Jean Painlevé Movies

  • 1949
    Blood of the Beasts

    Blood of the Beasts

    Blood of the Beasts

    7.4941949HD

    An early example of ultra-realism, this movie contrasts the quiet, bucolic life in the outskirts of Paris with the harsh, gory conditions inside the...

    Blood of the Beasts
  • 1945
    The Vampire

    The Vampire

    The Vampire

    6.51945HD

    After a look at some strange creatures, the narrator and camera take us to the Chaco forest, on the borders of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, where...

    The Vampire
  • 1936
    Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

    Bluebeard

    61936HD

    Perrault's fairy tale presented in claymation with choral voices. Bluebeard goes courting, all six of his wives having died. He arrives at the house...

    Bluebeard
  • 1972
    Acera, or the Witches' Dance

    Acera, or the Witches' Dance

    Acera, or the Witches' Dance

    6.11972HD

    In mud flats along the coast of Brittany we watch acera, small ball-shaped mollusks that are about two inches in diameter. They rest in mud; then, in...

    Acera, or the Witches' Dance
  • 2012
    Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo

    Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo

    Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo

    7.32012HD

    Cinéastes de notre temps : Jean Vigo
  • 1978
    Liquid Crystals

    Liquid Crystals

    Liquid Crystals

    71978HD

    Title cards introduce images we watch without narration; they are displays of shape and color. François de Roubaix's electronic music...

    Liquid Crystals
  • 1967
    The Love Life of an Octopus

    The Love Life of an Octopus

    The Love Life of an Octopus

    6.71967HD

    An octopus slithers into a narrow crack near the shore; we see its eye up close. It feeds on a crab. In spring it's time to mate. A male grabs a...

    The Love Life of an Octopus
  • 1929
    Sea Urchins

    Sea Urchins

    Sea Urchins

    6.31929HD

    A close-up look at sand urchins and rock urchins. At the seashore, a man digs up a sand urchin. We look closely. He sets it back in the sand, and it...

    Sea Urchins
  • 1935
    The Sea Horse

    The Sea Horse

    The Sea Horse

    6.51935HD

    Examines the sea horse, the only fish that swims upright. We watch it use its prehensile tail to wrap around plants and other sea horses. A frontal...

    The Sea Horse
  • 1928
    Daphnia

    Daphnia

    Daphnia

    6.11928HD

    Titles in French and English help us know what we're seeing. In all waters, daphnia abound. They are crustaceans about 2 ml long, with one eye that...

    Daphnia
  • 1945
    Le Journal de la Résistance

    Le Journal de la Résistance

    Le Journal de la Résistance

    81945HD

    Shot primarily by twelve French cameramen (led by filmmakers Jean Painlevé and Jean Grémillon), in August 1944, this film captures the...

    Le Journal de la Résistance
  • 1960
    How Some Jellyfish Are Born

    How Some Jellyfish Are Born

    How Some Jellyfish Are Born

    6.41960HD

    At a marine biology station, a clump of algae reveals polyps, stomachs with limbs, limbs with buds, buds with poison cells. This animal reproduces by...

    How Some Jellyfish Are Born
  • 1989
    Jean Painlevé Through His Films

    Jean Painlevé Through His Films

    Jean Painlevé Through His Films

    61989HD

    This documentary about the life and work of filmmaker Jean Painlevé was originally presented in eight parts on French television. It was...

    Jean Painlevé Through His Films
  • 1930
    Experimental Treatment of a Hemorrhage in a Dog

    Experimental Treatment of a Hemorrhage in a Dog

    Experimental Treatment of a Hemorrhage in a Dog

    5.21930HD

    Jean Painleve short about an experimental canine surgery.

    Experimental Treatment of a Hemorrhage in a Dog
  • 1937
    Voyage to the Sky

    Voyage to the Sky

    Voyage to the Sky

    6.11937HD

    We begin on planet Earth, with a demonstration of measuring distances using triangulation. Then, an imaginary voyage begins from earth to the moon,...

    Voyage to the Sky
  • 1929
    Hermit crab

    Hermit crab

    Hermit crab

    61929HD

    Painlevé’s first film on animal behavior, focusing on the Hermit Crab. On this film we see the Hermit Crab trying to find shelter.

    Hermit crab
  • 1928
    The Octopus

    The Octopus

    The Octopus

    6.41928HD

    An octopus slithers over objects on land—a doll, a skull—then oozes along the shore into the sea. It secretes its ink. The camera follows...

    The Octopus
  • 1929
    Hyas and Stenorhynchus

    Hyas and Stenorhynchus

    Hyas and Stenorhynchus

    5.81929HD

    In close-ups and extreme close-ups, we watch two small species of marine crustaceans, the slender long-legged stenorhynchus and the clumsy,...

    Hyas and Stenorhynchus
  • 1930
    Caprelles et Pantopodes

    Caprelles et Pantopodes

    Caprelles et Pantopodes

    71930HD

    Caprelles et Pantopodes
  • 1968
    Diatoms

    Diatoms

    Diatoms

    6.41968HD

    The one-celled long and slender diatom, up close: discovered in 1703 with the invention of the microscope. We observe them magnified 10,000 times:...

    Diatoms