The Wizard of Speed and Time

1989 "His Life Is a Special Effect..."
7| 1h35m| PG| en
Details

A Hollywood filmmaker (Mike Jittlov) makes a short for an evil film studio. Unbeknownst to him, the producer has placed a bet of $25,000 that he won't come up with anything with a use. Luckily, our film creator gets the help of his friends.

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Reviews

Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.
Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows
Jason (likeminded) An independent film about...well, an independent filmmaker! Mike Jittlov is a filmmaker who specializes in animation and special effects. This is a light-hearted and endearing satire about the trials and tribulations faced by independent filmmakers in Hollywood. One of the better independent comedies I've seen, this film will make you appreciate all the talent that we so often forget about when watching movies and make you want to cheer for the underdog as he goes up against the system. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, this film has never been released on DVD. But if you still have a videotape player, this movie should be added to your collection right away!
fiebiger5 Jittlov has more talent in his little finger than about 3/4ths of the film directing "talent" of Hollywood combined. The three little film bits he did for Disney during the 1980s was the BEST thing that came out of the Disney studio for that entire decade (AND the decade before), but Disney otherwise rejected his pitches for a feature film entirely.Jittlov's WIZARD OF SPEED AND TIME feature film is a wonderful romp of a film, in spite of the fact that he was not allowed to finish the film's special effects and sound effects in many places. (As legend has it, the film's co-producer, Richard Kaye, allegedly made off with the film's completion money before the film was done.) Jittlov considers the film to be only about 75 % completed, which accounts for the less than stellar rating from some viewers who don't know of this behind-the-scenes back-story, and who just don't "get" what Jittlov was trying to do with this film.It boggles the mind to think of how even MORE nifty the film would be is some financial angel would come along and give him the $ to complete it, creating a "director's cut" for release on DVD, with ALL his equally great short films available on the DVD, as well as other extras that Jittlov could add to the DVD also.Alas, no one has been forthcoming, and Jittlov has suffered financially and emotionally for almost two decades. When will Hollywood learn to NOT destroy the creativity of such filmic geniuses as Jittlov, Orson Welles, Buster Keaton, etc., etc., etc., etc. Join with me: Pound on the sand on the beach and shout, "Damn them all to hell !" for not RUSHING to Jittlov's aid.Jittlov can do with 5 million dollars what other filmmakers do with 50 million, and with all the poorly conceived, ineptly produced drek coming out on DVD and on TV, the world NEEDS filmmaker's with the talent, vision(s), and attitude of Jittlov more desperately now than it ever did.And on top of all that, he treats his fans like gold. Returning phone calls (I believe he's still in the L.A. phone book.) and answering e-mails. Even his web sites are more magnificent than most also. (Google can find them for you.) Gawd ! Is there NO justice???? Are ALL the studios in Hollywood so consistently and perpetually STUPID that they don't recognize his OBVIOUS talent? Has the world gone MAD ??? SOMEBODY with money, CALL HIM !!!!!!
suffer-smart-magnet "The Wizard Of Speed And Time" is a low-budget movie loosely based on the trivial adventures of a special effects person (Jitlov) who is making a short movie. I sought out this movie after reading many glowing reviews on IMDb. Despite wanting to like it, I found the hype to be unfounded.Dated music and visuals along with cheesy humor screams out "80's movie". Inexpensive early synthesizers in simplistic arrangements were used for a large part of the music. For visuals, somewhat crude stop-motion photography is the order of the day. Never do you finish a scene without having to digest the awkward and unnatural effects. Even keeping in mind that this is a low budget movie, we never cross over into cherishing the effects for what they are, and instead lose whatever redeeming value they could have otherwise had. As a fan of Airplane!, I enjoy 'low-brow' humor. Unfortunately, "Wizard" is not nearly in the same league. Puns sometimes replaced any real attempt at adding any substantial humor. Scenes showing Jitlov's dealings with various unions (complete with double-talk representatives) left me cold, despite their humorous target. The various flat-lined police scenes (often involving mock-chase scenes) produced groans instead of laughs. In other parts, clever visuals took the place of real humor. Often, a small effect (for instance, glasses that glowed at the right moment) inspired a smile. Unfortunately, cute effects can't bridge over the large gaps in humor this movie has, and "Wizard" never goes beyond a level that only pre-teen audiences can enjoy. "Wizard" contains Jitlov's running commentary on Hollywood unions. Jitlov reduces the movie industry to a two-dimensional caricature of evil and incompetence. In one case, a movie producer ambushes Jitlov's efforts at every turn in order to win a bet. "Wizard" is also laced with running themes about Hollywood union lock-down. For example, studio executives use creative accounting to allow the non-union Jitlov to make his short while remaining out of union sight. "This potentially political statement lacks the bite it needed to come across as anything but fluff. Instead, it becomes lost 'in the mix'.Script limitations left the actors out in the cold. Philip Michael Thomas ("Miami Vice") played a bit-part policeman that had no significant role in the plot other than to chase some conveniently placed bad guys. His character ends up slapped on top of a script held together by loosely-based vignettes. Stephen Stucker (who nearly stole the show in "Airplane!") had even less screen time. His last screen appearance, Stucker's comic talents unfortunately are never allowed to surface. In the end, Jitlov spends too much time in front of the screen with his only 'adequit' acting skills.Some have made much of the movie showing behind-the-scenes glimpses of how special effects are done. Nobody is going to walk away from "Wizard" a special effects expert. While "Wizard" held a few moments of interest (notably, the 'running on the wall' effect), most everything fell into simple 'common sense'. In conclusion, this isn't the 'diamond in the rough' that some have suggested. I wanted to like "Wizard", but the many flaws quickly grew tedious. If you do come across it, take a look. Just don't get your hopes too high.
Time Tripper This movie is a great, fun time. There's nothing serious about it, and there are no great characters or plot twists. What you get instead is an enjoyable "sit back and relax" kind of movie. "The Wizard of Speed and Time" is a monument to the lost art of stop-motion animation. The potential of this medium is fully exploited here, with some truly amazing special effects. It's also a very funny movie.