Motion Painting No. 1 (1947) User Reviews

Paint as Film

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 20 May 2016]

"Motion Painting No. 1" (1947) is a short animated film in which film artist Oskar Fischinger put images in motion to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto no. 3, BWV 1048.

The film was created by applying oil paint on acrylic glass. Fischinger filmed each brushstroke over the course of 9 months. In 1997, the film was selected for inclusion in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

As much as I like the idea of this film and appreciate the time it took, I don't know that I really see the impact it had that makes it something to single out for preservation. The images and music are enjoyable and calming to watch, but I can't say there is anything in this film that is terribly different from what was already being done in animation.

Passion and Patience

[Squrpleboy · 9/10 · 2 October 2002]

From time to time we are reminded of the sheer power of the creative human spirit, and the commitment that some are able to give to that part of ourselves; Motion Painting No. 1, by Oskar Fischinger, is a brilliant example of that SPIRIT in all 11 minutes of it's cinematic glory!

This experimental film is a study of an abstract painting as it grows out of the mind and soul of the artist and filmmaker. Painstakingly hand-painted in a Impressionist pixel-point style over a period of 9 months (!), and equally laboriously stop-animated, Fischinger captures not only the wonderful decision-making process of the artist at work, but the "life" that the work itself takes on as it changes and grows. Use of color, patterns, and pacing compliment and clash with one another before the viewer's eyes and lead one into an impossible world that seems none-the-less real, and all the more engaging for seeming to just be made of pure MAGIC!

10/10 Breathtaking and awe-inspiring!

Color study

[tpfaff100 · 10/10 · 10 September 2004]

This is perhaps my favorite animation, filmed on at least four panes of glass and layered in an improvisational pattern.

Fischinger's tastes ran to form and color. Some of the color moods of Disney animations during his day reflect this, even though he was not retained [ahem] as an employee of Disney and evidently made no direct contribution to any Disney flicks.

I saw one of his best paintings hanging in a funny little antique store in Glendale, CA. I always wish I would have inquired if it was for sale.

Fischinger was more of a painter than an animator. His animation skills were limited, or should I say that he probably just wasn't interested in what turned into mainstream animation techniques and subjects.

Folks who like Fischinger should also check out Alexander Alexeieff. Alexeieff does not play with color but does play with form. There are some overlaps in their styles. For obvious reasons (lack of color film stock in the 1930s) Fischinger did a lot of black and white (charcoal) animations exploring motion and symbolism. In the black and white material Fischinger and Alexeieff seem to complement each other more.

Carl Jung comes to mind.

Oh I am jumping around aren't I?

I wish Disney would revisit the Fischinger influence in their animations.

See Disney's original Fantasia, Make Mine Music and Melody Time DVDs to see color and style influences by Fischinger. There is some great material there.

Anyway Motion Painting #1 is like nothing else [not like Disney at all] and will probably blow your mind.

Good music, weak animation

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 13 March 2016]

The title "Motion Painting No. 1" sounds as if there may be some more motion paintings following this one, but actually here we have one of Oskar Fischinger's final works. By 1947, he had already been for several decades in the industry and successfully stayed relevant over the inclusion of both sound and color, which not too many artists managed back then. And this 11-minute film here sticks to his usual formula from that time. Take a famous classical piece, this time by Bach, and create an animated film around it. Experimental, of course. There are many circles in here as usual with Fischinger and a lot of it looked like licorice. I personally felt the second half of the film was weaker than the first, even if it looked harder to make. But honestly, the entire thing left me fairly unimpressed. I do not recommend the watch. I still wonder how some people can give this a 9 or 10 stars out of 10. Is this really on par with the likes of "The Godfather" for example? I don't think so.