Of Stars and Men

Of Stars and Men
Of Stars and Men
Directed by	Brandon Films
Release dates	April 28, 1964 (New York City premiere); May 13, 1964 (general release);
Running time	53 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Of Stars and Men is a 1964 animated film from the Hubley family of animators, based on the 1959 book of the same name by astronomer Harlow Shapley, who also narrates.^[2] Made in the style of a documentary, it tells of humankind's quest (in the form of a child) to find its place in the universe, through themes such as outer space, physical matter, the meaning of life and the periodic table. There are no character voices; instead, they "talk" through their actions. It has been cited as an example of an "animated documentary".^[3]

When it was finished, the film was first screened during a conference at

MIT's Visual Department.^[3] The film's public premiere was on April 28, 1964, at New York's Beekman Theater, along with a collection of Hubley/U.P.A. shorts (Moonbird and Gerald McBoing-Boing among them) which preceded its showing.^[1] The critical reception was uniformly positive.^[3]

Its

San Francisco Film Festival, it competed in the documentary category and won an award.^[3]

Of Stars and Men received a VHS release from

Image Entertainment

nine years later, as part of a compilation of Hubley productions.

References

^ ^a ^b Review of Of Stars and Men by Bosley Crowther (1964, April 29). The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2007. (Registration required to read.)
ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1
.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d DelGaudio, Sybil. If Truth Be Told, Can Toons Tell It? Documentary and Animation. Film History 9:2 (1997) p. 189-199

Beck, Jerry (2005), pp. 181–2. The Animated Movie Guide.
ISBN 1-55652-591-5
. Chicago Reader Press. Accessed May 23, 2007.

External links

Of Stars and Men at
IMDb

PBS' Independent Spirits page about the Hubleys (includes clip from the film; RealPlayer
required to watch)

TV Guide review

Harvard Square Library's full text scan of Shapeley's original book.

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[nyt-1] Review of Of Stars and Men by Bosley Crowther (1964, April 29). The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2007. (Registration required to read.)

[2] ISBN 978-0-8160-6600-1
.

[toons-3] DelGaudio, Sybil. If Truth Be Told, Can Toons Tell It? Documentary and Animation. Film History 9:2 (1997) p. 189-199

[1]

[2]

[3]

See also

References

External links