THE CAMERAMAN'S REVENGE (1912)
Directed by Ladislaw Starewicz
Starevich was a Polish stop-motion animator who used insects, dolls and animals as his protagonists. He began working with motion pictures while attempting to document insect at the Museum of Natural History at Korvo, Russia. When the stag beetles he was trying to film became lethargic under the heat of the bright movie lights, he constructed realistic bug models and recreated their actions through stop-motion animation. In doing so, Starevitch discovered the possibilities of puppet animation. Among his most celebrated films is The Cameraman’s Revenge, in which a camera-wielding grasshopper uses the tools of his trade to humiliate his unfaithful wife. It opens with Mr. Beetle going to town "on business," to stop at "The Gay Dragonfly," a burlesque parlor. He meets a dancer who he takes to a hotel room. The influence of Starevitch can be seen in the films of the Brothers Quay, Tim Burton.

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