Popular reviews

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  Review by Haroon Paul ★★★

  Happy International Retirement, Pepe. I have a feeling that you'd love this film.

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  Review by FKAGoregirl ★★★★

  I am not a watcher of football (no slight to those who do) but I might consider flipping my stance were it anything like the first half of this inventive and gory little short. The second half would convince me that I was right from the start and that it should never be watched. Jan Švankmajer's incredible skill with stop-motion makes this so visually appealing, disgusting and fascinating. This also incorporates real people, cut-outs and things I don't even know what they are but yay style. It has cartoonish violence, which I mean I appreciate as a horror fan. What does it all mean? No clue, but for me this was just sheer artistic expression and very entertaining at that.

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  Review by freazypeach ★★★★

  Jan Švankmajer is a wizard with clay 🧙

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  Review by Graham Williamson ★★★★

  Why does the fast editing in Czechoslovakian films always look so cool? Was the secret to this lost with the fall of Communism? THANKS, GORBACHEV.

  Ahem. As a dyed-in-the-wool hater of sport and lover of experimental animation, I was surprised to see that I'd never watched Jan Švankmajer's takedown of football violence before. It's a little overlong, but very funny. Švankmajer imagines a sport where points are given out not for goals, but for mangling the opposing side's players heads in the most imaginative way - and as usual, he conjures up plenty of impressive maimings.

  The critique is not to be taken entirely seriously; as ever, Švankmajer wants you to recognise that his plasticine men are plasticine. (Otherwise the final joke doesn't work) It's a hyperbolic comedy, whose nth-degree quality is represented well by the boring half-time entertainment - a minute or so of kittens playing with balls of wool, then back to the head-splattering.

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  Review by Kaleb ★★★½

  Someone at Hallmark is a Švankmajer fan because this is clearly the inspiration for The Kitten Bowl.

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  Review by Maddy Flowers Sheehy ★★★½ 10

  wow! a gross-out little short featuring a man watching a football game that features player after player's clay heads being maimed, smashed, cut, sewn together, ground up, turned into cookies, squished, mutilated, and full out destroyed. with a kitten interlude.

  the clay work is incredible in this czech short, and while it's not goorrryyyyyy and it is cartooonnnyyyy, it still is upsetting as you see the skin being SNIPPED and eyeballs popping out for 14 minutes.

  however, maybe the most upsetting part was watching the man dip his finger in his beer to pick up the loose cookie sugar & crumbs on his plate. c'mon, man!!

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  Review by Evan “Raymond Gun-Virus” Pincus ★★★★

  Seemingly primarily concerned with the intersection between ritual sport and ritual violence, and due to the obsessive repetition, it approaches montage far more than much of the Švenkmajer I've seen (save for perhaps The Ossuary). Interesting stuff, and the multimedia approach of the director is always effective.

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  Review by ~findlay

  haha okay i mean hes probably saying stuff here about the futility of sports, how football is getting closer to blood sport (especially in the late 80s ooft) and how obsessions with said blood sport can claim the home for a temporary time?

  but fuck it man. Jan Svankmajer made a short film about football and just on aesthetics alone: old beer logos, print photos of international footballers, bayern munich stickers, crt TVs, mixed media collages and classic football ephemera; i couldnt care if this had no message at all.
  i'd completely adore it just as much

  
  
  

  (side note: the music in all of svankmajer's stuff is so so wonderful and perfect)

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  Review by FunkeeKatt ★★★★★

  cartoons motherfucker

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  Review by ₳ⱠØⱠ ★★★★

  "oh you want more head smooshing? cuz i'll give it ya" - jan svankmajer probably

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  Review by Spl6sh ★★★★★

  One of the most humerous and creative shorts (or any film) I've seen in a quite some time... that it's also a sharp and intelligent criticism of the ritualistic spectacle of sport makes it all the better. I am quickly falling in deep love with the twisted genius of Jan Svankmajer.

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  Review by Monster_Groupie 2

  Würde Fußball öfter wie unter der Regie von Jan Švankmajer ablaufen, könnte sogar ein Sportmuffel wie ich sich vorstellen, ab und zu mal hinzuswitchen! Anstelle von Toren punktet man hier nämlich, indem man die Spieler des gegnerischen Teams auf möglichst kreative Weise verstümmelt! Bei den dribbelnden Särgen bin ich richtig weggekackt!

  Short-Ranking: 9/10