djray65 I first saw the works of these brothers in 1990. I thought there style of animation was so different then what I had seen before. Although these twin brother directors are American you could not see it in there work. It looked very eastern European, as if it had come out of some Soviet block TV series. While the short films on this DVD make little sense or follow any story line, there are visually fascinating to look at. Some times the imagery is disturbing to look at. If dolls had nightmares this is what they might look like. I can't say I liked their work, but I do feel it is ground breaking visually interesting and creative. This is not for those with a passing fancy in stop-motion animation.

Joseph Sylvers I appreciate the high quality surreal animation, but was otherwise disappointed by this. Nearly all of the imagery comes from Jan Svankmajor, without Svankmajor's wit, whimsy, and story telling abilities. "Street Of The Crocodiles, which I had heard...(read more)...(read more) so much about, was beautiful and ephemeral, it just didn't touch on any new nerves for me. However those who enjoy the more abstract side of animation may find this right up their alley, but if your looking for macabre, literate, Rube Goldbergian animation with storytelling to match it's visual lushness, I would try some "an Svankmajor short films, otherwise this is all you.

Franck After having read this from the previous poster...>"Once again I'm surprised to see only a small handful of comments on IMDb for a film (or, collection of films, in this case) that deserves much more attention than it gets."<I felt compelled to join the very small group of reviewers, out of solidarity. :-) I'm not going to try to analyze this unique work, it's far beyond my reach. Audiovisual evocative art is at its peak here, and when I meet such talent, I tend to keep my mouth shut (from absolute awe), which explains why I never commented on the Quay shorts despite I'm extremely fond of them.So I'll just say that: I LOVE these shorts. They challenge me, upset me, scare the living daylights out of me, and make me feel like an ant with no artistic talent whatsoever (I'm a musician, and incidentally discovered the Quay brothers through a video for the band "His name is alive"). No, I'm not a masochist (*LOL*). This gives me inspiration, feeds my imagination and helps me carry on creating, taking risks, instead of just trying to be "good" at what I do. I find these animated pieces as weird and marvelous as my most wild dreams. And as frightening as my worst nightmares.The only other audiovisual work (that I know of) that comes close in terms of oniric, dream-like substance is Lynch's "Eraserhead". I'd say any fan of Eraserhead MUST take a look at the Quay bros. shorts, and vice-versa. Kudos.

Doug Galecawitz pulsating in a twisted and frenzied world of the Nightmare Before Christmas but with every molecule of Disney sucked out and replaced with a permeated sense of pessimism and dread, these well made stop motion shorts are a delight to watch. in the new DVD format they shine even brighter. one may slow them down and look for layer upon layer of past film and literature and art references and even a few cultural technological references. kafka is the most frequently evoked influence on these films but the mellon collie poe is equally lurking beneath the surface. simply amazing to watch how ever detail is meticulously crafted to lead the viewers eye as though on a leash.fans of the rock band tool will recognize these as the basis for their own collection of video's with special emphasis on earlier album's videos. this should be required viewing in nearly any arts program as perfect example of form and technique as well as an example of atmospheric motifs. the short documentary named anamorphisis also serves as a catalyst for forming an interest in art history for those who do not already have it. simply wonderful. flawless 10 out of 10