York City during the prior summer, it was released theatrically on July 13, 1984, by TriStar Pictures. A fantasy sequence in the film introduced the Muppet Babies, toddler versions of the lead Muppet characters.
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a 1992 American comedy musical Christmas film directed by Brian Henson from a screenplay by Jerry Juhl. Adapted from the 1843 novella A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, it stars Michael Caine as Ebenezer Scrooge, alongside Muppet performers Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, and Frank Oz. Although artistic license is taken to suit the aesthetic of the Muppets, The Muppet Christmas Carol otherwise follows Dickens's original story closely. It is the fourth theatrical film in The Muppets franchise, and the first to be produced following the deaths of the Muppets creator Jim Henson and the performer Richard Hunt; the film is dedicated to both.
The Great Muppet Caper is a 1981 British-American musical heist comedy film directed by Jim Henson. It is the second theatrical film in The Muppets franchise. In addition to the Muppet performers, the film stars Charles Grodin and Diana Rigg with special appearances by John Cleese, Robert Morley, Peter Ustinov, and Jack Warden. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The Jim Henson Company and distributed by Universal Pictures. In the plot, the Muppets are caught up in a jewel heist while investigating a robbery in London.
"Rainbow Connection" is a song from the 1979 film The Muppet Movie, with music and lyrics written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. The song was performed by Jim Henson – as Kermit the Frog – in the film. "Rainbow Connection" reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 in November 1979, with the song remaining in the Top 40 for seven weeks total. Williams and Ascher received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song at the 52nd Academy Awards.
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Jon Arthur Stone was an American writer, director and producer, who was best known for being an original crew member on The Muppets' Sesame Street and is credited with helping develop characters such as Cookie Monster, Oscar the Grouch and Big Bird. Stone won 18 television Emmy Awards. Many regard him as one of the best children's television writers.
"Man or Muppet" is a song from Disney's 2011 musical comedy film The Muppets, written by singer-songwriter Bret McKenzie. Performed by the film's main characters, Gary and Walter, the song also features Bill Barretta and Jim Parsons portraying the contrasting identities of Gary and Walter, respectively. The song was released by Walt Disney Records on November 22, 2011, as part of the film's original soundtrack.
The Muppets Go to the Movies is a one-hour television special starring Jim Henson's Muppets. It first aired May 20, 1981 on ABC as promotion for The Great Muppet Caper, which was released in the United States a month later.
The Muppet Movie: Original Soundtrack Recording is the soundtrack album from the 1979 film, The Muppet Movie, featuring the songs and select score written by Paul Williams and Kenneth Ascher. Originally released on LP by Atlantic Records in North America and by CBS internationally, the album reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200, and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The soundtrack won the Grammy Award for Best Children's Album in 1980 and was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media, the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, and two Academy Awards; Best Adaptation Score for the overall album and Best Original Song for "Rainbow Connection", which reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.