The Hapless Antiquarian (2001)

Genres - Avant-garde / Experimental  |   Sub-Genres - Gothic Film  |   Run Time - 7 min.  |   Countries - United States  |  
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Synopsis by Rovi

The Hapless Antiquarian is a filmed homage to the macabre tales of American author/illustrator Edward Gorey. As in several of Gorey's own works, the 26 letters of the alphabet are employed as a means of telling a short and somewhat gruesome story. "A was the Antiquarian who found a rare tome....B was the Bike he used to get home...." And so we follow our hapless scholar as he discovers a rare and accursed book at his local book shop, see how he feebly attempts to rid himself of it, and witness his untimely and unfortunate end at the hands of "The Villain". The film employs voice-over narration throughout and is styled in the mode of a silent film, owing much to the structuralist films of Peter Greenaway and the 1920s-era pastiches of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. Awarded at the 39th Ann Arbor Film Festival.

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High Artistic Quality, Low Budget