The Mediocre Samaritan is a bittersweetly funny film fictionalization of an event that took place in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin on February 21, 2007. Produced by J. Elvis Weinstein of MST3K, Stinkburger Inc. and Cinematic Titanic fame. (Event detailed previously on Metafilter. Also, NSFW for a couple seconds of pasty, naked male butt and tactfully censored footage of Casa de Culo.)
posted on May 7, 2008 - View this thread

Jim Henson's 1965 short film, Time Piece
posted on Mar 24, 2008 - View this thread

In 2005, Shane Acker released his student film, the atmospheric, masterfully animated "9" [10 min video], to critical acclaim. In 2006, the film toured with The Animation Show. Now, Tim Burton, Timur Bekmambetov and a couple other familiar folks will be helping Acker bring a feature-length adaptation to theaters later this year.
posted on Mar 11, 2008 - View this thread

Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase and 45 more Oscar winning animations.
posted on Feb 12, 2008 - View this thread

What happens in the shadow, in the grey regions, also interests us – all that is elusive and fugitive, all that can be said in those beautiful half tones, or in whispers, in deep shade.

Here are some short films by Stephen and Timothy, the Brothers Quay.
posted on Feb 3, 2008 - View this thread

The Cheating of Salim Baba [video | projector]
posted on Jan 29, 2008 - View this thread

Michel Gondry Curates YouTube from Sundance; Pussy On The Mat : Ornette Coleman and Mark Kostabi: anxiety attack: Devendra Banhart - A Ribbon: Max Roach at his best: MIT sketching: game Over
posted on Jan 18, 2008 - View this thread

The short films of Floris Kaayk and Sil van der Woerd blend live-action footage and computer animation. Metalosis Maligna. Swim. Duet. Order Electrum.
posted on Dec 22, 2007 - View this thread

In 1964, Mel Brooks won both the Oscar & BAFTA Best Short Film awards for The Critic. His first film, it revolves around an old man heckling abstract animation that he doesn't understand. Youtube (lower quality) | brettratner.com (higher quality)
posted on Sep 23, 2007 - View this thread

How To Cope With Death. Fun, short, animated film. If only we could do this with the tax collector.
posted on Sep 9, 2007 - View this thread

Zeppelin vs. Pterodactyls (1936), with cameos by Bela Lugosi, John Wayne & Terrence Stamp. This is a Hammer Film.
posted on Aug 11, 2007 - View this thread

In 1997, the ABC gave John Safran, "Australia's most exciting guerilla filmmaker", his big break on Race Around The World. Although he came last in the competition, it's not too hard to fathom why he won the popular vote, with these submissions: Don't screw with the rules in Japan, The ambulance chaser (Mumbai), Anarchy in the Renault family hatchback (Bristol), The right to bare grudges (Cote d'Ivoire), Mum I'm not Jewish any more (Cote d'Ivoire), Father Pino vs the Devil (Sicily), Mohammad's guide to busting a move (Lebanon), Football's my religion (Jerusalem), The series of unfortunate events and The happiest place on earth, my butt (Disneyland). youtube; each ~6 minutes
posted on Jun 23, 2007 - View this thread

"I just like to have the hottest of the hottest. Whatever's hot at the time" In the spring of 2007, Lauren Greenfield conducted interviews with Los Angeles teenagers on the subject of money and how it affects their lives. The link is a 15-minute selection of those interviews.
posted on Jun 14, 2007 - View this thread

A Day In The Life Of An MC Escher Drawing
posted on Jun 7, 2007 - View this thread

The Other Side - A funny short film by Mikhail Aldashin, one of the most talented Russian contemporary animation directors.
posted on May 24, 2007 - View this thread

The Death of Stalinism in Bohemia (youtube) is a fun stop motion short film about the same. Knowledge of the Czech language not required for enjoyment or understanding. More of artist Jan Svankmajer's work here.
posted on Feb 10, 2007 - View this thread

Trailer For A Remake Of Gore Vidal's Caligula (youtube, not even a little bit work safe)
posted on Jan 5, 2007 - View this thread

Perfectly Aligned [yes, youtube] A short film with comics from NYC's Upright Citizens Brigade Theater.
posted on Oct 27, 2006 - View this thread

Warning!!!Extreme violence, mutilation, blood, guts and gore, including but not limited to eye-gouging, chainsaw disembowlment, and torture by propane torch. NSFW, in fact, NOT SAFE FOR ANYONE ANYWHERE. Halfway decent soundtrack though.
posted on Jul 20, 2006 - View this thread

Black , the final entry in Adidas' Adicolor short film campaign., is seriously messed up, with a fish and a panda playing russian roulette. Also featuring Pink, Red, Blue, White, and Yellow. (via)
posted on May 12, 2006 - View this thread

The Little Bird Flies Away animation short by Veronica Ibarra. also, the Cooking Set.
posted on May 10, 2006 - View this thread

Never ever borrow a friend's mobile, trust hitch hikers or strangers in furry costumes, never get distracted, worry about the first time or about your young son not being manly enough, and most of all never, ever forget stuff. Also, remember to always be nice to your enemies, your granny and policemen, but don't be too nice to your neighbours, and don't forget to get the car washed. Lots more brilliant short films viewable online from UK's Channel 4 Film (Real/WM streams).
posted on Mar 31, 2006 - View this thread

Pancakes delayed the end of WWII.
posted on Mar 14, 2006 - View this thread

Copy Shop   is a 12-minute dialogue-free film by director Virgil Widrich about a guy inadvertently duplicating himself over and over (320 x 240 streaming Real format download link). The most interesting aspect of the short, however, is that it was made frame-by-frame of photocopies, manipulated for jarring visual effects and then shot with a camera to put together the final cut. (Mentioned previously by film aficionado pxe2000.) Also see Widrich's photocopied short Fast Film with even more calamitous, unraveling effects. Get this guy toner refills for his birthday.
posted on Mar 21, 2005 - View this thread

The Unhappy Medium. If you like modern silent films like Doc Hammer's Rub, linked here previously, you may also enjoy the work of Chelsea Spear. Her Alphabet is a short about math, music and a precocious child, while The Unhappy Medium, set in the 1920's, is about spiritualism, fraud, adults and children. And some good news for the would-be filmmaker: Kodak still makes Super-8 film, and there are plenty of cameras both old and new available.
posted on Feb 6, 2005 - View this thread

Sexual harassment in the workplace can sneak up on you like a Commanche in a creek bed! How do you know if you're harassin’ someone? How do you know if you're gittin’ harassed? Have a gander at this here instructional video to find out. (quicktime required)
posted on Feb 6, 2005 - View this thread

When little girls rub their eyes, the face of the man to whom they're destined will become visible in the swirling eddy of light. (a short film from Doc Hammer of Venture Bros. fame)
posted on Dec 18, 2004 - View this thread

What do you get when you give university students 48 hours to complete a short film that must included a briefcase, the phrase "Where did I put that remote control" and has to be a musical? 'Detonate'. (Click the 'detonate' link in the features section, movie plays in a pop up)
posted on Mar 2, 2004 - View this thread

Rustboy , a short film about a Pinocchio/Frankenstein-esque robot child almost a year in the making thus far, has up until recently been illustrator Brian Taylor's personal side project. He's been keeping a diary of the process on his site and posting movie clips, storyboard sketches, and descriptions of how he achieves various effects the whole time. Followers of the site recently got the good news that Taylor has received funding to work on Rustboy full-time beginning in April. I've bookmarked it so I can check in every so often and say, "MAN, I wish I could do that!"
posted on Mar 24, 2002 - View this thread

Everyone's favorite foul-mouthed, philosophical shopclerks are back. For those of you who missed it's premiere on the Tonight Show a coupla days ago, the inimitable Kevin Smith has new short up on his site(Quicktime and RealMedia). Dante and Randal are back talking all about mad German Scientists, The Jetsons and the decline of American ingenuity. Terrific, as always, Kev.
posted on Mar 3, 2002 - View this thread

There are some new cops out on the street. Yes. Its Eric Stoltz starring in "Jesus & Hutch". Just in time for Christmas. *Warning* This is a movie so if you are on a dialup like I am, sorry.
posted on Nov 28, 2001 - View this thread

Sure, you've seen Tie-Tanic, Troops and American Jedi, but is there room for another short spoof? Why yes, and I feel like I can watch them all day.
posted on Apr 10, 2001 - View this thread