Orange Cow Short Films DVD

Orange Cow Short Films Vol. 1
DVD [NTSC]

Film runtime: Approx. 90 min., 2001-2004.
Special Features: Over 2 hours.

Movies for dreamers. Drama, comedy, fantasy, animation and everything inbetween.

Travel between life and death, love and hate, hell and heaven. From the mind of Garrett Gilchrist comes this utterly unique collection of short films.

Love conquers death in the medieval fantasy The Journey of Truesong. A dying comic strip artist confronts his life in Stripped Away. Death needs an apprentice in the animated Mort. There's a thin line between love and murder in Lover's Poison. You'll meet a happy homeless loser in Squiffy the Derelict Cat. And a woman splits in two in Music for the Mind Ballet.

Packed with hours and hours of special features, this is true independent entertainment. I hope you enjoy traveling to these other worlds as much as I've enjoyed putting them on film.

The DVD costs $10.

This is the first ever Orange Cow Productions DVD ... a very special collection of our best short films, packed with far, far too many special features.

Films are written and directed by Garrett Gilchrist. "Squiffy the Derelict Cat" was written and created by Jay Bauman. "Mort" is adapted from the novel by Terry Pratchett.

The DVDs include some funny and informative commentaries featuring Garrett Gilchrist, Jonathan Block, and Tim Carras. On the cartoon "Squiffy the Derelict Cat," the commentary is done in character as Squiffy.

Many of the films, like The Journey of Truesong, Stripped Away and Lover's Poison, are remastered and appear here in all-new prints.

"Mort" features a brand-new 20-minute film, "Voices of Mort," featuring outtakes and deleted scenes from the original voice recording session.

List of special features:

THE JOURNEY OF TRUESONG
Remastered and restored film with new title sequences.
4-minute behind the scenes film.
Three (and a half) commentaries featuring Garrett Gilchrist and Tim Carras.
Extensive photo gallery.
Original screenplay.
About the Film.

STRIPPED AWAY
Remastered and restored film.
Commentary with Jonathan Block and Garrett Gilchrist.
Who is Lucky Xenon? A complete 40-page episode guide to the greatest sci-fi comedy that never existed.
Lucky Xenon: The Sugarhigh Saga cartoon - remastered and restored.
Easier Than Thinking staged reading - clip.
Original Screenplay.
Class Critiques of the Film.
About the Film.

LOVER'S POISON
Remastered and restored film, with new title sequences and a previously-unseen ending.
Original screenplay.
Two 1/2 commentaries by Garrett Gilchrist.
Directing notes on the characters.
About the Film.
Easter Egg (Outtake).

SQUIFFY THE DERELICT CAT
Remastered, restored and extended edits of "It's Squiffy!" and "Squiffy Meets Giffy" ... with previously-unseen footage and all-new title sequences, featuring a brand-new "Squiffy Song."
Extended "deleted scene" edit of "Squiffy Meets Giffy."
Commentary by Squiffy the Derelict Cat, on both cartoons, featuring Freddie the Communist Frog.
About Squiffy.

MUSIC FOR THE MIND BALLET
Commentary with Jonathan Block and Garrett Gilchrist.
About the Film.

MORT
"Voices of Mort" ... A new 20-minute featurette featuring outtakes, deleted scenes, and other raw footage excerpts featuring the voice cast.
Commentary with Garrett Gilchrist.
Original Screenplay (partial).
Restored end titles.
About the Film.
Easter Egg (Soul Music).
Easter Egg (Of Sound Mind).

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

About Orange Cow Productions.
Trailers for Gods of Los Angeles and the Radio Man web series.

Reviews:

Orange Cow Short Films Vol. 1
Collector's Edition DVD
Reviewed by Jason Santo, microcinemascene.com

For a long time, Garrett Gilchrist has been one of my favorite moviemakers in the microcinema/no-budget world. His stint at USC Film School produced several very inspired works, all of which have sometimes distracting technical shortcomings, but all of which have a tremendous amount of soul. The Orange Cow Short Films Vol. 1 DVD collects much of his USC work and offers a terrific glimpse into the mind of one of the most unique artists working at our level. At times you'll be surprised, impressed, puzzled and touched by Gilchrist's vision. This DVD comes highly recommended to those who are looking for an alternative to the usual hack-n-slash horror stuff, routine dramas, and girl-next-door-getting-naked fests.

A quick look at what's on the DVD. The Journey of Truesong is a lyrical black and white 16mm short that finds a knight bouncing between Heaven and Hell to be rejoined with his one true love. While the tape and splice-marks on the film can be distracting, the transfer here is pretty good and you'll look past technical issues as you listen to the sing-songy, fairy tale narration that keeps you in its spell through the short's duration.

In Stripped Away, a cartoonist is hit by his mortality unexpectedly and grapples with the value of a life that's been filled with mistakes and tragedy. Was he a good man or a bad man? The answer is beautiful and touching. Stripped Away has always been my favorite Gilchrist work, and watching it again on this DVD reminded me of what a terrific writer he is. If you're not a little teary-eyed at the end of this, you're either paying too much attention to the technical flaws of this movie (of which there are several, including some horribly blown out exposure) or you're a lot more hard hearted than I am.

Lover's Poison is by far my least favorite of Gilchrist's work presented on this DVD. Amateurish acting results from a mind-numbingly bizarre and obtuse script that finds a warring married couple getting ready for an important dinner. Post credits, you kind of get a sense of resolution, but the movie feels terribly rushed and incomplete.

Music for the Mind Ballet finds a young, stressed-out female college student somehow magically splitting into two women, unleasing her more uninhibited side while she continues to play the role of Ms. Responsible and overworked. It's a fun fairy tale that uses splitscreen very well in several scenes and boats a fun (if partially unlicensed) music score.

For those who have seen Jay Bauman's Clowns and Suicide, the Squiffy the Derelict Cat segment of this DVD will look familiar. Gilchrist drew and animated these sometimes very funny skits starring a homeless cat that sleeps in his own urine. The animation is a lot of fun, and something you simply don't see much of at this level and Gilchrist does a nice job of voicing Squiffy.

If Stripped Away is the emotional centerpiece of this DVD, For Science is the best on a technical level. A clever musical fantasy about a pilot that tries to go back in time to save his dying scientist father, the entire piece is shot in black and white 16mm film and is set to a fun, funky soundtrack sung by the lead characters. A terrific pace, great cutting, nice performances and great lyrics make this a must-see for fans of original micro work. The movie is directed by Tim Carras, a collaborator of Gilchrist's on Truesong, and here Gilchrist helps out on the shooting and editing end of things, two places he usually doesn't excel at on his own work. Here, he does a fantastic job.

Overall, this DVD is very entertaining, and ultimately that's what I believe movies should be about. As someone who has failed several times to be entertaining, taking his own work so seriously all the time, it's nice to see Gilchrist's whimsical storytelling skills and solid emotionality all captured on one DVD. I hope we continue to see more from this great voice in microcinema.

Jason Santo.

Back to the Orange Cow Store

THE JOURNEY OF TRUESONG Remastered and restored film with new title sequences. 4-minute behind the scenes film. Three (and a half) commentaries featuring Garrett Gilchrist and Tim Carras. Extensive photo gallery. Original screenplay. About the Film.	STRIPPED AWAY Remastered and restored film. Commentary with Jonathan Block and Garrett Gilchrist. Who is Lucky Xenon? A complete 40-page episode guide to the greatest sci-fi comedy that never existed. Lucky Xenon: The Sugarhigh Saga cartoon - remastered and restored. Easier Than Thinking staged reading - clip. Original Screenplay. Class Critiques of the Film. About the Film.
LOVER'S POISON Remastered and restored film, with new title sequences and a previously-unseen ending. Original screenplay. Two 1/2 commentaries by Garrett Gilchrist. Directing notes on the characters. About the Film. Easter Egg (Outtake).	SQUIFFY THE DERELICT CAT Remastered, restored and extended edits of "It's Squiffy!" and "Squiffy Meets Giffy" ... with previously-unseen footage and all-new title sequences, featuring a brand-new "Squiffy Song." Extended "deleted scene" edit of "Squiffy Meets Giffy." Commentary by Squiffy the Derelict Cat, on both cartoons, featuring Freddie the Communist Frog. About Squiffy.
MUSIC FOR THE MIND BALLET Commentary with Jonathan Block and Garrett Gilchrist. About the Film.	MORT "Voices of Mort" ... A new 20-minute featurette featuring outtakes, deleted scenes, and other raw footage excerpts featuring the voice cast. Commentary with Garrett Gilchrist. Original Screenplay (partial). Restored end titles. About the Film. Easter Egg (Soul Music). Easter Egg (Of Sound Mind).