13m journey to the center of Borowczyk’s unique universe. Chris Marker (La jetée, 1962), another
avant-garde film-maker with an equally idiosyncratic approach to his work, is accorded an “in collabora- tion with” credit, but the film remains Borowczyk’s own—Marker’s name was attached to the film be- cause the expatriate Pole had yet to gain full French citizenship. The music and sound design, mostly atmospheric electronic noises, were provided by Andrzej Markowski and points toward the distinc- tive soundscapes that would characterize the director’s later shorts. Here it perfectly complements the rich mixture of imagery on display, combining stop-motion animation, drawings and photographs.
grand’maman, 1963, 7m) is a delightful forerunner to Terry Gilliam’s style of animation on DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET (1967—1969) and MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS (1969—1974). “Renaissance” (1963, 9m) and “Angels’ Games”
“The Concert” (Le concert, 1962, 7m) was Borowczyk’s first film for the Paris production house Les Cinéastes Associés. Originally intended as the pilot for a series of shorts, “The Concert” would instead later form the basis for his debut feature. “Grandma’s Encyclopedia” (Encyclopédie de
Rosalie, giving a tearful courtroom account of an unfortunate series of circumstances which led her— a servant to a wealthy family—to become pregnant and commit infanticide. Rosalie’s tragic monologue is punctuated by illustrative cutaways to the spartan tableaux of court exhibits (a photograph of the ab- sent lover, a muddy spade, a bloodied bundle) which vanish and reappear as the story unfolds.
“Gavotte” (1967, 11m) and “Diptych” (Diptyque, 1967, 9m) reveal the depth of the director’s range and capabilities. The former, an amusing piece built around the music of Jean-Philippe Rameau and involving a pair of dwarves in 18th century cloth- ing, was Borowczyk’s first completely live-action film, while the latter is split between stark docu- mentary (an old man tending a vineyard with the help of his two dogs) and a tasteful assemblage (flowers, a vase, a small kitten) set to the voice of Tino Rossi (“Romance de nadir”).
Borowczyk returned to stop-motion animation
with “The Phonograph” (Le phonographe, 1969, 5m) in typically idiosyncratic fashion and, although by this time he was focusing primarily on features, he would occasionally return to the short format up
(Les jeux des anges, 1964, 12m) represent the pin- nacle of Borowczyk’s achievements while a mem-
ber of Les Cinéastes Associés. The director makes judicious use of back-motion in “Renaissance,” with its collection of artifacts (a trumpet, an owl, a doll, a book, a table, and so on) reassembling them- selves after being shattered in a bomb blast. “An- gels’ Games” opens and closes with a train journey to Hell and back. The imagery (a factory of sorts, replete with an assortment of severed body parts) provokes comparisons to concentration camps, while the soundtrack is a cacophony of industrial noise, human chants and persistent church organ. Borowczyk would soon leave Les Cinéastes Associés to form his own company, Pantaléon Films, in collaboration with Dominique Duvergé, another ex-Cinéastes Associés employee. “Joachim’s Dic-
tionary” (Le dictionnaire de Joachim, 1965, 9m) represents the beginning of Borowczyk’s final phase as a director primarily associated with short films. From this point onwards, he would introduce live action sequences into his work, some of which com- bine live action with animation. “Joachim’s Dictio- nary” is based on drawings by the director’s wife Ligia Branice (an actress who appeared as one of
the emissaries of the future in Marker’s La jetée), while “Rosalie” (1966, 15m) is something alto- gether very different. An adaptation of Guy De Maupassant’s 1883 story “Rosalie Prudent,” the film features a compelling performance from Branice as
CAMERA OBSCURA:
THE WALERIAN BOROWCZYK COLLECTION
1959-1984, Arrow Video, OOP, BD-B
WALERIAN BOROWCZYK: SHORT FILMS AND ANIMATION 1959—1984, Arrow Films, 190m, £15.99, PAL DVD-0/BD-ABC
GOTO, ISLE OF LOVE Goto, l’île d’amour 1968, Arrow Films,
95m 3s, £15.99, PAL DVD-2/BD-B BLANCHE
1971, Arrow Films, 93m 37s, £15.99, PAL DVD-0/BD-ABC
IMMORAL TALES Contes immoraux 1974, Arrow Films,
103m 8s, £15.99, PAL DVD-2/BD-B
THE BEAST La bête
1975, Arrow Films, 98m 21s, £15.99, PAL DVD-2/BD-B 37
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