Michael Neumann
Sadly, I've only seen 'The Devil's Ball', a sadly truncated super-8 excerpt from this rare, part live action, part animated 1934 feature.But on the evidence of just that short sequence the full film would have to qualify as a lost masterpiece, highlighted by some incredibly detailed pixillation using chicken skeletons, dead fish, and a variety of other unorthodox props, suggesting the more macabre canvases of Hieronymous Bosch.Even in such an inadequate format it's a glimpse of eye-opening creativity from an enigmatic genius whose work, regrettably, is almost entirely unknown today.
w00f
A brilliant animated piece that was far ahead of its time, and certainly far ahead of anything that was being released in mass production at the same point in history. The influence of this work upon Tim Burton's "Nightmare Before Christmas" is readily apparent. One can only imagine how Starewicz slaved over every beautifully detailed frame of this masterpiece.There have been very few animated films of this caliber. It's a shame that more people haven't seen this gem.Apparently, IMdB now requires comments to be at least ten lines long, so this is the tenth line. This must be something new - but I really don't have anything else to say!
karmela
i still can't belive that starevich made this film back in 1934. animation is simply perfect, and what is amazing about it, with all the advanced technology we have nowadays there are few animation studios that are capable of producing a little gem like this one. it has everything: a great story, beautiful chracters (although this is a morbid kind of beauty in some cases), special effects... well, it is definitely not a kid's movie,but it's a must-see for anyone seriously interested in animation.
johnginn
I recently down-loaded a short film off the Internet called The Devil's Ball. It would seem to be very old and if it is the same as this film I'm even more impressed that it was made in 1925. A short animated devil emerges from a cast aside bottle of cheap wine and holds a grand party, which is attended by a number of grotesque characters. The animation is done in a stop-motion style and is very smooth and clever work, impressive by any standards. Seeing the film show up on the internet was very strange as I saw this film as a kid 35 years ago, but never since then. I was beginning to wonder if I had actually seen it or just imagined it.
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