![\"quays.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/quays.jpg\")
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In previous posts about the Quay Brothers’ films I’ve expressed a hope that we might see a new collection from the BFI that gathers together more of their recent works. That’s what we have now in a 2-disc Blu-ray set<\/a> that will be released in the UK on 10th October.<\/p>\n Quay (2015) directed by Christopher Nolan.<\/em><\/p>\n The new collection repeats the contents of the earlier BFI DVD set, The Short Films 1979\u20132003<\/em>, while adding some of their recent commissions including Maska<\/em><\/a> (2010), Through the Weeping Glass<\/em> (2011), and Unmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.<\/em><\/a> (2013). Among the extras there’s a short portrait of the brothers, Quay<\/em> (2015), directed by Christopher Nolan. This shows the Quays at work in their Southwark studio where they discuss the technical details of animation and puppet-making a little more than I’ve seen in other interviews. Nolan’s film is both beguiling and frustrating, the latter for being so inexplicably short. When I first saw Quay<\/em> announced I thought it might be a feature-length documentary rather than a fleeting glimpse; the Quays have been interviewed regularly over the past few years so they’re not exactly unforthcoming. I’m hoping now that Nolan’s public enthusiasm for the brothers might at least help them to make another feature, a decade having elapsed since The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes<\/em> (2005).<\/p>\n Street of Crocodiles (1986).<\/em><\/p>\n As to the films, seeing them in high-definition is certainly a plus although the earliest ones were all made in 16mm so they don’t gain a great deal. Street of Crocodiles<\/em>, however, looks superb, and I found myself noticing details that I’d earlier missed despite numerous viewings. I’m disappointed that two early shorts, Igor: The Paris Years<\/em> (1982) and Leo\u0161 Jan\u00e1\u010dek: Intimate Excursions<\/em> (1983), remain unreleased due to apparent problems with music copyrights. (See this post<\/a> for YouTube links.) Also uncollected are their other music videos apart from the two produced for His Name Is Alive, together with a handful of other short pieces. (See this post<\/a> for further links.)<\/p>\n Street of Crocodiles (1986).<\/em><\/p>\n Of the longer films on the second disc, Maska<\/em> has become a favourite, with its combination of a baroque science-fiction scenario (from Stanis\u0142aw Lem) and a score by Penderecki. Through the Weeping Glass<\/em>, a 30-minute documentary about the medical oddities housed in the M\u00fctter Museum in the Quays’ home city of Philadelphia, is a kind of companion piece to The Phantom Museum<\/em> (2003), a similar study of the Wellcome Collection in London. This is the first film the Europhile Quays have made in the US, and comes with a short documentary showing them at work on the film, and an interview about the production. I’m still getting used to their shift to digital video\u2014I miss the grain and texture of their films\u2014but since I’ve been working digitally myself for many years now I can’t complain if others choose to do the same.<\/p>\n The preview discs of the new collection came without the booklet which will be present in the package. This will include an updated Quays Dictionary<\/em> by Michael Brooke (as featured in the previous BFI collection), and the 2012 “interview” by the deceased calligrapher Heinrich Holzm\u00fcller, On Deciphering the Pharmacist’s Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets<\/em>. The latter appeared in the catalogue for the Quays’ MoMA exhibition<\/a> where it was printed at an eye-straining point size. I’m hoping the BFI version will be an improvement.<\/p>\n The Films<\/strong> Special features<\/strong> Elsewhere on { feuilleton } In previous posts about the Quay Brothers’ films I’ve expressed a hope that we might see a new collection from the BFI that gathers together more of their recent works. That’s what we have now in a 2-disc Blu-ray set that will be released in the UK on 10th October. Quay (2015) directed by Christopher … Continue reading “Inner Sanctums\u2014Quay Brothers: The Collected Animated Films 1979\u20132013”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[52,7,3,20,13],"tags":[3517,399,7572,8430,1638,2663],"class_list":["post-18052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animation","category-film","category-music","category-science-fiction","category-science","tag-bfi","tag-brothers-quay","tag-christopher-nolan","tag-heinrich-holzmuller","tag-krzysztof-penderecki","tag-stanislaw-lem"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pq7rV-4Ha","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18052\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"quay.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/quay.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"street1.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/street1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"street2.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/street2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"maska1.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.johncoulthart.com\/feuilleton\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/maska1.jpg\")
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\nNocturna Artificialia<\/em> (1979)
\nThe Cabinet of Jan \u0160vankmajer<\/em> (1984)
\nThis Unnameable Little Broom<\/em> (1985)
\nStreet of Crocodiles<\/em> (1986)
\nRehearsals for Extinct Anatomies<\/em> (1988)
\nStille Nacht I: Dramolet<\/em> (1988)
\nEx-Voto<\/em> (1989)
\nThe Comb<\/em> (1990)
\nAnamorphosis<\/em> (1991)
\nThe Calligrapher (Parts I, II, III)<\/em> (1991)
\nStille Nacht II: Are We Still Married?<\/em> (1992)
\nStille Nacht III: Tales from Vienna Woods<\/em> (1993)
\nStille Nacht IV: Can’t Go Wrong Without You<\/em> (1994)
\nIn Absentia<\/em> (2000)
\nThe Phantom Museum<\/em> (2003)
\nSongs for Dead Children<\/em> (2003)
\nEurydice, She So Beloved<\/em> (2007)
\nAlice in Not so Wonderland<\/em> (2007)
\nKinoteka Ident<\/em> (2008)
\nInventorium of Traces<\/em> (2009)
\nWonderwood for Comme des Gar\u00e7ons<\/em> (2010)
\nMaska<\/em> (2010)
\nThrough the Weeping Glass<\/em> (2011)
\nUnmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H.<\/em> (2013)<\/p>\n
\nIntroduction by the Quay Brothers (2006, 20 mins)
\nQuay<\/em> (2015, 8 mins): a film by Christopher Nolan
\nQuay Brothers audio commentaries for This Unnameable Little Broom<\/em>, Street of Crocodiles<\/em>, Stille Nacht I-III<\/em> and In Absentia<\/em>
\nThe Falls<\/em> [excerpt] (1980, 5 mins)
\nBFI Distribution ident (1991, 30 secs)
\nThe Summit<\/em> (1995, 12 mins)
\nNo Bones About It: Quay Brothers<\/em> (2010, 12 mins)
\nBehind the Scenes with the Quay Brothers<\/em> (2013, 31 mins)
\nUnmistaken Hands: Ex Voto F.H. trailer<\/em> (2 mins)<\/p>\n
\n\u2022 The Quay Brothers archive<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"