Cinema Cycle - Fantasia

CINEMA CYCLE

(Cardio Workout And Reviewing Movies At The Same Time)

DATE: 06/05/2014

TITLE: Fantasia

FORMAT: LaserDisc

TIME RIDDEN / FILM LENGTH: 122 minutes

DISTANCE RIDDEN WHILE VIEWING: 29.3 miles

TOTAL CINEMA MILES LOGGED:  218 miles

SYNOPSIS: Avant Garde cartoon animation set to classical music played by Leopold Stowkowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER:  What is art?, and how many ways can it be interpreted?  Pushing the envelope of new media and technology.

PROS AND CONS:  It took me a while to get through this because this laserdisc set is a special edition that breaks the film up into 3 separate disks with a total of 6 sides.  I have seen this film before, but it has been a long time.

While the film is interesting to watch, many viewers may find it somewhat dated with the advent of computer animation and more sophisticated film techniques.  However, viewed from the perspective of 1940, when this film was created, it is an impressive work.  Disney obviously wanted to show the world just what he could do with animation and this film was his attempt to take it into the mainstream and make it appeal to a more high-brow audience.  In that aspect he succeeded.  

This is a concert film at its core.  Showcasing six pieces of classical music set to various animation styles, from dancing fairies and centaurs to the evolution of life on earth up to the death of the dinosaurs and even to sheer abstract impressionism.  While some of the animation borders on Disney-Cute-Overload, other portions are very impressive in the adult vein.  

The film trailer that came with the LaserDisc presentation indicated that this film was the longest running film on Broadway when it premiered, having shown there for over a year.  It was also the first film to have a soundtrack that was recorded in stereophonic sound.  

To read an overview of this project, check out the initial post for this series.

This film is a part of my LaserDisc Collection.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) entry for this film. 

This film was viewed while exercising on my recumbent cycle.  A summary of my time spent working out on my journey through movie-land can be found on Strava.com.