I first saw this at the University of Akron in 1980 it was the pre movie, before the movie. It made me change my major. This reminds me of all the people I have known and lost touch with. But most of all it reminds me that we all need to smile and try to make the world a better place.
My husband met him at a science fiction convention years ago. Jittlov's comment when my husband told him that MJ's work had inspired him to work in movies? "I'm sorry...." Sad indeed, to see such a creative spirit crushed by greed and selfishness. Mike, wherever you are, a lot of us do love you and would happily support your work.
One of the last things I remember Jittlov doing was the voice of Han Solo in "Darth Vader's Psychic Hotline." Last film work I can recall was the animation and voices for the spirits in "Ghost."
3:12. Watching the video you clearly hear him say "wow" and it's like one of the high points of the scene, but look away from the video/just listen to the audio and you might even miss that sound as just a random whoosh effect. Brilliant movie.
I saw it as child and during years I was remembering just bit fragments but I wasn't able to get the movie or short name. I asked on a forum but nobody answered. I had totally has forgotten it when suddenly a day I received a response alert on my mail. Somebody has responsed, I was unable to remember even I asked it. Was a great surprise when he told me the title. Great work short in step motion for that era.
Oh god how I love this movie... Inspired me to make all sorts of silly stop-motion films when I was a kid. It's probably just nostalgia talking, but effects like these always seemed to look better in their own way, and be put to so much better use than the stuff they cook up in computers nowadays.
I was working at a rent to own store in 1989 and I got a promo package in the mail and took it home. I played it until my VCR ate the tape. Thanks a ton for posting this. How about a special edition DVD and toss some money to Jittlov?? This is a tasty morsel from the good ol' VHS days... Fantastic stop motion in this movie. Thanks to you Mike for hours of joy in the late 80s.
I have met Mike several times in science fiction cons (Oslo, Manchester), and I have enjoyed his stories about his troubles with the feature film. I still have the poster with signature of course! Interesting facts: - he is allergic to US beef, but can eat European! - He played the police dog in one scene of the film!
I went out to his house once, where I met him and his mother. We talked for a couple hours. It was really one of my dreams come true, having grown up on his film as a kid. At the end of the visit, he walked me to where I had parked, looked me dead in the eyes and said "Don't end up like me."
Ice Block Films That sounds sad. Hollyweird sure knows how to kill people's dreams. But all of his work didn't end in a total loss, because a lot of people got inspired to do their own movie making. Look at kickstarter and other wide funded sites. The guys on Laser unicorns (Kung Fury) must've seen this at some point in their lives too.
Thank you soooo much for uploading this. 3 times now people uploaded only half and have been such a tease. A low-budget stop motion movie about making a low-budget stop motion movie....Genius!
I love this film, of course, with a hero like Mike Jittlov, it's a wonder I'm 32 and have yet to make a feature (although I do have a screenplay contract for a work for hire that's not my idea).
@crazysoccerman14 How sad that some people always make the drug reference whenever they encounter anything remotely out of their tiny, tiny little spectrum of reality.
A dumb question, don't you think? Are you somehow under the impression that the various movie and TV versions are only known to a few? I'll go as far as guessing that more non-science fiction fans have seen one or more versions of it than there are in fandom. After all, we're talking Wells, aren't we?
@dazzlerby Pretty damn big. I'm so glad I had my parents for parents. They took me to art museums, and the theatre, and movies, and they encouraged creativity. I was able to look at talent and be impressed... not recoil from it in terror and accuse the talented of being drug abusers.
Mike is ALIVE AND WELL and I HOPE upon HOPE that we MAY get him to screen his SHORT at "W00tStock", the brain child of Wil Wheaton, Adam Savage, and Music Duo, Paul & Storm...THAT would be a cool deal...what do YOU think? Tweet about it to Wil, Adam, and Paul & Storm...This guy was a GEEK/NERD before Geek Nerd's were COOL!
