The Wizard of Speed and Time (1989)

It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

The movie's only flaw is also a virtue: It's jammed with characters, stories, warmth and laughs.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I saw pieces that were incorporated into the film on a Walt Disney telecast, titled "The Possible Impossible," or something of that sort. It was Mike Jitlov's marching tripods and biting clapper slates. Walt was the host of the show, and he explained that by using movie techniques, it was possible to present things that couldn't really happen.Having had to improvise some low-cost special effects for an industrial film I did in the early 1970s, I sympathize with anyone who has limited cash and great ambition. Mr. Jitlov has done outstanding visual work in the film-within-the-film, and some excellent work in the rest of the opus.A version of the short piece was shown at a New England Science Fiction society convention I was attending, so I got another glimpse of the picture. When the final (later) version of the film was released, I realized it's a one-of-a-kind film.The feature is entertaining, and carries the viewer along with the story, which is full of Hollywood in-jokes. Even if you know nothing about the world of film, the movie still entertains.Although the gentle story carries the viewer along, the real feature is the vast number of special effects scenes throughout the opus. They are sociometric eye candy worth repeated viewings.Worth watching. Worth tracking down to watch.

Jittlov has more talent in his little finger than about 3/4ths of the film directing "talent" of Hollywood combined. The three little film bits he did for Disney during the 1980s was the BEST thing that came out of the Disney studio for that entire decade (AND the decade before), but Disney otherwise rejected his pitches for a feature film entirely.Jittlov's WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME feature film is a wonderful romp of a film, in spite of the fact that he was not allowed to finish the film's special effects and sound effects in many places. (As legend has it, the film's co-producer, Richard Kaye, allegedly made off with the film's completion money before the film was done.) Jittlov considers the film to be only about 75 % completed, which accounts for the less than stellar rating from some viewers who don't know of this behind-the-scenes back-story, and who just don't "get" what Jittlov was trying to do with this film.It boggles the mind to think of how even MORE nifty the film would be is some financial angel would come along and give him the $ to complete it, creating a "director's cut" for release on DVD, with ALL his equally great short films available on the DVD, as well as other extras that Jittlov could add to the DVD also.Alas, no one has been forthcoming, and Jittlov has suffered financially and emotionally for almost two decades. When will Hollywood learn to NOT destroy the creativity of such filmic geniuses as Jittlov, Orson Welles, Buster Keaton, etc., etc., etc., etc. Join with me: Pound on the sand on the beach and shout, "Damn them all to hell !" for not RUSHING to Jittlov's aid.Jittlov can do with 5 million dollars what other filmmakers do with 50 million, and with all the poorly conceived, ineptly produced drek coming out on DVD and on TV, the world NEEDS filmmaker's with the talent, vision(s), and attitude of Jittlov more desperately now than it ever did.And on top of all that, he treats his fans like gold. Returning phone calls (I believe he's still in the L.A. phone book.) and answering e-mails. Even his web sites are more magnificent than most also. (Google can find them for you.) Gawd ! Is there NO justice???? Are ALL the studios in Hollywood so consistently and perpetually STUPID that they don't recognize his OBVIOUS talent? Has the world gone MAD ??? SOMEBODY with money, CALL HIM !!!!!!

This movie may be hard to find, but go out and look. It just plain has that good feel to it. It's original. It is worth seeing. The special effects are perfect for any of those 70s freaks, like me. Not to mention the fact that it will remind you have doing that awesome project with your friends.

This film is an effective, touching work that is mostly autobiographical, yet exaggerated to provide laughs and insight on the difficulties of show business. Yes, it's one of those "little guy vs. big business tyrant" films, but it's also very different, because in this case, it's about a special-effects/animation geek, a character which, if it has ever been portrayed in film, would still be nothing close to this because the man playing the part is a real special-effects designer, animator and editor. Usually, this genre of film is reserved for struggling actors or writers. This is about the man behind the scenes, a person who, unlike a director or actor, even more so than a writer, is rarely, if ever, on the set of an actual film. In watching this film, you are constantly reminded that the man responsible for it (Mike Jittlov) is someone who truly enjoys what he does and that he's not in it for the money. It's based on and around actual shorts he made, called "demo reels" that a special-effects designer/animator/editor/writer such as he would take to various film studios to showcase his talents, including the classic "The Wizard of Speed and Time," how difficult it is to make them, and how much harder still it is to get someone to see it. Jittlov did basically everything in the film: he starred in it, did his own stunts, wrote it, directed it, edited it, did all the special effects and animation, wrote the title song, financed it and a host of other jobs. This is someone who knows what he's doing and knows how to do it well. I can't say enough wonderful things about this film, so I'll stop now. Though it may be a bit difficult to find this film, if you do, you should take the opportunity. You'll see the genius of a man who deeply loves his craft and does not take it lightly.