The Old Man and the Sea (1999)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Simply Perfect

Just perfect...

Absolutely the worst movie.

When I saw this film was made by Aleksandr Petrov, I knew it had to be special. Even before this film received the Oscar for Best Short Animated Film, he was already well-known for his short films since he'd been nominated for Oscars in this same category for THE COW and MERMAID. All three of these films are breathtaking to watch--with the most amazing animation I have ever seen. Instead of traditionally cartoon-like animation or CGI, his films are like living and moving paintings--looking like something that should be in an art museum--not in a theater. They are simply gorgeous.As for THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA, it easily deserved to win the Oscar--being yet another great Petrov film. The only odd thing about it is that it was made in English and French and when I saw it I was surprised because I expected Russian! Still, a gorgeous and faithful adaptation of the book and far better than the Spencer Tracy version of the tale.

I just saw this short a couple of days ago and was very impressed with the beautiful and striking detail-in the backgrounds, the characters, the movement-everything was simply gorgeous. There will be slight spoilers: This is a short animated adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea and does very well by the source material. With only 20 minutes to work with as a running time, even a novella must be significantly abridged, but the main points are well covered here-the old man's struggles, his bout with the fish he ultimately catches, his problems getting his prize back to shore-all are told in a clear and concise manner. The narration is extremely effective and enhances the beautiful visual elements perfectly.Though it tells Hemingway's story well, this is, at its heart, a feast for the eyes. The oil on glass technique used makes colors jump off the screen. It reminded me (favorably) of the work of Frederic Back, which is also visually stunning. This short is definitely a piece of art by any definition.It can be found on more than one DVD release-the one I purchased was an IMAX version and also includes another short (Hemingway: A Portrait) and a "Making of" featurette on both shorts and is well worth having. Most highly recommended.

"The Old Man and the Sea" (1999) directed by Aleksandr Petrov is a 20 minutes long animation based on Ernest Hemingway's 1952 novella of the same name. Petrov's film was awarded Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2000. More than two years of painting on glass sheets, using brushes but mostly his own fingers, resulted in over 29,000 paintings that enabled Petrov to produce this absolutely awesome, one of the kind feast of colors, images, and emotions that celebrate the famous work of literature and its creator. I have watched it perhaps ten times during the last weekend. I am still overwhelmed by its beauty and depth, and the admiration for what human imagination, creativity, and talent are capable of producing. The extremely rare technique made the film both incredibly realistic and magically dream-like. The director himself gave us the key to understanding his work when he explained that painting with his fingers instead of brushes, "is the closest way from the heart to the cartoon". He put his own heart in every scene of the film, and that's probably why every image is alive, breathing, and shining.

This film is such a milestone that it's a shame that it will probably never be screened again in it's original IMAX format. I was lucky enough to catch it during it's limited run in late 1999 when it was playing at the Sony IMAX in New York City. Anyways, Petrov's animation technique involves oil painting on glass, which most animation geeks are familiar with. When combined with IMAX the result is stunning. There is one shot near the end of the film with shows the Cuban fishing village at night with the stars in the background. The stars shimmer like diamonds set into dark blue velvet - incredible, beyond words, even if you are jaded about "art house" animation. If you ever hear of this film screening at an IMAX venue - don't miss it!