The Last Trick (1964) User Reviews (6)

My First, Shocking Look At A Svankmejer Film

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 16 July 2007]

This was my first look at a Jan Svankmejer short film, and wow, it was strange. There is a lot to see in this movie after the slow beginning few minutes.

The story is simple: two musicians sit on stage and try to outdo each other. They take turns doing very bizarre things. This is kind of simpler puppet presentation of a film I saw this year called "The Prestige." The latter obviously was a lot more complicated being a two-hour feature movie but you don't see many films, short or long, animated or "real," involving competing magicians. This 11- minute film was done almost 45 years ago, too.

These puppets, from the neck down, move almost like humans. Their heads are more like masks. The tricks involve each one opening up his own head and having really strange things happen from that point. You have to see these "tricks" to believe it.

The story also features the two guys' sportsmanship, which proves to be pretty shallow. Incredibly, normal handshakes in the beginning give way to unbelievable violence. This is quite different, to say the least, and I am looking to seeing other works by this Czech filmmaker.

Jan Svankmajer's first short film

[disdressed12 · 6/10 · 6 February 2010]

this is the first short film i have seen from Czech animator Jan Svankmajer,and it is actually is also the first film he has directed.i wasn't sure what to expect to expect,but i liked it.it's basically about two duelling magicians trying to one up each other.each trick gets more bizarre than the last.i won't give way the end.the characters are both wooden puppets,and the animation,though it may seem crude by today's standards,is actually not bad for 1964.it is certainly strange,but to me that's the appeal.it certainly won't be the last Svankmajer film i watch,as i have purchased two collections of his works.for me The Last Trick is a 6/10.

More a demonstration of his talents instead of a coherent plot.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 12 July 2017]

"The Last Trick of Mr. Schwarcewallde and Mr. Edgar" was the first movie of the master stop-motion filmmaker, Jan Svankmajer. Because it was the first he directed, it's not at all surprising that the picture seems more like a demonstration of his many talents instead of a coherent story.

Using giant wooden heads on real human bodies, Svankmajer has these two musicians do a lot of goofy things...including cranking up their heads to make them work. Much of it is NOT stop-motion but many scenes were done live using folks dressed in black to move objects and give the appearance as if they are moving on their own. Impressive as a first film and worth seeing if you are a fan.

Tricky

[Polaris_DiB · 9/10 · 16 January 2007]

For a first film by a person newly integrated into the surrealist group, this film shows an amazing level of clarity and craftsmanship. I'm always impressed when I can watch a movie made well before digital manipulation that contains hidden aspects of cinematography and cutting that are more effective than what we've decided to accept as the fashionable form today.

Two characters are trying to one-up each other with amazing magical/mechanical tricks. The characters are anthropomorphic, slightly robot-like, and many times confuse me as to whether they're puppets or humans playing them. The tricks themselves are surprising and eventful, and their feud is pleasantly silly.

Jan Svankmajer is definitely one of those filmmakers that cinephiles cannot afford to miss. He provides consistently amazing work which is absolutely inspiring in its own way. Starting with this very short may be a great way to be introduced to Svankmajer's oeuvre.

--PolarisDiB

Svankmajer's first experiment is interesting, but certainly no masterpiece

[ThreeSadTigers · 27 March 2008]

My first experience of Czech animator and filmmaker Jan Svankmajer's unusual cinematic world came via the more traditionally structured film Little Otik (2000). In that film we had the notion of a wooden puppet-like figure being brought to life in a more psychological reinterpretation of the world of Pinocchio, as well as various Eastern European folktales; with Svankmajer's usually startling imagination held back by some literally wooden performances and a rather flat visual presentation. With that, his most recent film in mind, we come to the film in question; with The Last Trick (1964) standing as Svankmajer's earliest experiment in short-form film-making and one that introduces a number of themes that will be further developed in his subsequent works.

This is no doubt a slight film within the lexicon of Svankmajer's career, with the set up and the execution both seeming incredibly simple and thematically naive. Essentially a film about performance – albeit, created completely without the aid of conventional performers - we begin the film with the creation of two puppet magicians, who - over the course of the short running time - try to outdo one another with a series of wilder and eventually more elaborate visual tricks. That is the plot. The director takes his time to engage us in the theatrics of the story - constructing his scenes to a musical rhythm - before eventually revealing his true intention, by way of a lame pun. There are still some wonderful elements though; such as a strong use of composition, a bold sense of colour, not to mention Svankmajer's always impressive use of stop motion animation.

However, despite all this visual wonderment, one cannot help but feel a little cheated by the slightness of the director's vision and the bluntness his moral message, though I suppose such misgivings are always an issue with an artists' first work. For me, this is one for the Svankmajer devotees only (which, if you're reading this, probably means you). We may marvel at the director's over-the-top use of the visual medium, coupled with the expertise of his team, but at the end of the day, this is merely a sketch for the more interesting and accomplished films still to come.

Visually and Elaborately Stunning

[Tornado_Sam · 26 October 2019]

"The Last Trick" is the first Jan Svankmajer film I have seen and having watched a lot of the Quay Brother's output I was familiar with his name since he had been significant inspiration to their filmography. This first effort by the renowned Czech animator, who would later go on to create entire feature-length films, is actually not animated for the most part, but instead relies on stage machinery and fanciful costumes used to create the unique visuals on display. Yet, as with all of the filmmaker's output, its atmosphere is a surrealistic one and while the not the greatest example of his work (due to lacking the animated aspect) it remains a weird, fanciful short like the rest of Svankmajer's films.

The set-up is that two magicians on a stage (actors wearing enormous, visually stunning painted masks) are trying to outdo each-other by demonstrating their talents. Each one takes a turn doing a trick before the next one goes, and the tricks get really insane - such as the magicians opening their heads and removing items, making objects dance to music, and other impossible antics. In the end, they become so angry at each-other a violent finale occurs.

Visually, the film is beautiful and the ornate masks and effects that take place are remarkable. One thing about it that left me wondering was the constant motif of a large beetle which appears throughout in numerous spots for no apparent reason, and that dies at the end. An interesting touch, that - and also the only interpretive part of the short, since the action is pretty straightforward and tells its basic story in 11 minutes.