''A Short Vision'' is a British animated film by Joan and
Peter Foldes
Peter Foldes (22 August 1924 in Budapest, Hungary – 29 March 1977 in Paris) was a Hungarian-British director and animator.
Biography
Budapest-born Peter Foldes was one of a number of Hungarian artists (another was the film's composer Má ...
released in 1956. The film, inspired by one of Peter's poems, depicts the destruction of the world, including mankind. The film's music was composed by
Matyas Seiber, who composed music for ''
Animal Farm
''Animal Farm'' is a beast fable, in the form of satirical allegorical novella, by George Orwell, first published in England on 17 August 1945. It tells the story of a group of farm animals who rebel against their human farmer, hoping to crea ...
'' two years earlier.
''A Short Vision'' gained notoriety when it was shown on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'' on 27 May 1956. This, however, made it controversial. Due to popular demand, it was shown again on 10 June.
Origins
''A Short Vision'' was inspired by a poem composed by Peter Foldes while on a boat from Australia in October 1954. Peter was creative artist for the film, while his wife Joan was responsible for the
animation stand
An animation stand is a device assembled for the filming of any kind of animation that is placed on a flat surface, including cel animation, graphic animation, clay animation, and silhouette animation.
Traditionally, the flat surface that the a ...
, the lighting and some of the animation. The film was produced in the Foldes' kitchen.
and was funded by the
British Film Institute's Experimental Film Fund.
The scheme also funded an earlier Foldes' animation entitled ''Animated Genesis'' about a society which is under threat from a tyrant.
Synopsis
The film opens with a shot from a bedroom window. It pans to the sky as the narrator (James McKechnie) recalls the time he looked out his window. He saw an object flying through the sky. Throughout the film the object is only referred to as ''It''. Although ''It'' (bearing an uncanny resemblance to the
B-2
The Northrop (later Northrop Grumman) B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses. A subsonic flying w ...
stealth bomber or
black triangle UFO
Black triangles are unidentified flying object, UFOs reported as having a triangular shape and dark color, typically observed at night, described as large, silent, hovering, moving slowly, and displaying pulsating, colored lights and can turn t ...
, though likely inspired by the
YB-35 or
YB-49
The Northrop YB-49 was an American prototype jet-powered heavy bomber developed by Northrop Corporation shortly after World War II for service with the United States Air Force. The YB-49 featured a flying wing design and was a turbojet-powered d ...
) was very far away and seemed to move slowly, it came swiftly and was unnoticed. When ''It'' flew over the
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
, the
leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
and the
deer
Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...
looked up. When they saw ''It,'' the deer ran free from the leopard's claws and they both hide in fear. When ''It'' flew over the fields, the
owl
Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers a ...
and the
rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
looked up, and the rat ran free of the owl's claws and they both hide in fear.
When ''It'' flew over the city, everyone was asleep except for their leaders and their wise men, who all looked up at ''It,'' but it was too late. ''It'' produces a
mushroom cloud
A mushroom cloud is a distinctive mushroom-shaped flammagenitus cloud of debris, smoke and usually condensed water vapor resulting from a large explosion. The effect is most commonly associated with a nuclear explosion, but any sufficiently ener ...
engulfing the city, killing and destroying the wise men, the leaders, the owl, the leopard, the rat and the deer. ''It'' also destroys the sleeping people. ''It'' then engulfs the mountain and the fields; destroying them. When it was all over, there was nothing left except a tiny
flame
A flame (from Latin ''flamma'') is the visible, gaseous part of a fire. It is caused by a highly exothermic chemical reaction taking place in a thin zone. When flames are hot enough to have ionized gaseous components of sufficient density they ...
. Then the narrator sees ''It'' flying around the flame like a
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
, and then ''It'' too is destroyed. And then, the flame died.
''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
''
Ed Sullivan saw ''A Short Vision'' in England, and promised an American showing. He said his motive was a "plea for peace". However, he may have shown it because of his relationship with George K. Arthur, ''A Short Vision''s distributor. Ten days after he saw it, Sullivan showed ''A Short Vision'' on his popular Sunday night show ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'' on 27 May 1956. Sullivan told the audience to tell their children in the room to not be alarmed, because of its animated nature. The film was very popular, and when it was shown again on 10 June, Sullivan told parents to take children out of the room.
Sullivan was incorrect when he said before the first showing that the film depicts the effects of a
hydrogen bomb
A thermonuclear weapon, fusion weapon or hydrogen bomb (H bomb) is a second-generation nuclear weapon design. Its greater sophistication affords it vastly greater destructive power than first-generation nuclear bombs, a more compact size, a lowe ...
on an "animal population". The film avoids all modern references, and all animal and human life is destroyed. Sullivan may not have watched the entire film before broadcasting it on his show.
See also
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References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Short Vision
1956 films
1956 animated films
1950s animated short films
1956 horror films
1950s war films
British animated short films
Films about nuclear war and weapons
British animated horror films
Films directed by Peter Foldes
Films about death
1950s British films