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Of Stars and Men
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Wikipedia article
'Of Stars and Men' is a 1964 animated film from the Hubley family of animators, based on the 1959 book of the same name by astronomer Harlow Shapley, who also narrates. Made in the style of a documentary, it tells of humankind's quest (in the form of a child) to find its place in the universe, through themes such as outer space, physical matter, the meaning of life and the periodic table. There are no character voices; instead, they "talk" through their actions. It has been cited as an example of an "animated documentary".DelGaudio, Sybil. 'If Truth Be Told, Can Toons Tell It? Documentary and Animation'. Film History 9:2 (1997) p. 189-199
When it was finished, the film was first screened during a conference at MIT's Visual Department. The film's public premiere was on April 28, 1964 at New York's Beekman Theater, along with a collection of Hubley/U.P.A. shorts ('Moonbird' and 'Gerald McBoing-Boing' among them) which preceded its showing. The critical reception was uniformly positive.
Its genre was a matter of contention among festival curators. At the Venice Film Festival, 'Of Stars and Men' was placed in the live-action feature category, while at the San Francisco Film Festival, it competed in the documentary category and won an award.
'Of Stars and Men' received a VHS release from Buena Vista Home Video in July 1990, and had its DVD debut from nine years later, as part of a compilation of Hubley productions.
See also
*List of American films of 1964
*'The Cosmic Eye', a 1987 film from the Hubleys.
*List of animated feature-length films
References
*Beck, Jerry (2005), pp. 1812. 'The Animated Movie Guide'. . Chicago Reader Press. Accessed May 23, 2007.
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