Short 1 - Invention
Short 1: Inventionrepresents the first comprehensive attempt to compile multimedia content on DVD in a magazine-like format, and it's a welcome addition to the digital realm. Originally released on the defunct Polygram label asShort Cinema Journal, Vol. 1, the first installment in theShortseries is an above-average mix of documentary, animation, and live-action shorts, even if  several of the entries are nearly a decade old. The DVD is divided into six topics--"Marquee"; "Hello, Dali"; "Reality"; "Sound Bit"; "Minutes"; and "Junkdrawer"--the best highlights are to be found in "Hello, Dali," "Reality," and "Minutes,"  which contain interesting, even brilliant, bits. The excerpt fromShape Without Formis a  surreal, four-minute exercise in angst and it shares a slot with the most  noteworthy discovery on the DVD, the creative and ingenious Will  Vinton-producedMr. Resistor, which is a cleverly animated,Road Warrior-like  ride through the electrical world. In the "Minutes" chapter, British director  Michael Apted discusses the premise that "film is the poetry of ordinary  life," and although eight minutes can't begin to cover a director's career, this segment does its expurgated best.  There are segments from the Ron Fricke filmBaraka(also available as a full-length DVD), which still dazzles after  nearly two decades with its austere lesson in nature and humanity.Black Rideris an Oscar-winning German short that chronicles a black man's plight on a tram, with a delightful twist ending. A slight disappointment, George Hickenlooper'sSome Folks Call It a Sling Bladeis the original short that inspired Billy Bob Thornton's acclaimed feature film version, and it pales in comparison. Likewise, Henry Rollins'sEaster Sunday in NYCis little more than an angry, pointless, and dated rant for misfits everywhere. Some of the films--like the clay-animated movie spoofThe Big Story, featuring Frank Gorshin's hilarious impression of Kirk Douglas--are sure to please those who never saw them on the film festival circuit. On the whole, the good outweighs the mediocre in this deft compilation, boding well for subsequent volumes in the series.--Paula Nechak