Monster Road
Monster Road
| 01 January 2004 (USA)
Monster Road Trailers

Explores the wildly fantastic world of legendary underground clay animator Bruce Bickford. Traces the origins of his remarkably unique sensibility, journeying back to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the paranoia of the Cold War. Finally, the film examines Bickford's relationship with his father, George, who is grappling with the onset of Alzheimer's Disease.

Reviews
th25tina

I had never heard of Bruce before watching Monster Road but his artwork seems very familiar. (I've probably seen bits and pieces in other films?) I think he's a great artist and has the greatest philosophy on life. Monster Road is a very informative film and really shows his devotion and ability to make some pretty amazing stuff. I also like the emotional scenes when his father spoke, a brilliant mind being ravaged by a terrible disease...they are truly two very thoughtful people who have more creativity then most people. If you have the chance to see this film please do....it's wonderful and has some amazing artwork. Just seeing it caused me to look into more of Bruce's work and I was disappointed to find that there is not much out there. I think a lot of musicians would benefit if they used his artwork in some videos. It would also make me happy to see more too!

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Bernnard_Black

I was unfortunate enough to be exposed to this abomination at a film festival recently. I don't know who Bruce Bickford is, but somewhere, an asylum is missing an inmate. This guy's claymation art, while skillfully done and painstakingly detailed, is truly disturbing. The images are almost unbelievably violent and gory; little clay torture chambers, be-headings, disembowlings, and other atrocities are performed on the inhabitants of his claymation universe. God knows the stuff isn't suitable for kids, and even some adults would be turned off by the sheer enormity of his violent, surreal and grotesque work. On another level, the film is just plain, well, bad. A documentary is supposed to educate and inform; this film really does neither, and instead is a simple collection of "interviews" with Bickford in his home, expounding on matters metaphysical and real, all interspersed with snippets of his claymation films. I was left feeling that I knew little about Bruce Bickford, and didn't want to know more.

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Gitzy

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. This film gives me hope in humanity.Go see it if you can find it. His art is unbelievable, and his attitude is boldly refreshing. Bruce was there when I saw it and it was like being in the presence of a holy creature. We should all aspire to be our own versions of Bruce Bickford.It reminded me a bit of American Movie, but this was much more uplifting. It made me want to go outside and climb a tree.

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20miles-1

This is one of the best and most entertaining documentaries I've seen in a long time. An examination of the life and work of legendary clay animator Bruce Bickford. Bickford is an animator and an outsider artist in the truest sense of the word. Like Promethsis, he creates worlds from clay. With an amazing visual style and a light touch, Ingram and Haverkamp bring us into Bruce's onion-like universe. The filmmakers use of stop motion techniques are a perfect compliment to the stop motion used in clay animation. This film deals with questions about creation and creativity, destruction, life, death, the violence of the cold war and it's countercultural aftermath. It is also an examination of the deeply complex relationships that make up family. Winner of the best documentary at Slamdance this year, I hope that it gets some distribution of some kind. Well worth checking out.

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