Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes (Grandma’s Encyclopaedia)

Director: Walerian Borowczyk
Release date: June 1963
Rating: ★★★★
Review:

With ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman’ Borowczyk continues the silly surrealism of ‘Les Astronautes‘ from 1959. Although we are promised 13 volumes, we only watch three words from the Encyclopédie: A is for automobiles, B for Balloons and C for Chemin de fer (Railways).

The film uses 19th century engravings to a great effect, especially the car race in ‘Automobiles’ is as inventive as it is entertaining. Borowczyk makes clever use of his source material, and the animation is greatly helped by the stark sound effects. These aspects make ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman’ a fun film, if not more than that.

Watch ‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes’ yourself and tell me what you think:

‘Encyclopédie de Grand-Maman en 13 Volumes’ is available on the Blu-Ray/DVD set ‘Walerian Borowczyk: Short Films and Animation’