Rating: 
Summary: Eye candy, brain candy, candy left out for the nightmares
Review: It's nice to have so many Quay shorts crammed together onto one tape, though some of their early films ("Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer" especially) tend to get a bit tedious unless you're really in the mood. I'm sure label/contract nonsense precluded them from including some of their music videos -- the Michael Penn and his Name is Alive sequences would have rounded this out wonderfully. The high points here -- "The Street of Crocodiles" and "The Epic of Gilgamesh" -- are so unlike anything else ever done, yet somehow so familiar, that they defy description. The are like a glimpse into the dreaming self, steeped in chittering dangers, endlessly self-elongating shadows and an Eastern European/Central Asian musical sadness so rich and deep, and so strangely flavored, redolent with the mixed smells of ancient motor oil, saffron, cinnamon, dried blood, sulphur and woodsmoke. A peek into something we all are but have not yet given a name to. Haunting, mesmerizing, creepy as hell, these films will stay with you for days. The dance of the screws in "The Street of Crocodiles" is especially jarring -- so visually logical when it's happening right before your eyes, yet nothing you'd ever have thought of before.
Rating:
Summary: Technical Alert On An Otherwise GREAT DVD
Review: Technical matters:
The reviewer here who said this DVD has some technical problems was right on. I am surprised more people haven't commented on this. The disk's menu, even when accessed with a remote, never fully materializes visually. Instead, there is a jittery pixelated shadow of the menu that, if you are lucky and patient, may allow you to navigate to the bonuses and special features. (This may take some work; the highlighter did not want to move off of selections 3 and 5 once on them.) Some people may not ever get this far, and might assume it is a disk that goes straight to the feature without any menu. But, believe me, there IS one; it is glitchy and you will be probably be lucky to see it at all. But bear in mind you NEED to see it in order to get to the disks bonuses.Artistic matters:
I can understand some people being off-put by the artiness of these shorts. But part of the value of this disk, to me, is that it backs you off from the threshold of instant gratification and easy/glib comprehension that modern media sets for you. It is something like a trip through an ancient back country to the rooms of an old house that has been abandoned in place. The ravages of time are in themselves something awesome to behold, and there is something happening -- an odd dynamism-- even in this stillest of places. The magic here is simply achieved in a way that may remind you of Cocteau's Beauty and The Beast. In one scene a stuffed toy rabbit pitches an egg up, and is instantaneously there, standing upside down on the grassy, forrested ceiling, to catch it before it lands. This appears to have been done with a simple flopping of the image, or a mirror. But you believe it, and it doesn't seem at all forced or affected, but rather, like part of a dream you want to follow to its irresistable conclusion. It is as unexplained and repetitious as a dream too, which may trouble some. The fact that these films stretch from 1979 tells me that either the Quays have been extremely influential on graphic design and media in the following 2 decades, or that they had their fingers on the pulse of a lot that was coming down the pipeline starting in the late 70s. (It is hard to grasp that this stuff-- with such a high level of layering and degradation and "treatment"-- was done before the Macintosh or Photoshop.) Most of the images in these films are photographed in duotone-rich monochrome and extreme selective focus, denoting a wide open aperture shooting in the near-dark. The Quays may have coined the concept of "art damage" as we know it today. Anyone interested in graphic and media design will want this disk. If I harp on the Quays connection to graphic design, it is at least partly because typography plays so important a role in their films. Their film titles and credits, and their general handling of type, 15 years old and older, is still edgy stuff. Any designer could study it to deepen their own work. Get this disk. Problems and all, it is a must have.
Rating:
Summary: Disturbing animation at its best
Review: The Brothers Quay have an apparent knack for strange stop-motion animation clips. The animation alone is oddly intruiging to watch, yet the material presented in them is equally disturbing. Most of it stars bizarre characters working their way through even more bizarre settings, doing outrageously bizarre things. None of these clips make any sense at all! That's what's so interesting about the video. It's thought-provoking to the point where you'll do just about anything to understand its secret. There are no voices in the clips and everything is done to generally eerie music. It's so easy to watch and fall in love with, but rather harsh on the mind. I was highly enthralled by everything I saw, but it's this kind of stuff that keeps me awake at night. Recommended as a tool to entice thinking, but not as a tool to entice personal easiness. -- A fascinating enchilada.
Rating:
Summary: Retrospective of Innovative Animated Short Films
Review: The Brothers Quay have been producing surreal short stop-motion animated films and videos since 1979. This dvd features 11 different shorts, often grotesque but always stunningly beautiful animation in each. The two shorts I am most familiar with, "Are We Still Married" (1992) and "Can't Go Wrong Without You" (1993) were music videos produced for 4AD Records for the band His Name Is Alive. Both feature similar character animation to several of the Tool videos of the mid-nineties, such as "Prison Sex". Yet I think the Brothers Quay have a more subtle and complex style. Another stylistic influence on BQ is Czech animator Jan Svankmajer, who produced a macabre version of Alice in Wonderland called "Alice" using fish skeletons and animal skulls as a medium. Indeed, the link is more than a coincidence -- one short, titled "the Cabinet of Jan Svankmajer" (1984) pays hommage to Jan. Any fan of animation should check out these artists. Even if you are not a fan of 'experimental' or non-narrative film, you will find much to enjoy and discuss about their work in this collection.
Rating:
Summary: Great stuff, even if they do show some shorts on MTV
Review: The quick review mentions the Brothers were born in Minnesota. I do believe they were born in Philadelphia, but no matter. "Street of Crocodiles" was truly a mind-bending experience when I first saw it many years ago. It opened my eyes to a new world of surrealist film and animation. Their work has (in the past) been prominently featured on MTV. You know, those short little things between showing videos or games shows or whatever. Those short bits of the Brothers' work were better than the regular programming. Their visual style has been shamelessly inserted into many a music video, of course. From NIN's "Closer" to Marilyn Manson videos. And lets not forget the video by the band Tool which, if not done by the Brothers, is certainly a very adequate knock off.
Rating:
Summary: A POSITIVE REVIEW WITH SOMEWHAT BRIDLED ENTHUSIASM
Review: These films (the good ones anyway) will send you into a mental place that is entirely other (I would say "literally" but that word is not used to add emphasis, like "entirely" might be). It would be a cliche to call it "dreamlike" or "surreal," I've never seen a painting or had a nightmare like this. I wish. They are wholly unique, so maybe you should rent these films before committing yourself to a DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The Dark Alley of Animation
Review: This collection of ten short films is both revolutionary and revolting. The brothers are actual identical twins, born in Pennsylvania, now living in seclusion in London, who have created a warped vision all their own. Using jerky stop-motion animation and a variety of inanimate household items, this celluloid world is full of darkness and nightmares. Ranging in length from one minute to 21-minutes, it's best to watch this tape in segments; otherwise, your brain will become numb trying desperately to make some type of sense out of the twisted visuals playing out before you. If you have ever seen the music videos for Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" or Marilyn Manson's "Tourniquet," you have already tasted the influence of the brothers. Particularly recommended for anyone with a phobia of porcelain baby dolls -- face your fears!!
Rating:
Summary: Oddly compelling and disturbingly beautiful
Review: This film is my husband's one party trick. When we have guests, no matter who they are, they must experience Brothers Quay. the films are gorgeous and haunting--but they won't appeal to everyone. I didn't actually care for them much, initially, although I could appreciate the artistry. after repeated viewings with aforementioned guests, well...the films are very dreamlike and surreal--insects, porceline dolls, and raw meat are frequently employed. the music is wonderful, too.
Rating: 
Summary: ICK !
Review: THIS IS A COLLECTION OF DISTURBING SHORT FILMS . THEY USE RED MEAT IN THE PLACE OF ORGANS . MOST OF THESE DON'T MAKE SENSE AT ALL . wHAT'S UP WITH THE STRING ? They are disturbing but amazingly realistic !
Rating:
Summary: oh my "gooding-ness"!
Review: This show is a mix of a primus/nine inch nails/tool video as far as the animation,and it has trippy music in it as well.The ideas the directors convey to the viewer are meaningfull,and the stories keep you thinking.My personal favorite of the shorts is called"street of the crocodile"(I think)because it's one of the more spacious-looking sets and the characters were also trippy indeed.If you like strange shows,know when 4:20 arrives,or want to play a hilarious joke on a way-too-serious person,you would profit from investing in this tripped-out masterpiece......fo-shaye!
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