Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé

Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé

24 Episodes

Criterion Collection Edition #468

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 collection brings together the best of these, and also includes the French television series “Jean Painlevé Through His Films.”

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Science Is Fiction: 23 Films by Jean Painlevé
  • Hyas and Stenorhynchus

    Episode 1

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1927 • France

    An informative and visually stunning study of two small species of crustaceans set to music.

  • Sea Urchins

    Episode 2

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1928 • France

    From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. SEA URCHINS, one of these educati...

  • How Some Jellyfish Are Born

    Episode 3

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1960 • France

    Through a combination of underwater, time-lapse, and microscopic photography, Jean Painlevé creates a beautiful study of the reproduction cycle of jellyfish.

  • Liquid Crystals

    Episode 4

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1978 • France

    A semi-psychedelic collection of different liquids crystalizing under a microscope.

  • The Sea Horse

    Episode 5

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1933 • France

    Jean Painlevé’s classic underwater short THE SEA HORSE uses dreamlike imagery to detail the lives of the titular upright-swimming creatures.

  • The Love Life of the Octopus

    Episode 6

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1967 • France

    The mating rituals and reproductive cycle of the octopus are the subject of this short documentary by Jean Painlevé.

  • Shrimp Stories

    Episode 7

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1964 • France

    After a quick comic introduction, SHRIMP STORIES takes a detailed look at the lives of shrimp.

  • Acera, or The Witches’ Dance

    Episode 8

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1972 • France

    The lives of miniscule mollusks are intimately captured as they wallow in mud, mate and give birth. Director Jean Painlevé sublimely sets their dance like movements to music.

  • The Vampire

    Episode 9

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1945 • France

    Jean Painlevé’s short THE VAMPIRE draws the connection between the movie monsters of the same name and the South American vampire bat. The animal’s gruesome feeding habits are on full display.

  • Freshwater Assassins

    Episode 10

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1947 • France

    The academic and the fantastic merge in Jean Painlevé’s educational film about the food chain in a freshwater pond.

  • Sea Ballerinas

    Episode 11

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1956 • France

    Colorful underwater photography highlights this educational film about starfish.

  • Diatoms

    Episode 12

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1968 • France

    Diatoms are explored through microscopic footage while their purpose and uses are explained.

  • Pigeons in the Square

    Episode 13

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1982 • France

    An enthusiastic man sits on a park bench and explains the behaviors and rituals of pigeons.

  • The Octopus

    Episode 14

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1927 • France

    From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. THE OCTOPUS, one of these educati...

  • Sea Urchins

    Episode 15

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1954 • France

    Jean Painlevé delivers an intimate (and microscopic) view of sea urchins.

  • Daphnia

    Episode 16

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1928 • France

    From 1927 to 1928, Jean Painlevé made his first three films aimed at the general public. Shown in ‘ciné-clubs’ and avant-garde movie theaters of Paris, these films were written and edited to entertain as well as educate. DAPHNIA, one of these educational...

  • The Stickleback’s Egg

    Episode 17

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1925 • France

    Jean Painlevé made numerous research films, strictly with the scientific and university communities in mind. THE STICKLEBACK’S EGG, an educational short about fish egg fertilization, is presented here in its original silent version. (Presented without sc...

  • Experimental Treatment of a Hemorrhage in a Dog

    Episode 18

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1930 • France

    Jean Painlevé made numerous research films, strictly with the scientific and university communities in mind. EXPERIMENTAL TREATMENT OF A HEMORRHAGE IN A DOG, an educational short about an experimental canine surgery, is presented here in its original sil...

  • The Fourth Dimension

    Episode 19

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1936 • France

    On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. THE FOURTH DIMENSION takes a look at how we interact with dimensional space.

  • The Struggle for Survival

    Episode 20

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

    On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. THE STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL explores population rise and decline.

  • Voyage to the Sky

    Episode 21

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

    On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. VOYAGE TO THE SKY muses on extraterrestrial landscapes and earth’s role in the u...

  • Similarities Between Length and Speed

    Episode 22

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1937 • France

    On assignment for the mathematics department of le Palais de la Découverte, Jean Painlevé shot this film to be presented at the Paris museum’s 1937 international exhibition. SIMILARITIES BETWEEN LENGTH AND SPEED offers a mathematical look at proportions.

  • Bluebeard

    Episode 23

    Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1938 • France

    Inspired by the groundbreaking use of film in the analysis of movement by physiologist Étienne-Jules Marey, Jean Painlevé animated the opéra bouffe BLUEBEARD, about the legendary knight, using clay dolls made by sculptor René Bertrand and Bertrand’s thre...

  • Jean Painlevé Through His Films

    Episode 24

    This eight-part French television series from 1988 explores Painlevé’s life and work through interviews with the filmmaker.