Moon Breath Beat

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Moon Breath Beat is a 1980 animated experimental student film by Lisze Bechtold about her cats turning into abstract figures.

Contents

Production

The film was made while Bechtold was a student at California Institute of the Arts. Her instructor, Jules Engel, asked the class to make a film answering the question, "What happens when an animator follows a line, a patch of color, or a shape into the unconscious? What wild images would emerge?" [1]

Legacy

Lisze Bechtold later went on to do visual effects on FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) and The Prince and the Pauper (1990). [2] [3] She collaborated on My Film, My Film, My Film (1983), which is in the collection of MoMA, New York. [4] She also writes children's books including the Buster the Very Shy Dog series [5] [6] [7] and Toots the Cat. [8]

Moon Breath Beat was selected to the United States National Film Registry in 2014 as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [3] [9] The film was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016. [10]

Critical reaction

It has been described as "full of color, creepiness and unforgettable imagery". [11]

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References

  1. Gray, Tim (December 17, 2014). "'Big Lebowski,' 'Willy Wonka' Among National Film Registry's 25 Selections". Variety. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. "Moon Breath Beat". IMDb .
  3. 1 2 "2014 additions to National Film Registry: "Moon Breath Beat" (1980)". CBS News. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  4. "My Film, My Film, My Film". MoMA. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  5. "BUSTER THE VERY SHY DOG FINDS A KITTEN". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  6. "Buster: The Very Shy Dog". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  7. "Buster & Phoebe: The Great Bone Game". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  8. Stevenson, Deborah (October 2005). "Toots the Cat (Review)". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 59 (2): 101–2. doi:10.1353/bcc.2005.0176. S2CID   145776938.
  9. "Cinematic Treasures Named to National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  10. "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive.
  11. ""The Big Lebowski" and 24 other movies the government thinks are national treasures". Hello Giggles. Time, Inc. December 18, 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2017.