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.”
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1927 • France
An informative and visually stunning study of two small species of crustaceans set to music.
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...
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.
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1978 • France
A semi-psychedelic collection of different liquids crystalizing under a microscope.
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.
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.
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1964 • France
After a quick comic introduction, SHRIMP STORIES takes a detailed look at the lives of shrimp.
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.
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.
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.
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1956 • France
Colorful underwater photography highlights this educational film about starfish.
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1982 • France
An enthusiastic man sits on a park bench and explains the behaviors and rituals of pigeons.
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...
Directed by Jean Painlevé • 1954 • France
Jean Painlevé delivers an intimate (and microscopic) view of sea urchins.
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...
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...
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...
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.
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.
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...
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.
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...
This eight-part French television series from 1988 explores Painlevé’s life and work through interviews with the filmmaker.
