Steve Reviews: Mad God
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- čas přidán 26. 08. 2022
- Mad God is the latest film which showcases just how messed up the world of stop motion can be! Produced by animator Phil Tippett, who has worked on previous films such as Star Wars and Robocop, this film really shows off his talent, but at the cost of taking 30 years to complete!
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This is like a twisted version of fantasia there’s no plot but it shows how the animation and narrative leads it on
My exact thoughts
ya was thinking that. rather it being a combo of animation for music. this is purely stop motion art anthology.
Difference is that depiction of predators and prey in Fantasia is unrealistic. As if prey could not defend itself. Nah I prefer CZcamsr David James Armsby who leads Dead Sound channel. He did it right because he did research in museum and is passionate artist not a big corporation that tries to cheat you with propaganda.
The eye we see is the eye of creation, each civilization struggles to rise the tower to become greater than god, to play god, and we try to play the eye of creation, only to create horrible abominations,.. Each time we reach the end and the eye sees through we restart but in half life degradation, each time starting over worse than we were before, but never knowing always forgetting those times before, onward we trudge trying to be gods, with an ever worsening, ever maddening form, truly mad god.
@@karolinakuc4783 Great to see more Dead Sound fans.
Honestly, the fact that Phill had brushed off the change in direction for Jurassic Park so well is absolutely amazing
He wasn't dumb or had unyielding pride, he knew the cgi looked better than anything he could have done in a timely manner
@@lasarousi And hell, he made a joke out of it that got into the movie
@@creeperx3sssboom347 yeah the "don't you mean extinct?" joke... Pretty cool story
@@TransitOfMarsOfficial Well, I mean the man seems to be a big pragmatist and sees things as they are. It must not have felt nice that your favourite art form is about to go extinct. So the realization of that must've hit him quite hard.
I really loved that, and it says a lot about his character 😊! Didn't let his temper flare up or sting his pride. Even cracked a joke that got into the movie 😁👍!
Crazy how something like this can arrive into the world with barely a murmur said about it, but in years to come it will be a classic masterpiece.
The majority of people are husks who do not get the value from this that others would
+zoned
what value exactly? even if someone doesnt understand the film at all thats still a valid reaction. confused? amazed? horrified? tepid? all fine. you sound stuck up as hell.
or are you just bent at the fact mad god only made 300000 at the box office despite critic acclaim? (which sucks)
It kinda sucked. It looked cool, though. Had a cool title and aesthetic.
Agreed. I stumbled by accident on a Virgin Transatlantic overnight. Never heard of it and watched by accident. Ive recommended it to many people since.
@@zoned7609 kind of like the sh** people or the lower class workers who are being rolled over
Fun Fact: the being that resembles a plague doctor during its introduction can be heard reciting a poem in Italian, and because I'm Italian that picked my curiosity, after looking on the Internet I discovered that it comes from the movie Fellini Satyricon, here's the full translation: "My brother, you were the last companion in my life. You can say: "I met Eumolpo, the poet". Ah, what can I say, if I were rich like Trimalcione I would leave you a farm or a ship, but I can only make you heir to what I had. I leave you the poem, I leave you the seasons, especially spring and summer. I leave you the wind, the sun, I leave you the sea, the sea which is good and the land is also good. The mountains, the streams, the rivers and the great clouds that pass solemn and light. You will look at them and maybe you will remember our short friendship. And I leave you the trees and their agile inhabitants. Love, tears, joy, the stars. Encolpius, I leave you the sounds, the songs, the noises, the voices of men and the most harmonious music. I leave you..."
I honestly don't know if it has some kind of meaning or if it's just a reference and nothing more but if you were wondering what was it saying now you know it.
The Plague Doctor could be expressing regret over having to grind up the worm baby, when it's re-contextualized in Mad God's narrative it seems like he's wishing there was another way to rebuild the universe, or wishing there was more he could do for the baby itself?
The satyricon was a latin poem written by Petronio purely for entertainment purposes. It doesn' seem to be connected to anything in the movie
So perhaps he's reciting a poem written solely for entertainment along with grinding up the worm baby for the same reason? Just to give an omnipotent God something to look at while going about the mundane?
Sounds like Phil is saying I can't give you much but I give you my art.
Good Job, Satyricon is another obscure out their culture classic,u have a great ear for the fact u picked up on that language it was faint & well hidden,Salud
Stop motion just seems to be perfect for horror. You can't go wrong with that dash of uncanny valley
I believe the almost unnatural movements help with that. Even the most fluid of stop motion animation has a unnatural choppy like effect to it, and when paired with other visuals (human figures and atmosphere) helps make the perfect setting for this psychologically
Very true
I think that’s why I was so terrified by the dark crystal as a child
this stop motion horror flim is a masterpiece
@@jordanuecker7744dark crystal isnt stop motion it’s puppets for the most part
This movie is less a film and more an otherworldly experience.
Yes! Like Eraser Head or Ken Park
The eye we see is the eye of creation, each civilization struggles to rise the tower to become greater than god, to play god, and we try to play the eye of creation, only to create horrible abominations,.. Each time we reach the end and the eye sees through we restart but in half life degradation, each time starting over worse than we were before, but never knowing always forgetting those times before, onward we trudge trying to be gods, with an ever worsening, ever maddening form, truly mad god.
@@terrafletcher1930 That's the comment I needed to see to know NOT to eat mushrooms before watching this movie.
@@BlooCollaGal I'm glad! Watch Kung Fury instead!
@@BlooCollaGal i was thinking about it probably make you go a little schizo tho
i hope stop motion doesnt become a thing of the past like he predicts. it might be more expensive and difficult than CGI but it just looks wonderful
Yeah I feel the same about film/analog vs digital photography hopefully they can coexist indefinitely and film doesn't go away
Well that statement was made before the first Jurassic park. Stop motion was in so many movies at the time. Decades later it’s not the norm but it’s still around. The statement was just for how common it would be in the movie industry as a whole
While it does look really cool in its own way, it looks kinda bad in terms of realism and CGI is definitely the way forward for movies. But like most old techniques and art styles, there will always be those few willing to make movies that revisit older techniques and styles from past generations because it's always fun to experiment. Some examples of movies revisiting past styles include: Mad God, The Lighthouse, Kung-Fury, etc...
@@EdenHamilton "the way forward" dude it's been the norm for decades and stuck in a rut now
@@cesarcampos8746 I know it's been the norm for decades lol. And CGI is still getting better (take Avatar 2 for example), but companies are greedy and want to keep more money by rushing VFX artists. Which is way so much of todays CGI looks pretty bad at times.
It physically hurts me to think we almost lost this forever. The scars on its body caused by the films hiatus are part of it's soul and I'd rather have that tonal shift than lose the project. Mad God is simply beautiful
“AnImAtIoN iS fOr KiDs”
Mad God: Hold my cup of incomprehensible horrors.
show this to the CEO of HBO
Those fools would squish their heads when they find out cartoons/animation was more mature back at the start.
I'd like to see more computer animated movies try something different. A lot of it looks, feels, and sounds the same. How about a drama, or in this instance horror. Maybe try experimenting with different art styles.
@@derek-64 There is, you just have to look a bit harder to find it
Max Fleischer and Ralph Bakshi: Hold our cups of sex, violence, and drug use
I confess that, while the movie ultimately proved to not be my cup of tea, I must admire the sheer technical work, dedication, and time invested in it. I'm glad it was finally released and so many people were able to enjoy it.
I wouldn’t say “enjoy” I’d say respect it
I feel the issue for me is just how dark it is
It's a bit too much for me, as i have my limits on how much grimdarkness i can handle before i just get sad
@@quinnholloway5400 Makes sense. That probably affected my impression as well, but I think a bigger part, for me, was the way the story was presented. It reminds me of Dark Souls-style narratives - not just dark, but incredibly *implied*. While I love movies that make me think, I also prefer the stories to be a bit more "told" (I'd say "explicit" but given the contents of the film, that carries a VERY distinct double meaning lol)
@@boxlions2073 Really good way of putting it. Encapsulates my own view really succinctly, too.
@@Sturmensky Yea it works for the Dark Souls games kinda, though most people just watch Loretubers like Vaati for it
But in a Movie? Doesn't work 100%
Espically if theres not enough knowledge given to us to help figure it out
I couldnt finish it because of the sheer number of grotesque scenes but I can deffo appreciate how well crafted it is. It truly is a project of love and patience. Beautifully disturbing and nauseating.
I like some scary movies but I couldn't watch this 😞
You can do it, just to know the ending
I watched it while eating a BLT and cucumbers. Then I ate a hotdog covered in ketchup. Without even feeling queasy.
We are not the same
It calms down im the 2nd half of the film
@@lovepizzalovetranforemers
Wow you're not like other girls/guys, congrats. What do you get from this?
This movie could've ended with the death of the first Assassin, and it still would've been monumental. But everything after that continues to be magnificent.
I think the thing about Mad God is that it's not _meant_ to have a plot. It's not a story, it's a vehicle to show off an utterly alien world. Sure, there _might_ be an overarching story, but the plot itself is a horror monster - the details are never revealed, and they leave the viewer to fill in the gaps with whatever disturbs them most.
It's just phil showing off his stop motion skillz
The eye we see is the eye of creation, each civilization struggles to rise the tower to become greater than god, to play god, and we try to play the eye of creation, only to create horrible abominations,.. Each time we reach the end and the eye sees through we restart but in half life degradation, each time starting over worse than we were before, but never knowing always forgetting those times before, onward we trudge trying to be gods, with an ever worsening, ever maddening form, truly mad god.
Kind of like how humanity itself has not a plot. Almost as if we are all Mad God's doing our own version of madness. Some of us follow the mad. Some do the Mads work for them. Some beget madness for madness sake. And some develop a new kind of madness that seems borderline biblical/godlike....which scares the shit out of the rest of us to the point we try and bridge the Madness Gap so to speak.
Stuff without a plot, with open ends, or a lack of a cohesive set or rules for reality is underrated. Lovecrafts works, David Lynchs films, and also stuff like ATHF are all very enjoyable imo. It's fun to embrace the absurd sometimes.
Yeah, it's a very personal movie. I read somewhere that a lot of the visuals and scenes are based on his nightmares he had over the years.
This means he created scenes on event, his subconscious processed in some shape. So it's already a movie without a clear plot in mind, which leaves so much room for interpretation. And we, as the audience, are simply adding an additional layer of interpretation to it.
Something about Mad God's creature designs reminds me of something from a 1980s fantasy movie.
Well the director is the creature desingner from the holo chess creatures from the original star wars
I was kinda getting dark crystal vibes
Well it says its thirty years in the making
Like the 'Neverending Tale' or however that movie's called with the huge flying white dog?
For me it's pure Lovecraft.
Phil Tippet deserves credit for being such a great sport about all of this. He learned way more in his art than just to make stop-motion and it shows.
Shout out to Paul for sticking to his original vision and not letting some dumb hollywood exec shit on his dreams. I really hope he keeps making passion projects and art like this. I will definitely be checking this one out at some point I just gotta find where to buy the dvd so I can make sure Paul gets adequately paid for his hard work and dedication
I got a copy from ebay
In all fairness, Jurassic Park used CGI correctly. Practical effects where possible with CGI to cover up the creases.
@@saulwright5663 and Terminator 2
@@saulwright5663 still holds up all these years later, and still looks better than a lot of stuff in theaters now
Right it should be for touch ups that's the right way to use it
Y'all better not ignore Avatar. The blue cat movie say what you want, but the movie itself but you can't tell me the CGI doesn't At least look impressive to this day
@@saulwright5663 lotr nowadays dont look too good.
I don't think the opening where the pod is lowered can be cut. In taking so long to show how far it is traveling, without anyone saying anything like other movies, we would not fully grasp the depth of the trip. As I watched it, every time it cut to a new background and I still didn't see the pod stop, I just went, "How the hell deep is this going?" The opening scene, really hammers home, 'This is basically a whole different world, there is no going back, this guy is on his own.'
I agree. It fucking blew my mind when he finally got the bottom and it was a suburban neighborhood in like a huge cave. He came from what can be considered the “surface” but passed gigantic shell fossils and beast bones all to wind up in a suburban neighborhood
I am about to watch the video but did he really complain about that? I guess he doesnt watch many non-hollywood movies. The opening was great.
From what I’ve seen in this video, the movie looks like a feature length depiction of hell, seemingly devoid of absolutely everything that’s good in the world.
I actually really liked the soundtrack. It was quite serene and chilled and contrasted alot with the visuals.
I'm convinced that Jim Henson wanted the Dark Crystal to be more like this.
This would have gotten Henson's blood pumping for sure.
There's a video out there which talks about how The Dark Crystal characters were all supposed to have their own languages - which wouldn't be subtitled. So you're probably right
Mmmmmmm... 🤔🤔🤔
Those Wilkin's Coffee ads he did makes me think he would have liked it to be more like Mad God in more way than one...
@@girlbuu9403 how?
Mad God was probably the first film I've watched uninterrupted with my full attention for years. I can't say I liked it, yet it affected me in a weird way I can't describe.
It broke the mold
You're not alone. I was the only person awake at 3am from JFK to Manchester and watched by pure fluke. Very qeird experience in that sleep/not asleep setting.
I feel the exact same way about it.
It made feel sick, literaly
There’s really nothing like it. An absolute treat to watch
I actually hope to see MORE stop motion in the future. Cgi is great and all, however stop motion has a certain charm and in some cases, creep factor, that cannot be achieved any other way. I want to see this for sure.
Oof that Established Titles sponsor.
Lord Steve casualy dissappears for 2 months
"Lord" lol
Happens
That’s what I’m saying
Ah, yes, he is now “Lord”
Lord? I didn't vote for 'em
Stop Motion will never die. There is something, some organic visceral quality, that cgi just can't replicate.
It's a way for someone with an idea and a camera, but only the barest of computer knowledge or drawing talent to make an animation. I've been dabbling in stop motion since my teens, simply because it's fun.
Definitely will check this movie out.
It's the uncanny vally effect I think but it goes further as the brain witnesses an image of something not quite human moving but not enough to register it, not as an object but not also a moving figure
@@poopghost9845 yeah, i watched prey yesterday and animal cgi animations were just awful
@@guilleperez7493 literally don't get what that has to do with what I said.
It's quite easy to do CGI that looks like stop motion though, using similar animation fundamnetals with limited keyframe animation. A lot of studios just don't do it though, for some reason, even though it arguably helps reduce the uncanny valley effect in super smooth frame rate CGI. The videogame studio Ark Systems Works uses this technique to make their animations feel more like the limited framerates of hand drawn anime, even though they are 3D models.
@@frustratedsquirrel yeah, it's pretty neat! I personally will stick with the old-school method, because making physical puppets is just more fun 😁 adding effects like liquid, weather, fire etc. later is pretty doable as an amateur though, even without a budget. I love how many good creative programs are released as open source. Adobe can go suck it.
I was completely glued to the screen throughout the watch. Every scene has so much detail. I was fangirling hard when it ended. The mixed media and live action stop motion blended fairly well. It's definitely something that appeals to a niche crowd, but it is gorgeous and creative despite its long production!
Established Titles is by now a well known con with absolutely no legal basis in Scottish law... maybe time to remove it?
Fun fact, the guy sitting at the computer at 3:05 is Adam Jones, the guitarist for TOOL. Adam was an artist that worked on the film and on a few later films before the band really took off. He also directed a bunch of the band’s music videos, and if you’ve seen any of them, (Sober is a perfect example) you can definitely see who he took inspiration from.
Yooooo that’s so cool! I love the stop motion tool videos! They’re definitely some of my favorite stop motion pieces.
I knew their style looked too familier for it to be a coinsidence. Both fantastic artists.
I was watching this thinking "This is Tool: The Motion Picture". lol
Mad god reminds me of primus too
Yes especially the Pork Soda album cover and the video for Claypool''s awesome song "Beezelbub is My Name."
I could imagine Cthulhu making his home here. Seems like he’d enjoy living in this world gone mad
*Mad
@@brainflash1 made*
Sure he's not the reason it went mad? XD
Honestly this world seems to vial for him
@@badman5363 mard*
It kinda reminds me of the Salad Fingers animated series from David Firth. They too technically have a central character and weird little narratives. But they too David has said lack any cohesive meaning or deeper backstory that remains consistent and a lot of his work is based around dream logic and nightmares he had too. The SF character is a guy who gets a lot of theories but really he could be anyone and exist anywhere or represent any abstract ideas possible. There is nothing behind it really except a desire to push David's artistic abilities further and further with each new video, and no character development or lore ever sticks or is deeply open enough for us to ever know the answers.
Holy shit no way.
"Salad fingers" is closer to "slender man" middle school edge.
Tbh it reminds me of that horror short David did with the mannequin heads. Which was also creepy and stop motion and wasn’t explained.
Salad Fingers is problaly the only animation where David tried to put some lore on it, the rest are just more "bizarre art" but as Salad Fingers keeps going, more it wants to put some history on it.
I really really wanted to love this, i'd even followed the making of it over the last 20 years having loved the work of Phil Tippet but... after 30 minutes it started to become very repetitive despite its dark visual beauty and at times stunning stop motion work. I'm glad it exists though in a world that lacks truly original visionary works of art and Tippet finally finished and released it.
I think the central theme is "playing God" and letting that power go to your head. Almost every thing in the movie is a character getting tortured, killed etc. By another character with more power, the tiny old dude is god, the priest from the religious militia is god, the big creatures with whips are god, the baby dictator is god. They are all representations of "gods" abusing their power.
Pretty profound theme in the modern age of technology on the precipice of truly science fiction ai.
My easy and fast intepretation: our world was build by stanist multimiliaders which sacrofaice a babys, try to build new world order and imitation gods in the same time.
This movie almost felt like one of those documentaries that don't have a narrator, it's just that this one is about a nightmare hell world.
Those old dinosaur films felt that way so makes sense
@@spicybeantofu that's a really good comparison
Knowing it was 30 years in the making, I knew it was an artistic movie instead of the classic narrative-driven film we usually get. Tippett definitely wanted to feature most of their hard work in each frame as much as possible and I, who also had a fascination for diorama and stop-motion films, wanted to absorb more of what I'm watching so the slow pace was mostly appreciated. The movie was definitely long and honestly, the people I was watching with, had a hard time keeping their eyes on the screen. Overall, it was not for everyone but to those like me who is just as fascinated, it was certainly a masterclass of its own.
Having Tippet involved is probably why Jurassic Park still looks so amazing to this day. Having a stopmotion master in the studio for a movie like this has to be invaluable.
If you like dark disturbing stories that lack dialogue, I highly recommend Primal by Genndy Tartakovsky.
Primal is not in a "dark disturbing stories series" category.
Sure, there dark elements, but there so a lot of others numrous elements that is only a small and rare part.
There many other element such actions sequences, metaphorical atmosphere, and even funny sequences and jokes here and here.
Dspite having many gore and death elements, it's not a "family show" but not truly a "adult show" either (there any sexual jokes or depict in it).
Primal is a tribute to the numerous films, series, productions and Pulp magazines like Conan the barbarian or the 1900's prehistoric movies, and all the italian and american movies that follow and have this keind of world where cience is fall under the window and put dinos and humans togethers like it's was nothing.
It's truly become quicly in some years a new icon masterpiece in many, many thing, and a reference.
@@dudotolivier6363 I have a theory that the primal world is actually post apocalyptic earth
@@rootfish2671 Nope, at all.
Primal set in a world where that was always like he is currently and will be always like that.
It's set in a parallel dimension/chronology of his own.
Where dinos, Cenozoïc mammals and primitive humans ethnics coexist.
Like I said, it's swim completely in the bath that all the things I said this show clearly made a tribute.
Just to note. Giving the Theory that what we see set in a post apocalyptic world for every production like this, is a so common and overused "excuse" that become today kind of boring to heard and see being again and again used and put in commentaries.
For what I know, we said, us, anything on others production to explain surnatural elements or impossible/unexistant things that happen in others world even if there any explanations on how for example these world even exist.
Like in Zootopia, The Dragon Prince, any case of fantastic/fantasy world, etc...
Because it's will be obviousely impossible to explain how such thing allowed such elements to exist or how that stand up netherless whithout being unoriginal or ridiculous. There no explanations in many if these productions on purpose to concentrate on the world in question how he is currently and the story who happen in it.
Like if that was nothing. That free from many heavy obtacles and more liberties.
And like that, the creators Can remain serious in their works, and what we see is serious too (even if the liberties to put a dino and a cavemen togethers is not to take himself seriously in the behind the scene)
It's like that, another worlds/dimensions, anothers rules in everything (such magic or evolution history path like example).
So, nope, it's not a post apocalyptic world. There any evidence to give credit to that.
If most of the World's theories (either Dark or neutral) on the Net/Web are obviousely fan creations and anything else that don't occured at all inside the productions' world universe in question... It's because if that what each theories said on whatever was true, (like, I don't know, the one on the Walking Dead virus origin that want to be a extraterrestrial weapon released by aliens to rip humanity and conquer the world) the realisators would always give us the anwsers and not keep that kind of stuff as a secret even long after the productions' end.
If some theories like the Genie in Disney Aladin being the fun guy at the beginning of the movies were confirmed, it's because that was the case at the beginning and the creators don't really hide this fact. It's just that, originally, more scenes were supposed to be made but weren't created.
So, Web theories in general, especially the ones at thé level of the Walking Dead or all the ones who said that what production's world is in a pom post apocalyptic world, are just stupid ideas or silly idiocies that some random not clever guys have said whithout truly thinking before open their mouth (or just to be known and having Likes and views on their profiles.
Not to take into account, since any of them are truly golden nugget themselves.
@Zoomer Stasi This popular Theory of the show that want that the setting is a island, even big, was completely show to be anything at the end of the first season and being completely reprobed with what we see currently in season 2.
This Theory is also just bullshit too as the same level of the others.
There isn't any kind of Skull island or whatever lost continent. Like we see, the characters travel an entire sea between the two seasons, and their prehistoric aquatic animal such plesiosaurid, Archelon or Megalodon. It's impossible in every ways that the serie take place in our world rather on an island or in a post apocalyptic future.
All the productions I mentioned earlier (except Yor, the hunter of the Future if you have this one in mind first) take place in a entire planet where dinos and Cenozoïc creatures and huland always coexist, like that without explanations.
Also, these kind of productions, like every kind of production who show things that doesn't occur in our real life (like speaking animals, magic, aliens, time travel etc...) are all things who clearly show and said to not think about explanations and to litterally close down our mind/brain to appreciate completely what we see on screen.
Saying that what we see in these kind of productions is thé result of lost world or post apocalyptic world or whatever is all "easy excuses" not very bright. Because simply saying that doesn't explain everything.
Any of these productions are means, have the will to set in our world, and I don't understand why people or guys always want that what we see must take place somwhere in our world.
All of these productions take place in their own, and haven't to do things to make some parallels or whatever in order that their world become exactly like our own world is.
When it's come such productions like Primal, or any other one like him, you just accept what you see whithout question and things are like they are. Anything esle.
@Zoomer Stasi Always a argument, even weak, to save the theory...
I think I like the fact it isn't story focused. So much media nowadays HAS to have character arcs and happy/sad endings and it has to make you THINK and FEEL but every now and then it's really nice to just watch something for how fucking incredible it looks, while giving us an idea of how this weird world Phil created works.
Umm... this film makes you think and feel. It just doesn't spoon feed you
@@allantidgwell5624 okay? no need to sound so stuck up about it lmao
Uh actually you’re both wrong. There was no film at all. You dreamed it.
@@CartoDarko don't read tone into my words. I'm speaking matter-of-factly. If you think I'm being "stuck up" that's on your own head
@@allantidgwell5624 no offense mate maybe don't say "uumm..." at the start then, very easy to interpret that as rude
12:14 I like that tho, feels more like real Life. Imagine having to maintain a plot and story arc every day of your life?
I feel like it's nice to have an art piece that's less of a story and more of a glimpse into another world
I met Phil a few years back at a special event he was holding at his studio. Really nice guy. Even got to see some of the sets for Mad God 4 years before it released.
I watched this a couple months ago. It was hideous, disgusting, nonsensical, and I freaking loved it! I do wish the plot was a bit more streamlined, as I was hoping to follow the Assassin all the way through the film as he explored and reached his goal. Once he was gone I didn't really have anything recognizable to latch onto, but maybe that's the point. Other than that, I love it. And I recommend it to anyone as long as they have a strong stomach.
The eye we see is the eye of creation, each civilization struggles to rise the tower to become greater than god, to play god, and we try to play the eye of creation, only to create horrible abominations,.. Each time we reach the end and the eye sees through we restart but in half life degradation, each time starting over worse than we were before, but never knowing always forgetting those times before, onward we trudge trying to be gods, with an ever worsening, ever maddening form, truly mad god.
Lmao "recognise" like you've ever been an assassin
@@poopghost9845 …That’s just what the character is called. He’s recognizable as a person.
@@poopghost9845 He's human. That's all that matters.
@@poopghost9845 I do have two last names...
Maybe one day .
8:34 bro got poked
Phil Tippett is one of my heroes, so I'm excited that this film even exists. Thank you for this review! I don't currently have Shudder but Mad God is one of the reasons I'll be subscribing to it...
This movie was like watching a painting. It was all about how it made you feel, painting this horrifying world with its visuals. Ultimately, it left me feeling depressed afterwards, both times I watched it. Great film.
I see mad god as a clear reflection of that part of the collective unconscious, full of primordial violence, that has molded itself with society throughout history, only to become more and more twisted. A cruel vision, about that horrendous part of us, that many times, we pretend does not exist, but really, is found in the depths of our being. Incredible experience, a true masterpiece.
I agree. There is something about the hellscape and monsters that are reminiscent. Like we have been there in our dreams. At least ive been dreaming about the settings. The monoliths especially, and the pressurized reddish underground settings. Weird to see something so otherwordly depicted so accurate
Oh my god!!! I totally forgot about those dinosaur shorts!!! I didn’t know he did it, amazing.
1:19 prehistoric beasts is his favorite
Watching Mad God was like watching a movie length Tool video. I couldn't for the life of me figure out what the plot was meant to be but I couldn't look away. It.. it is something you experience more than just passively watch. Definitely a recommendation, must watch.
It pretty much is like all the best parts of undertow/aenima era as a film.
Thinking about watching this while high or would I end up tripping out
One of the band members, who directs some of their music videos, worked on this movie
Man, I remember those dinosaur stop-motion films from this one really old PC game called "3D Dinosaur Adventure". I always wondered, where they originally came from when I was little and once I found out, where they actually come from, I was surprised that they are from a documentary with actual voice-over originally. In the game, they had different music and sound effects and no narration and honestly, those versions were even more creepy and athmospheric, in my opinion.
That was my favorite game when I was a kid!
My first impression watching MadGod was that it needed a bed of music by Tool.
started the video, stopped, went and watched it, came back,, and man, that was a good choice
The plot is very much a artsy "up to your interpretation" thing. Personally I think it's an exploration of the themes in the Tower of Babel story with how the movie opens on the towers destruction before showing the title, and further supported by the lack of actual dialog as God in the original story created the language barrier to prevent humanity from cooperating to the same extent that created the tower.
God be real
I understood nothing but the plague doctor figure was hella cool, all it reminded me of was the music video God The Animal by In Gloom
You got to say artsy with a vaguely derogatory connotation. Congratulatios, your takes on art are very original
@@narutofan4545 hahaha you really believe that?
@@blipboigilgamesh7865 I think you're projecting any negatively on the word artsy. It's just kind of a state of being - a thing meant more as the message and impression you get than the substance of the plot.
I feel at the end of the day, the wobbly script matches the name. Tippet is the director to the symphony of chaos we indulge in, the towering creator painstakingly dragging these characters through a battered world of his own design, A Mad God strung along by his own imagination. There is no one true meaning yet it’s open to any, we are simply adding to the beauty of creation.
2:05 Jurassic Park was going to be stop motion!!!???🤯
mad god can only be describe as "i hate to watch it but i can't stop from re-watching it"
I believe that the film is a clip show that follows a god giving us a tour of his world. A god or a being close to him, like perhaps an angel.
Also, I think the surgeon showing the footage of the other soldier was either the Assassin's comrade or a past soldier he captured
Just to note that this current film here, have won the very first innauguration celebration of the "The Ray Harryhausen Award" !
The first awards ceremony took place on what would have been Ray's 102nd birthday, in June 2022 !
This newly created award/prize was launched to celebrate Ray's influence on contemporary filmmakers and animators !
So, not only this film is a Unique Stop-Motion film in artistic level, and have a Unique production's history, but in addition, was the first movie to won and to received this new recent award/prize !
It's crazy !
I needed this video. Tippett realization and feeling of obsoletion is what many artists are feeling right now regarding IA art, i love that many people gave this "dead art" movie an opportunity.
1:06 dinosaurs by Phil Tippett
I watched this with my friends with none of us having any clue what we were getting ourselves into. We absolutely enjoyed it both for the technical achievement of it's production and the surreal, nightmarish experience that it was. As for what the point of it was, we got the impression that it was basically a Dante's Inferno-style descent through hell journey.
i Definitely got the same dantes inferno vibes. I think there is alot more here for a story than people are seeing. alot of biblical references throughout, and ancient mythology. im gonna be thinking of this one for a while.
It may even be a comentary on God, "why create to destroy?" , and “living is also suffering".
It almost felt as though the creepy old priest was sending another prophet into the world to carry on the mad God's work at the end.
Of course it's done in such an artistically stylish way that it's very open to interpretation.
I watched this movie and if I didn't look up the plot summary, I wouldn't know what it was about at all
Just watched Mad God the second time and when the guy is looking at the three like windows, the first one is wow, I missed that when I first watched it. I was like wait something is slipping out.
This gave me Heavy Metal vibes.... also, I can see who Adam Jones got his inspiration from.
Not gonna lie, this is creepy as hell! These monsters are rivalling the "Alien" franchise!
I honestly don’t know what’s scarier; this film, or the fact it took 30 years to finish it.
Whatever that is, the people behind it should be very proud with their hard work. The results look incredible!
You really can’t compare this to Alien. They’re totally different things. Mad God is nothing but chaos.
@@eatmorvegetal3444 I talked about the creatures themselves only
@@baryardeni9731 I still don’t think they compare.
@@eatmorvegetal3444 To me, i do see some similarities. Some.
For those who are curious, the song playing at the title drop at the beginning of the video is "Mad World, by Within Temptation"
Thanks, and wow! It's been so long since I've listened to them, I forgot the band had changed direction in the music.
Thanks!
me being a 16 year old who hasn’t seen too too much stop motion, this is really good artwork and it probably wouldn’t have been the piece it is without waiting the full 30 years tippet truly is a mastermind in his work
This is right up my alley! CZcams recommended this channel/episode and the thumbnail got me. (Rare instance of CZcams recommending me something cool and different lol)
I'm subbed now, and about to find this admittedly beautiful looking film. It looks like a long Tool video. (Adam Jones, their guitarist is the young guy working on the PC around 3:00, he worked for Universal at the time and helped in the creation of JP)
As someone who tried interpreting the film, I personally saw it as a never ending cycle.
Possible spoilers:
From the “backstory” segment we see the endless amount of assassins, being created by a character called the “last man” constantly being descended into the world to blow up the bottom layer. Along the way we see failed attempts of this with the piles of suitcase bombs. This also personally reminded me of Dante’s Inferno, considering the assassin is always defending and each layer seems to be a different form of pain. The Tower of Babel also being present at the beginning. As the assassin descends into the world you see how each layer is interconnected, the people being electrocuted, leads to their waste being eaten and then used to fuel the city with hair people, etc. Eventually leading to the assassin being dissected, the baby creature being pulled out, being given to the plague doctor and then the scientist who creates what I assumed to be another universe, or layer, out of it’s blood. We see this universe fall into anarchy and then blowing up, this is what I saw as the beginning of the story, leading to the last man creating the assassins to destroy the bottom layer.
Though this was just my take.
I had exact same thoughts about it
I have absolutely zero idea what this means. Still a cool breakdown tho
Pretty much what I walked away with. I love the exploration of such rarely explored concepts like this and it gives it much more merit especially in the context of being shown to other people who similarly want this kind of alternative media.
Where did you see this movie?
Steve, glad you're back. I would like you to review these films:
-The Rugrats Movie trilogy
-Once Upon a Forest
-Delgo
-Curious George
-Rock & Rule
-Heavy Metal
-Fantastic Planet
-Hey Good Lookin'
-Pink Floyd The Wall
-Fire and Ice
-The Wild Thornberrys Movie
-Ghost in the Shell
-Starchaser: The Legend of Orin
-Night on the Galactic Railroad
-An American Tail
But if you do it, take your time. I wouldn't want to pressure you.
that's some fine selection right here
There's some real winners in there but the other requests have me wondering how you could come up with said good requests...
Why
@@amalioperez3009 cause i would like to see those reviews.
Can you imagine this as a video game?
This was a great review, I loved how in depth you went with this!
14:46 So, here I go:
It all started when God (the guy in a red mantle) first looked at the horror his creation brought - the amalgamation of evil that took the shape of what we would call Hell. He has but one desire - do destroy hell itself. To achieve this, he uses the knowledge of Moirai (greek representations of fate) to get the information that leads to the desired endgoal where Hell can be desintegrated. He tasks his angel (guys that wear heavy military eqipment, the starting protagonist and the alternative protagonist in the first half are) with it, sending them to the demonic realm. Angel reaches their destination but their plan fails (implying that destroying something timeless, that will always be, is impossible in the first place) and they are captured.
They are then used for the entertainment of higher demons (they take shape of normal humans), though very hollow and pointless (cinema scene), and are then tortured - for their knowledge and their soul (the crying baby worm). For a reason that becomes apparent later, demons refuse to use these souls and give them away to the black figure in the plague mask - Death. It carries them to its realm, confirms their identity with the Book of the Dead and reforms it into pure energy that is in turn used to usher in a new universe.
This process has happened countless times since then - countless angels have been sent, countless missions have failed and counless universes appeared and vanished. And it will always repeat thanks to two things - angelic souls whose energy creates existence, and knowledge, forged by Hell and represented as black metalic monoliths. Knowledge, the root of the idea of Evil, will always infect universes and bring forth sentient life that will in turn bring death to their universe.
This will never stop, this will never change for God is indeed MAD - MAD from his obsession of Hell's demise.
Apparently the idea for the title is "only a mad god would create such a world." On its surface level, Phil basically called himself mad, but if you know how to look at subtext you can basically see how this world is a reflection of ours. And the Last Man wasn't the god.
That sounds ridiculous and heavily slanted towards your obvious thiestic bias. Just cuz gods in the title doesnt mean it has anything to do with your particular favorite imaginary friend, nor his kink dungeon.
This was clearly a morbid reflection of society and depravity. With some existential dread and grotesque visuals sprinkled on top.
@@cdogthehedgehog6923 I dunno man, his interpretation seemed a lot more interesting than just "society amirite", and it also makes sense given the content of the film
@@thesteelsquid863 Have you seen it yourself?
@@cdogthehedgehog6923 did we need the super aggro net-athiest nonsense, you could just have said you didn't agree with his take without coming across as pretentious.
I like this. From the sound of it, it isn't lacking in story, but is more focused on telling the story of a location, or a group of locations, without dialogue, through a passing glance through it. It's strikingly reminiscent of dark souls in that sense
This feels more like Tippet just really wanting to flex his artistry as a stop motion animator. That explains the intense and detailed visuals but somewhat disjointed story.
As an art piece this works very well and I'm interested in giving it a watch myself just for that.
I distinctly recall watching one of those dinosaur specials you mentioned earlier on, it was hosted by Christopher Reeve and combined a lot of Tippet's shorts into one documentary.
Lost me at that ad for that scam company
For some reason, a line from Macbeth popped in my head when I struggled through this - "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." The sound and fury *are* tremendously impressive technological achievements, but they don't really convey anything, or at least it didn't for me.
That’s indeed a popular line, but I don’t think that’s what it means. It’s that life is just noise without meaning.
I just finished reading Blame! few weeks ago, this looks EXACTLY like something that would give me the feels Blame series did. Amazing video.
I also ended Blame! a couple days ago! Such a fantastic piece of art. The time and creativity needed to create such a gigantic, industrial and technological world... I know I couldn't do it, and so I love that someone could for me. The story and setting is captivating, and allways left me hungry to know more on the next chapter. The ending I found a bit rushed, with Chibo being the lucky answer to all their problems because of an external actor violating and transforming her body. I would have loved for them to find the DNA (in any way or form) out there, somewhere. The fact that Chibo suffers that forced pregnancy makes one think that it could have happened at any time during the series, or even to anyone else completely. After the last fight, when Killy takes the "womb/egg" from an erased Chibo (poor woman, she was supposed to be human, but after all those transformations on herself and her body, changing bodies also, I don't know if I can consider her human anymore... the silicon beings and what Killy and Chibo were was not that different at all to me, to be honest), it also looks rushed. That last fight was not a BIG one at all, or concluding; it was just a fight against an enhanced security exterminator that was trying to achieve the same as during the rest of the series. And then after that we jump into the future to find Killy on the border of the city, finding his way out almost by luck. To me, all that last segment seemed to me like the author wanted to end with the project (I can't blame him after all those drawings) and just cut to the point.
So underrated. It deserves a proper anime adaptation. If you want to see a game that somewhat resembles the atmosphere of blame!, check out scorn
I hope Tsutomu Nihei will work more bigger mangaworks.
I absolutely love the uncanny effect stop motion almost always gives me.
It's like a cheat code for easy creep factor, if you're willing to put the time in.
I love finding new (new to me) stop motion films, I hope the art never dies out! Its perfect for giving that creepy vibe to horrors.
Honestly, I loved the film. It felt bizarre, unique, even creepy. 30 years of work on the film was well worth it.
But if anything, I like to think it is an endless battle between life and death where the Last Man would represent Death and the Dark Angel would represent Life.
So happy you made this. I feel this film deserves way more attention for what stop motion can still do for the film industry.
This movie has to be one of my favorite stop motion movies, definitely in my top 10! Happy your reviewing this Steve!
I saw this in theaters. I absolutely hated it as a film but loved it as an art piece.
I watched this movie last night. I recommend watching it with friends so you can discuss the film while you watch. You have to get your expectations and mindset right. This isn't a dark version of Corpse Bride, it's a glimpse of madness.
Here's what I think is happening in the Plot:
Basically we're looking at an Assassin's last leg of his Journey through Hell, which has become more distorted and dark as he travels down, hence the name "Mad God", and when he is captured, the scene where the doctor is seeing another scene might actually be the same Assassin in the earlier levels of Hell, the first Circle of Hell, which is why it has less of a dark brown and red tone to it.
The Witch herself could actually be the Mad God in the form of a Plague Doctor like being who is the ruler of the final circle of hell and that's when everything makes no sense and you're basically seeing Madness in the form of visual Media.
That's my take anyway, I adored this film and gladly took the 30 days Free for Shudder when Tipphet's Studio was giving them out so that people could watch the film without having to pay for the subscription of Shudder
I think mad God is more of a metaphor for the world, because what mad God would make a world like this?
As an amateur model/figurine painter of resin printed models, theirs some definite beauty in tippets design and creation that disappears in CGI. Knowing the painstaking time and effort in painting models not just making them adds a huge amount of respect in anyone in that business.
I just watched the movie because i had this video recommended. The way the inevitable fall of every civilasation is pictured, in between all that super weird stop motion animation, is just out of this world. From Babylon to the creation of a new universe, it is incredibly well told. That movie is a true work of art
"I'm letting the work tell me what it wants to be"
Franklin Bean: "That's just lazy script writing... You wrote a bad script, Phil"
Jokes aside, apart from the wibbly script, the animation and atmosphere were pretty good.
That depends on the goal. Phil seems to just have been doing what he enjoyed in its purest form and attempted to create a fleshed-out experience and feeling of another place rather than a story. Is a script strictly necessary for that? Depends on what tools you want to use, I guess. A script can paint that picture, but Phil obviously preferred a different medium. If somebody built a beautiful creature out of welded-together scrap metal, did they make a bad blueprint because the few hinges and mechanisms there were didn't fully articulate the sculpture, or did the artist just find the other part more important for the very particular thing they wanted to make? A concise and compelling story wasn't necessarily needed if the guy wanted other parts of it to be compelling and interesting. Having a narrative helps, but it can also definitely HURT a project like this by being distractingly terrible or detracting from the "realism" if story writing has nothing to do with your talents.
Ancient greek and roman travel books were beloved and entertaining genre of from way back, and a lot of them were sensationalised and contained wild fictions about other places, but that hasn't kept people from finding tremendous interest in them even though Lucien pointed out that it was tacitly known they were books full of lies. "This is a strange distant place where strange things happen" is and has been a compelling form of narrative for a long long time, and it's where we get such whimsical made-up creatures in the middle ages like Blemmyes and dog-headed men, because there's something quite compelling and often rewarding, in and of itself, about looking into the unknown and just seeing how things are over there. Watching stuff unfold organically doesn't appeal to everybody, but idk, the idea that something like Mad God needs a script kind of rubs me the wrong way because it never at all felt like that kind of movie.
@@guyrandom8235 I totally agree with you. Like mentioned in the video, Mad God comes across more like a gallery of art than a traditional Hollywood movie, which is great! But I saw my opportunity to make a Mr Fox reference 😅
I enjoyed a lot of the imagery in this movie but some parts were very easy to become overwhelmed with. It’s a good movie but it isn’t what I thought it was gonna be. Lots of cool war stuff though.
The best I can describe this film, is what my childhood brain remembers of playing Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee and seeing the cutscenes for the first time.
me too
That sponsor didn't age well
I loved Mad God - I think it was possibly a film designed for me specifically, so I adore the music and find the scenes you thought went on too long just the correct length. I love slow scenes with gentle background music. I'm like a grandma who enjoys horror films. Honestly, the music is one of the places where it shines for me.
As for themes and whether or not it's one coherent story: I think the big message is 'nothing matters', not necessarily in a negative way! Just a neutral statement. The assassin's quest failed (because it did not matter), his body is violated in the vivisection (because it did not matter) - inside we have his possessions which are all ripped up, bloody and discarded on the floor (because they don't matter). The Hairy Worm Baby is removed from the Assassin's cadaver, and it's treated by the surgeons as the most important thing about the Assassin. This poor bloke's raison d'etre was delivering a bomb, but by everyone else he is remembered as a carrier of the Worm Baby. His mind is then violated, and all the information they get from it is a different Assassin's journey (because again, the first one doesn't matter). How are we remembered post-death? Our physical viscera? The fact we kind of remind people of someone else, who had a near-identical life story? The fact our Worm Babies outlive us? This Worm Baby is then taken deeper into the underworld, and used to birth a new universe. This universe's creation and destruction is nigh-on instantaneous, and we are humbled by the fact the Mad God underworld is going through a similar birth and death. New universe born, new universe dies. Assassin dies, Worm Baby born. Which bits do we remember? Which bits linger? The glitter? The shit? Nothing matters, but you can choose to remember the best bits. What spoke to you in these meaningless cycles? What'll speak to you in your own meaningless cycle once you reach the end of that mortal coil?
I loved it very much! Especially the vivisection - lobsters and books within the Assassin's cadaver, making what's inside familiar and alien all at once, humbling thoughts about one's own contents... I vibed a lot with this film, it really 'clicked' for me!
This was put so beautifully. I think sometimes it's easy to forget what we bring to art. Works like Mad God are nice precisely because they require of us a level of interpretation. There is no secret to "Explain" or deeper meaning to discover, rather, that deeper meaning is something we bring to it, and grant to it with our own process of attempting to relate to a work. Thank you for your comment.
Thanks
This an interesting take too, though not I think incompatible with my own.
It truly was amazing. A true art piece or film.
0:15 I was legitimately not expecting Within Temptation to be featured ANYWHERE but you went and used Mad World
Thank you Steve, for bringing light to this underrated band =)
Thank you kindly Sir for the Song name 🙇 may luck and health shine upon you for a lifetime.
This is what I scrolled for 10 minutes looking for, thank you
That established title’s sponsorship did not age well.
The first 3rd or so of the movie really felt like it was about fatherhood. I know that sounds weird but I was actually surprised by 2 things in this video. 1) That he actually admitted it scenes didn't mean anything. Usually people try to BS around and talk about some artsy-fartsy nonsense that makes it seem like _they_ know what they were doing. And 2) this film wasn't made by a Frenchman.
Up to the scene where the guy gets a hose put in his brain, I really honestly felt like this was about fatherhood. The long descent was the "inner" thoughts. The weird monster that kills the kid was worrying about being a bad father with the "kids get off my lawn" feel. The shitting guys on high chairs was obviously about the disgusting nature of what you have to do as a parent. The disposable people was about the toil of raising a kid. Then later the assassin literally gives birth to some weird baby creature, which I thought confirmed it my theory, but I guess not.
I overall loved the visuals for this movie but I do agree I wanted the narrative to make even a marginal amount of sense which it didn't really, and also some shots went on WAY TOO LONG and I wanted to skip forward more than once.
With this amount of effort, it could have the worst plot and still be masterful due to the sheer amount of effort in the animation
FUN FACT: So at 9:56, using live action props/people in a frame by frame style/stop motion is actually called Pixilation animation (not graphic pixels). :)
It's very sad seeing Steve Reviews falling for the Established Titles scam but otherwise I'm super excited to see this!
Dude thank you for bringing this into my life. Seriously