User Reviews

This is an odd addition to the "Shorts: Ecstasy" DVD, as most of the films were made from 1999-2001, though two are significantly older. "Moods of the Sea" is clearly meant as an art film and makes no pretense about being a commercial film. Because of this, if you are asking for a traditional narrative, look elsewhere.

The entire film consists of black & white footage of the ocean and clouds--all set to lovely music. There really isn't much more to it than this--lovely images as well nice music. Unfortunately, IMDb requires a certain minimum number of lines for a review so I am actually adding this statement in order to meet the minimum length! After all, the film is 10 minutes of nice footage and music and nothing more.

A brilliant, evocative mix of sight and sound, this 10 minute clip took me back to when I spent part of a day on the isle of Staffa. I was curious as to what type of camera was used; it's not easy to maneuver within Fingal's Cave - I can attest to that! As far as the lens(es) used, they had to be of a wide-angle variety as the shots were clear regardless of object distance.

It's hard to convey in print the effect of, essentially, an audio-visual tone poem. It did take me back quite easily though. There was only a brief shot from inside Fingal's Cave at the beginning, perhaps because of the aforementioned problem with maneuverability. Unless you knew what they were, the hexagonal basalt columns ringing part of the island would not be noticed, nor the stumps left when the columns broke off sometime in the past. This is one of only two places in the world these geological formations exist - the other being the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

Moods of the Sea (1941)

*** (out of 4)

This experimental documentary from Slavko Vorkapich doesn't have much going for it in terms of story but the movie is all about atmosphere and tone. What we basically see for ten minutes is various forms of the sea ranging from waves crashing on a shore to some of the animals that live there. All of these images go against a music score that I guess you could describe as peaceful. The word peaceful is the best way to describe this entire film because the images of the waves crashing really put you in a peaceful mood and the music will take you to a whole new level. It's strange but this is the type of film you could show someone that is stressed out and the images and music would just drag you in and you'd forget anything that was currently on your mind. The B&W images are beautifully done and the highlight is certainly the high shots of the waves crashing into some rocks on the beach.