Street of Crocodiles (1986)

To me, this movie is perfection.

The greatest movie ever!

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

This is an absolutely stunning-to-watch and well crafted animation. I was so intrigued by how it was done, I had to watch it again just to follow the story, never mind the incredible music by Tool ( song is from "10,000 Days"). This show reminded me of watching the Wizard of Oz, muted, while listening simultaneously to Pink Floyd's Dark side of the Moon. Fantastic!

This visually amazing achievement in clay animation begins with a live action man closing up a lecture hall and reaching into a box in which he snips the string holding a scrawny, almost skeletal puppet. Unconstrained, the puppet cautiously wanders the darkened rooms in the world of the box. The dismal vibes and infectious musical score suggest a tone of seclusion and senselessness, constraining us into direct empathy with the puppet as he deals with a domain of his reality, which is full of simple machines and mechanisms and man-made amusements. As he seeks to conform, or is coerced, of which we are never quite sure, the film little by little bares how fruitless the environment essentially is. Soul and strength are slowly reduced to expose the phase of life as a macrocosm.The idea of a puppet being cut loose from its string inside of a box of dark rooms to wander about without aid is fascinating, but lots of people could make a movie that basically revolves around the idea of a wasteland where nothing ends, nothing concludes. It's quite easy. It's basically an excuse to trail off on a stream of consciousness. However the Quay brothers have done something organic and beautiful by telling a story with images. The understanding of cinema intrinsic in Street of Crocodiles is important and exceptionally valuable. Its concept is in truth a very deeply imagined allegory for a mind-shiftingly objective philosophical, perhaps existential, perception, taking life as a whole and putting it in the context of another impression of it, a smaller sort of spin-off of human life, causing us to rethink our existence.

I saw "Street of Crocodiles" on my first Filmfestival in 1991. Its darkness and sadness, its brutality and decay, this strange feeling of being somewhere else and someone else who does not understand the rules of this world. The world of the genius brothers Quay confirmed my urge of being a filmmaker. It's a kafkaesque journey into your subconsciousness. It is unique. 10 of 10.

The Brothers Quay are two of the most unique and visually surprising film makers in a long time. Street of Crocodiles is a short they made, and is full of unbelievable animation. An incredible mix of objects are used for the props and characters, creating strange effects and meanings. The visual style of Street of Crocodiles has been copied in many recent stop-go animation films, including many of the music videos for the band Tool. However, nothing can match the virtuosity of the Brothers, who support their impressive animation with political insight, dealing with the strife of their homeland in Europe. Truly amazing things are accomplished by the brothers in this film, such as using telephoto lenses to change focus in mid animation. The amount of detail and work that is put into this film is unbelievable, but the result is even more impressive.