1. The Street of Crocodiles A Polish film inspired by Bruno Schulz. By Louise walker, DaniqueWilliams and Jamie Neil.

2. My group was given the country Poland. Our task was to choose an animation which originated from this country and use it to critically reflect. After looking at a few short films including ‘Tango’ and ‘The Cathedral’, we decided to reflect on ‘Street of Crocodiles’, a 21 minute long stop-motion animation produced by The Quay Brothers, which was originally a novel written by Bruno Schulz. The reason we chose this short film was because even after watching a few minutes of the animation we were intrigued to watch the whole story, and also because we found its mysteriousness quite gripping.

3. Street of Crocodiles part 1.

4. Street of Crocodiles part 2.

5. The Street of Crocodiles is a 21-minute-long stop-motion animation which was produced and directed by the Quay Brothers (twins Stephen and Timothy Quay) and released in 1986. This animation was originally a short novel by Bruno Schulz. I and my group were given the country Poland and the task to choose a film associated with the country with which to produce a critical reflection. We chose Street of Crocodiles because of the vivid and creative message it portrays of the cruel and absurd world of middle European surrealism. I find the story of the Street of Crocodiles very interesting and I am intrigued to undercover the hidden meaning and depths of the short animation.

6. This cold and dark stop motion animation depicts Poland's underlying poverty and there release from repression in 1981. This animation was originally a short novel by Bruno Schulz. The characters of this quite ghostly animation are made with organic materials to create sensual and visceral textures, which help to portray the gloom and murkiness.

7. The puppets The characters are made with organic materials to produce sensual and visceral textures, to help portray the darkened mood and terminal frustration and compulsion. I like how these everyday materials are transformed into something which was normal into something strange and mysterious. . The stark black atmosphere gives an eerie presents of the characters, which are all made from organic materials to give a rotten and rustic appearance amplifying the dark presents of their aura. The puppets rustic and shabby appearance helps to exaggerate the eerie presence of the story.

8. The puppets used in the street of crocodiles have a very rustic and worn appearance which helps to exaggerate the haunting presence which the characters have to help promote the gripping and enchanting story. During the animation I noticed that many of the puppets have missing limbs, mismatched parts and torn and frayed clothing. At 5.54 minutes through part one of the Street of Crocodiles, a character has scrap metal limbs and a light bulb as a head. This inhuman character is used to create the impression of magic and that the story is going to be about the ‘unreal’. A puppet as seen in one of the images has its head stuffed with cotton wool which is coming out of its eyes. During the animation, a mad scientist performs taxonomy on the on the Schulz puppet where the scientist switches heads, and stuffs the replacement empty doll skull with cotton which is pulled through its facial orifices. I think this gives an impression of taxonomy, anatomy and form being a fetish for the scientist puppets.

9. For me this picture shows the degradation of the human as the dolls pull the stuffing out of the eyes of the other doll. The dark and muted colours give an oppressive atmosphere that portray the harsh living conditions and life style which was prevalent with Poland in that era.

10. Historical Influences. During 1986 the Chernobyl disaster occurred. it was a nuclear explosion resulting in large amounts of radioactive smoke poisoning the atmosphere, killing around 30 plant workers. The Chernobyl disaster could possibly be the reason for the quay brothers creating some of their work for instance ‘street of crocodiles’ as they might have been trying to portray to the public and the world what it was like to be living in the middle of a unique accident. this could also be the reason for the dark, eerie effect that is present throughout the film. The twins were born in 1947, 2 years after world war 2 had finished, which could have also been a key factor for the brothers producing their particular style of work. having worked in collaboration since 1969 their stop-action films have introduced a generation of viewers to a lyrical darkness not often associated with animation. They were influenced a lot by central European writers and artists, which is why their work reflects the dark psychology resulting from a century of industrial warfare, surrealist art and dialectical politics. They first studied illustration in their home city before travelling to London in the late 60s. while they were students they developed a unique style with a series of very short grotesque and spooky animated films. over the years the brothers have directed promotional videos for musicians such as sparklehorse, michaelpenn, and peter gabriel (for whom they handled much of the animation in the “sledgehammer” video).they also designed an animated sequence for julietaymor’sfrida biopic and directed commercials for corporate clients like coca-cola and nike.

11. Influences from other Animators.Here is an example of a short animation by WalerianBorowczyk.

12. This short animation by walerianborowczyk and janlenica,combines live action with techniques such as stop-motion, cut-out animation and pixilation. The film involves a woman who has dreams and hallucinations about various things such as two men engaging in what looks like martial arts, and a wig consuming items that are on a table. I like the idea behind the animation of the different hallucinations, and i think the different techniques used to create it make it look more interesting. i also think that the use of the real woman makes the film appear more realistic.

13. The quay Brothers Biography. Identical twins born in Philadelphia in 1947, Stephen and Timothy Quay travelled a joint path. The Brothers Quay are two of the most remarkable filmmakers of our time. Working in collaboration since at least 1969, when they first moved to London from the United States, their stop-action films have introduced a generation of viewers to a lyrical darkness not often associated with animation. Influenced heavily by Central European writers and artists their work reflects the dark psychology resulting from a century of industrial warfare, surrealist art and dialectical politics. They first studied illustration in their home city before traveling to London in the late '60s to enrol, dually, in the Royal College of Art. While students, the pair developed their highly unique (and instantly recognizable) visual style, with a series of very short grotesque, and nightmarish animated films. Upon graduation in the early '70s, the Quays joined Koninck Studios and remained prolific over the trajectory of that decade and the next, emerging with two of their best-known (and most highly acclaimed) pieces in the mid-'80s. Subsequent Quay shorts include Rehearsals for Extinct Anatomies (1987), Comb (1991), and Long Way Down (1992). The Quays launched a career in live-action features in 1994, with The Institute Benjamenta -- a relatively straightforward tale about a man named Jakob Von Gunten (played by Intimacy's Mark Rylance) who enrols in the titular facility to train as a manservant. While there, he falls for one of the proprietors, Lisa (Alice Krige), who runs the institute with her brother, Johannes (Gottfried John). But her declining health over the course of her relationship with Jakob leads Johannes to suspect that the enrolee’s influence on his sister might not be entirely positive. Over the years, the Quays have supported themselves financially with a number of more lucrative interests outside of their shorts. These include directing promotional videos for such musicians as Sparklehorse, Michael Penn, and Peter Gabriel (for whom they handled much of the animation in the "Sledgehammer" video); designing an animated sequence for Julie Taymor's Frida biopic; directing commercials for such corporate clients as Coca-Cola and Nike; and designing the sets for the Broadway production of Eugene Ionesco's The Chairs.

15. Bruno Schulz Bruno Schulz lived through ww1 and was murdered by a Nazi officer in ww2. he was from west Ukraine and in a small area called drohobych. he lived for 50 years and his main profession was that of an art teacher but he disliked it and he only carried it on for the income. Schulz was a polish art teacher, writer, fine artist and literary critic. he developed his remarkable imagination via identities and nationalities: a Jew who thought and wrote in polish, was fluent in German and was engrossed in the Jewish culture, however he was unfamiliar with the yiddish language (a German language of ashkenazi Jewish origin). at first Schulz was discouraged from publishing his short stories, but when they were brought to the attention of sofianalkowska she encouraged him to have them published. they were published as the cinnamon shops (sklepycynamonowe) in 1934. this is also known as ‘the street of crocodiles’ in many English-speaking countries.