Jean Painlévé - Feet in the Water ( La pieuvre / Les oursins / La daphnie / Hyas et stenorinques / L'Hippocampe, ou 'Cheval marin / Le vampire / Les Oursins / Histoires de crevettes / Les amours de la pieuvre / Cristaux liquides / Acéra ou Le bal des sorcières / Les pigeons du square ) ( The Octopus / Sea Urchins / Daphnia / Hyas and Stenorhynchus / The Sea Horse / The Vampire / Sea Urchins / Shrimp Stories / The Love Life of an Octopus / Liquid Crystals / Acera, or the Witches' Dance / Pigeons in the Square )

Jean Painlévé - Feet in the Water (DVD) (*)

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Original Title: La pieuvre / Les oursins / La daphnie / Hyas et stenorinques / L'Hippocampe, ou 'Cheval marin / Le vampire / Les Oursins / Histoires de crevettes / Les amours de la pieuvre / Cristaux liquides / Acéra ou Le bal des sorcières / Les pigeons du square
Alternate Title: The Octopus / Sea Urchins / Daphnia / Hyas and Stenorhynchus / The Sea Horse / The Vampire / Sea Urchins / Shrimp Stories / The Love Life of an Octopus / Liquid Crystals / Acera, or the Witches' Dance / Pigeons in the Square
Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
France ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
146 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Cast/Crew Interview(s)
Featurette
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1928-1982 and produced in:
France ( France, Benelux )

Directed By:
Jean Painlevé
Geneviève Hamon

Written By:
Jean Painlevé
Olivér Tóth

Actors:
Jean Painlevé

Synopsis:

The Octopus: An octopus slithers over objects on land-a doll, a skull-then oozes along the shore into the sea. It secretes its ink. The camera follows it along rocks into deeper water, watching closely as it breathes. Its eye is closed then open. Simple titles, in French and German, suggest what to watch. The octopus alternates the use of breathing tubes on either side. It changes color as cells on its skin contract or dilate. Extreme magnification helps us see these changes. Two struggle, one dies. On shore, fishermen catch them and put them in pails. A single tentacle still has life. Back in the sea, two octopi attack a crab. Soon only a couple of crab legs are visible in the mouth of the victor. Sea Urchins: A close-up look at sand urchins and rock urchins. At the seashore, a man digs up a sand urchin. We look closely. He sets it back in the sand, and it burrows out of sight. Its intestines take nutrients out of sand. Using magnification 200,000 times normal size, we see a rock urchin's spines with suckers on the end; a drawing illustrates how they work. A sea urchin walks toward a rock. We see three-fingered jaws-pedicellaria at the end of flexible stems-take in algae and other bits. We also see cilia less than 0.001 ml in length; their motion constant, creating whirlpools. On the shore again, we watch the setting sun. Occasional titles in French tell us what to watch for. Daphnia: Titles in French and English help us know what we're seeing. In all waters, daphnia abound. They are crustaceans about 2 ml long, with one eye that turns in all directions. Antennae enable daphnia to move: in a close up magnified 150,000 times, we see the muscles of the antennae pulse. We see the eye, the nerve mass, blood globules, and the heart, beating several times per second. The intestine forms a long line. All are females; eggs develop above the intestine. New generations come rapidly. Inside each daphnia are tiny infusoria; we watch them clean the intestine of a dead daphnia. An enemy, the hydra, approaches. A daphnia dies, but many remain. Hyas and Stenorhynchus: In close-ups and extreme close-ups, we watch two small species of marine crustaceans, the slender long-legged stenorhynchus and the clumsy, short-legged hyas. To blend in, both cover themselves with found objects, such as algae and sponges. We watch them move, eat, greet each other, and fight. They have small mandibles and large claws. Near them are spirograph worms, 6 inches long, with a plume of branchiae that fan out like exploding fireworks. We see vibrating cilia, 0.001 mm long, on the branchiae, sending food toward the mouth at the plume's center. Chopin's music and an off-screen narrator suggest we're watching a ballet. The Sea Horse: Examines the sea horse, the only fish that swims upright. We watch it use its prehensile tail to wrap around plants and other sea horses. A frontal bulge houses organs including an air ballast. Three fins propel this fish. We see a female place her eggs in a male's pouch where they are fertilized and nurtured until birth in violent contractions. Inside the pouch are nurturing blood vessels. We then follow the growth of an embryo, greatly magnified: we examine its heart beating and its dorsal fin moving. Young sea horses attach themselves to each other. The film ends with images of many sea horses moving on the ocean floor, superimposed on a horse race. The Vampire: After a look at some strange creatures, the narrator and camera take us to the Chaco forest, on the borders of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, where a vampire bat lives, desmodus rotondus, attacking wildlife and domesticated creatures, killing small ones by draining all their blood and killing large ones by leaving a parasite in their bloodstream. Four inches long, with a 12-inch wingspread, we see it walk, approach a victim, pull out a patch of fur large enough for it to engage its teeth, then lap six or seven ounces of blood. Its saliva may be an anesthetic keeping its victims from waking. A stub nose and harelip contribute to its efficiency and its hideous look. Sea Urchins: A complex creature. Regular underwater photography, magnified close-ups, and film through a microscope present sea urchins. We see their mouth and five teeth close and open. After injecting one with gelatin, the shell is removed and we see the muscle structure, digestive tube, and reproductive organs. Magnified stems reveal suction cups; stems lengthen and contract allowing the sea urchin to move. We see microscopic calcareous stems; at their ends are jaws with various uses. Cilia everywhere are in constant motion, stirring up water and debris. African music on the soundtrack suggests a shuffle dance. Shrimp Stories: After a comic introduction, we look closely at a shrimp. Eyes on stilts, color patterns, pinchered walking feet, a rostrum. We watch shrimp eat using a strong claw and a fine one; we watch digestion. After eating, shrimp clean themselves. The female lays eggs that cling to her feet. After three weeks, the eggs hatch explosively. Few larvae live to adulthood. We watch an adult shed its carapace with a final leap, leaving it vulnerable; other shrimp attack. The Love Life of an Octopus: An octopus slithers into a narrow crack near the shore; we see its eye up close. It feeds on a crab. In spring it's time to mate. A male grabs a female; he inserts his third arm in her respiratory cavity. We watch another pair: a larger female is the aggressor here. Mating is repeated over hours and days. The female releases strings of fertilized eggs that hang from the roof of a nest. She guards her spawn for a month, fanning the strings to circulate water for oxygen and cleanliness. Liquid Crystals: Title cards introduce images we watch without narration; they are displays of shape and color. François de Roubaix's electronic music accompanies these images, photographed under a polarizing microscope. The crystals appear to move like tiny organisms: small four-part fans share the frame with flowing lines of pink. Multiple patterns appear side by side. Acera, or the Witches' Dance: In mud flats along the coast of Brittany we watch acera, small ball-shaped mollusks that are about two inches in diameter. They rest in mud; then, in water, they dance, their skirt-like hood spreading like a dervish's cassock. They spin and spin. The film adds musical accompaniment. We watch them mate and secrete eggs: acera are both male and female, and can form chains with other acera in which they simultaneously mate as a male and as a female. The eggs hatch, and the cycle begins again. Pigeons in the Square: An enthusiastic grandfather sits with children in a Parisian park talking about pigeons. First. their physical appearance-eye, wings and tail, and color-and their varieties. Then, he encourages the children to imitate their walk. He points out courtship and mating rituals, then provides an illustrated discussion of how they eat. This section is punctuated by a flock of pigeons fighting over a small, hard ball each wants to eat; the narrator's describes it as if it were a soccer match. He concludes with a discussion of pigeons taking off, landing, and flying; he uses slow motion and stop-time photography to show his audience.

This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 13 July, 2023.