Jan Svankmajer - tma/svetlo/tma (Darkness/Light/Darkness)

[abalonegreg]

and then it got weird...

[abalonegreg]

lol?

[chicavampiro]

sorry I didn't get the message. Can someane explain it? I just found this disgusting and... iugh.

[BlueVane]

@chicavampiro It's about the growth and development of a human being, although portrayed pessimistically as a result of politics in Svankmajer's country at the time. The growth is light-hearted, funny at times, but once the person reaches adulthood, they have nothing to do but wait for death, they have no other meaning. That's an incredibly simplified version of the message, but I'm sure you'll understand the symbolism if you watch it again with that in mind! :)

[Ac1DGoD]

what did the brain use at 3:44 to make a solid knocking noise?

[kingofamericans]

whoa...coolest thing eva.

[pwninator345]

And that, children, is how babies are made.

[H1tach11n]

That tongue.. is disgusting.

[Jonesto222]

Yawn inducing

[MrRazorblade999]

Is it fake?

[xXPurpleLoliTranceXx]

Was he trying to block his...."cock" from coming in?? Haha, "cock block", get it?XD Why did it throw water on it??

[Jedwoods]

@xXPurpleLoliTranceXx why did he throw water on it? to calm it down some.

[Alxmir23]

@Jedwoods cold water to make it shrink for a penis grows big when its full of hot blood

see it as a blood sponge,more blood,the bigger it gets

[SvenParis75]

Goood!

[MyNameIsDarf]

I felt trapped watching this.

[asarebe]

@MyNameIsDarf me too!

[jhfire2e6e6574]

Well that explains a lot.

[MiCheell3]

De la nada, a la luz y regresar a la nada. Llegar a completarse tu desarrollo... solo para terminar atrapado y solo, en tí mismo... >.<

[TheMordyS]

knock knock. who's there? it's your freakin penis, open up! Coming...

[TheMordyS]

knock knock. who's there? it's your freakin ass open up

[TheMordyS]

how did the hands hear the ears?????????????

[iamkillgreedy]

The HEAD Detective!

[earthless1990]

trippy

[IZrocks1000]

I didnt know that this was on the Alice dvd, watched with my mother, laughed our asses off, then I had a miniture heart attack and head ache.

[02be5]

Woow …

[ateniense7]

A strong "critical" to God: What put the man in a world that consumes him and turned off the light! A world that crushes without mercy!

[AwesomeDude898]

I'd like to see them play this as a segment on Sesame Street one day and completely blow the minds of some toddlers.

[cafujo]

brillante

[Jellybones69]

The part with the genitalia was very humorous. I didn't think of the message this sent until I read some comments.

[Svitlo37]

I thought that dick was a cop at first

[WhynotMiha]

6:00 I c wat you did thar. Great video, I can't imagine how much time it had to take to create all this plasticine stuff. for every frame taken.

[Mortipede]

I have been watching this and saying myself... oh man I know its Svankmajer but it kinda misses something... like its not from Svankmajer at all. Then the tongue entered room and I knew its completed.

[giraffessuck]

can't have out poor necksies getting burned, just cuz the room's uncomfortable doesn't mean we have to be, just some light darkness for your clay-machine

[MegaMegaTim]

smh sent me here

[Professortorcoolguy1]

Hey...I saw this as a Juno Reactor video.

[TheNazzerDawk]

"Suberbic" Isn't even a word, Joseph, you pretentious moron.

[Joseph66678]

i believe this is a delivery of resentment for suberbic loathing. The aftermath of our growth, seeming mortally unfit for our own surroundings. Once we've obtained a notorious amount of knowledge we feel mightier than the world, and smaller in our confinement, ever daring we take our next step to avoid suffocation.

[ThePhantomChannel]

@Joseph66678

I just think it's a guy building himself out of clay.

What the fuck are you smoking?

[Joseph66678]

@ThePhantomChannel

You should obviously see past the prominant aspiration.

[Azulsoyazul]

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO­OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW­WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW­WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW­WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[losfumalacazitos]

cool :D

[alekami88]

Wooooowwwww... and...woooooooooooooooow!!! This is amazing!!! Jan Svankmajer is an artist!!!!

[eschercheshire]

I like it that the hands are first... and that they give themselves up for the head.

[nukka1212]

that was amazing i love stop/clay animation

[xkamisorix]

Jan Svankmajer is a genius! Love everything he has ever made!

[iliKoy]

Yes, yes... Very nice metaphor of a impotent live (penis after erection) in potent surrealistic world!

Bravo!

[RiquelmeFelipe]

AWESOME

[OneFlewCrazy]

Absolute genius! :)

[endoTHEOSIS]

Well that obviously took a long time to make.

[acidoriveronucleico]

Excellent...!

[IAmNandini]

brilliant. kind of a depressing message but very true. love the humor in this film.

[Osthropek]

I didn't know I could get raped through my computer

4 stars

[Threetails]

Such a chillingly pessimistic message. Man reaches the logical conclusion of his development, only to find himself crowded and trapped.

[giraffessuck]

if all these things are flying around outside, makes you wonder if they weren't happy for a change to the chaos, turning the light off so no one else would stumble upon their pad. the eyes panicking while the hands confidently shut the light off. crowded and trapped the unfortunate, unspeaking minority. the ironic emotionality in abandoning childhood.

your comment was in the top comments and just wanted to drop a line to someone who saw it different :) sorry, just some light darkness

[Threetails]

@giraffessuck An interesting take on it. Perhaps I was looking at a more pedestrian interpretation and projecting my own ideas about the human condition onto the imagery.

[giraffessuck]

@Threetails more like the only interpretation from what i've been reading! your projections are all you have, modest as you seem to be striving to be, that's terribly encouraging. cramped as being alone with our projections at least we can find comfort by ousting that light burning on our necks. :)

[akira357]

@Threetails sigh...you literature major bastards are so generic.

The animation could mean ANYTHING imaginable. Heck the message could be cold water causes man to lose his erection. Or there might not be ANY message at all, maybe he just talented with clay...maybe he just want to make an interesting skit as he goes along....

[BlueVane]

@akira357 Don't be ignorant - filmmakers are of the same "literature major" schools that you attack. The vast majority of films - particularly ones that are part of artistic movements such as this one (surrealism) are always designed with a message in mind. This film is clearly about the growth and development of man, any serious film scholar will tell you that. "Darkness, Light, Darkness" as in "Pre-birth, Life, Death". And the water is likely a symbol for the loss of virginity.

[dgomesman]

@BlueVane Oh this video is that simple?

[BlueVane]

@dgomesman Basically - yeah! :)

[andreaprodan]

All the tacky brilliance of Czeck humor... existentialism and absurdity.

[stalkerg86]

vt_yHjj2pzA -- i create clip too.

[PENIA19]

INDECIBLE, BRAVO!

[dilps]

4:54 If kirby was real, he'd look like this. :) Hah!

[AlreadyEddie]

little creepy but OK

[Kajanka]

SUPER :D

[bxsephjo]

weird shit. the tongue and brain freaked me out. laughed when i realized what was going on with the penis.

[juliamitrov]

Brilliant!!!

[floatmethod]

that was amazing!

[ocsvcsvcsvo]

500,000 views of this video are from me

[handymandan100]

Brilliant, just as I remember this. 49 people can't handle a clay wee-wee... lol

[mittROMNEY666]

i would like to show this at a film festival but the penis makes that impossible since it would scare children and enrage parents

[heylookatmeok]

Freaks

[Chesterton7]

superb

[pocket9]

Impresionante. creativísimo e inspirador. una delicia agridulce.

[HERZELOTH]

I'm not as good as, in fact I consider him my teacher and great influence, so I made this video, I hope to see and comment if you like too.

[lustyrevelwenches]

I just assumed that Burton was influenced by this when making Beetlejuice, both from the eyeballs on the fingertips and the sculptures created by Catherine O'Hara. But that actually came out in '88. I'm sure this has been discussed to death but I'm really curious now. Was this created over a long period of time? It doesn't matter and wouldn't diminish either film for me (I love Beetlejuice & a few other Burton films, although I agree that Svankmajer is the superior artist all around).

[churumbelaviejo]

primer video

[scorpion6782]

Amazing... Just like all of his work. This is the first work by him i ever saw.. And it blew my mind. His work has really deep meaning.

[UberN00bProductions]

amazing, 

[joemaster0]

PL:nicość(ciemność),człowiek się rodzi(światło),zaczyna odczuwać dotyk,widzieć, słyszeć,wącha,smakuje,mówi(tu akurat pominięte),myśleć,poruszać się, dochodzą nogi(wykręcona głowa-szok), zaczyna poruszać się na nogach.dochodzi seksualność,przed którą się boimy,ale jest nieunikniona, dopuszczamy ją,ale z zamiarem czystości(woda-oczyszczenie,pi­erwiastek duchowy?), nadchodzi masa,człowiek się kształtuje,życie(pokój) staje się uciążliwe,ale nie chce umierać.gaśnie światło,nic namacalnego nie zostaje.

[InfectedMusification]

Bricks have been shat.

[muddymoonwalker]

absolutely fantastic. i'm so lucky my cousin showed me this o/

[AlessiaCpt]

i love stop motion. This one is really brilliant!

[aliencow27]

There is absolutely no comparison to Tim Burton. Svankmayer takes the cake all the way

[criikclique01]

love when the penis stumbles in

[dilps]

I can't tell if this is about creationism or not.

[raaaaannnnsor]

A human being captured in his own house, which actually should give him shelter.

[welstijlfilms]

I published this video on the Dutch website WELSTIJL (24 may) Kind regards Sem Mallée

[AnalNapalm]

And thats how you were born, son.

[Phagedaena]

A flute rules behind the multiplied atom.

[AnnaAyanami]

so cool VH

[TheMrBlinx]

Someone told me to 'Get bent' - thanks to Jan, I now AM!

[pepebrio]

WOOOOW really like it!!!

[Biaise90]

Magnifique ! Formidable ! Grandiose !

[NATALIEIRENE]

lol i think its a good rendition of the velvet revelation (i think thats what it was called)

[ZoeSquared21]

Wow. This is stunning. Slightly creepy, but what can you expect from the person who did Little Otik?

[Floskeknosk]

Magnificent!

[Paoloudla]

genial!!! me encanta!!!

[EmoBunny013]

omg i have just found a new favorite artist

this is absolutely amazing, i have never seen anything like this!

[ninjutsu87]

increible

[ninjutsu87]

increible!

[Tyoki07]

genuis.

[McNallyMartin]

Jans is my God!

If anyone gets the chance check out my stop motion animations, thankyou please!

[iSamxD]

HAHAHAHA what a fucking genius!!! you can't get more creative than this.

[MortTheFilm]

he's the type of guy we animaters dream of having behind the lense.

[OWRBtheo]

Bloody brilliant.

[xpipexaa]

awesome

[CloudMeetsSky]

this is what happens in the womb

[DevinTClark]

cool

[SteelBiscuits]

That's just amazing...

[Mensoda]

un genio

[joseseserda]

Brillante!

5 stars

[OddlyAce]

o.0 wtf....

[negrokezo]

Awesome.

[CristalCube]

Excellent!!!

[jellymeizer]

...coolest video ever. creepiest video ever. but still i'm so in love with Svankmajer

[thebreakoutmovie]

wonderful video.

[xpipexaa]

is awesome

[liam89dot]

This video reminds me of something written by Kafka. It makes me sad to think that I can never make something that that compares to this.

[ziziva]

@liam89dot

yes you can, silly. it just takes a little patience, time, and some supplies (like a bunch of clay). You can do anything you want to do, bud.

[TheDarkCryGirl]

Brilliant. Just brilliant.

[ballsopt]

i wish someone would put "Manly Games" on youtube!

[zathusura78910]

@ballsopt its somewhere around here.....or at least it was at one point

[pappo29]

me encanta es un genio saludos

[JonasKeith]

*-* otro master del Surrealismo

este film viene como bonus en el dvd de Alice ... amo a este señor <3

[curiousgemini25]

Liked the offbeat sense of humor. The end my have been an allusion to communism. Jan Is, I think from a old eastern block country.

[dubkulture]

you from america?

[jetysss]

genialllllll!!

[A5J4DX]

this guys awesome great work and post ps when the penis and pubes showed i couldnt stop laughing as i thought it was the whole chest area at the door lol

[kobidobidog]

This video is all about becoming aware of the human body, and all of the parts belonging on that body.The face, and arms were all of the parts that seen naked and when we see the human as he really is it more than enough to fill the room. The penis is not a dirty thing to have to splash water on it. it belongs on the human form just like all of the other parts. Humans have to expand their thinking to give that claymation more room to move.

[SnrSwaz]

Your comment offered nothing of value. You're a racist.

[kobidobidog]

You judgment is way off. I am not what you say.

Try saying some kind words, come on, it wont hurt you at all.

[kraustotv]

the penis is an hard thing to splash water on it! stupid man! it's humor! ha ha ha! stupid stupid,s tupid!!!!

[KraXoom]

kobidobidog if you're a guy you should be aware that the cold is an erections worst enemy. The penis was erect at the door and so the hands tossed cold water on it to make it flaccid. I don't think it had anything to do with the penis being immoral if that were so Svankmajer probably would have chosen not to add it to the film at all.

[kobidobidog]

Very interesting thought, Was the image giving an indication that it was ice water? Otherwise he we was revealing what was in the subconscious mind of humans with their mistaken belief that genitalia was dirty. So water had to be put on it before it was shown.Water, as I see it was symbolic of cleaning something the public thought was dirty. Humans think that way today, with sex. Sex with whatever species, zoosexuality.Humans are ,animals, mammals. Sex is natural. Humans are mixed up.

[KraXoom]

Wow you're seeing way too much into this. I think you want the idea to be something that its not just to preach your liberal drivel. I'm not gonna sit here and argue with you about a dick, I just thought Id inform you of youre obvious mistake. The scene was meant to be humorous not ethical otherwise as I said before we wouldnt see a penis at all. But whatever, youre sitting here talking about humans as if youre not one so I guess theres no use in a discussion with a Vulcan, goodbye.

[kobidobidog]

I wish I could give the hand sign of a Vulcan on youtube, May you Have peace, and prosper.

[limbdarkening]

@KraXoom It's supposed to be funny. Not immoral.

[KraXoom]

@limbdarkening I never said it was immoral... I was replying to someone who insisted it was.

[ConteDeContis2]

This movie is really funny!! XD

Too bad there are not such things so often.

[snotrag8]

This guys a genius. Check out a movie he done called little Otik. Best film I've ever seen.

[zlatickoxt]

Neznám správné slovo, kterým bych mohla popsat, jak zajímavý mi tenhle film přijde, svým způsobem krásný a hluboký. Výborná práce. Nechápu, že jsem o Švankmajerovi neslyšela dřív.

[ruhitchcock]

Is this a metaphor for the more we develop as humans the more we constrict and endanger our world? Or am I just reading into it too much?!

[MPOURNOUZIS]

OUTSTANDING

[AbsintheQueen]

This reminds me of Tori Amos's video for "A sorta fairytale" where she and Adrian Brody morph into people from heads perched on limbs. I love Svankmajer.

[kludd28]

Marvelous, many thanks for posting!

[EnviousDominous]

It reminds me of an odd nightmare I had once. I can't quite remember it, but people told me that I kept asking "Where is the rest of me?" in a raspy voice while I slept.

[ybot1983]

how come this attracts so many half-wit comments, how come people so dumb have been searching for Svankmajer?

[r3ini]

Ive been askin myself the same...

[PurpxPurpx]

this is awesome, super fantastic

[AkiraMoa]

That video is oddly entertaining...

[DiogenesJR]

Ahh! I get it! Art is a way for people who are bad at math, and who posses no other ability, to make money!

[gorramdoll]

This is fucking terrifying.

[LOLmuffinzarepimps]

OMG 6:04

[thedevo01]

Haven't seen a PENIS yet?

[LOLmuffinzarepimps]

yes but I thought youtube was all pissed about that kinda stuff

[jigglesnap]

Penises are insistent

[coolmango0]

Ok, I know i could get stoned by saying this.

But compared to Jan Svankmajer, Tim Burton is just nobody. I'm talking about the meaningfulness, artistic senses, skills and creativity in their films. A reason why Tim Burton is famed is because his animations are easy to understand, catering to the majority's liking. I do enjoy watching Burton's films, but they don't give me that "Wow!" Svankmajer's do.

[AgentMuu]

Tim Burton doesn't even make his films - he doesn't put a hand on a single character. He just attaches his name to them.  Svankmajer is a legend of few equals.

[katchance]

@coolmango0 exactly. well said friend.

[ClonedTyranny]

@coolmango0

I'd venture to say that most people who know Jan Svankmajer's name would agree with you.