The Big Story (1994)

Sadly Over-hyped

It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

"The Big Story" is a black-and-white short film from 1994 by David Stoten and Tim Watts. The fact that it got an Oscar nomination is pretty surprising in the face of the truth that this is only 1.5 minutes long (or short, I'd better say). But they really must have liked the spoof aspect here and really loved Kirk Douglas at this point to give it the recognition, even if it lost to "Bob's Birthday". I personally did not really enjoy the watch. The characters were not too interesting and the comedy wasn't working very well either. Apart from that, I am not a fan of Kirk Douglas, who is still alive over 20 years later, because of his dubious private life matters. All in all, I am glad it was that short, because it just wasn't a memorable watch and because it was quickly over. the Academy got it wrong. Not recommended.

This is a very frustrating film. While it this film has been nominated for some big awards for animated films, I couldn't get so excited about it or give it a higher score because it was so short. At just a little under two minutes, it not only seemed too short for the nominations but also made me want so much more. What I saw, I really liked...but the film sure would have been better if hashed out more.The film begins with an animated Kirk Douglas as a newspaper reporter--complaining that he never gets to cover the big stories. Then, another Kirk Douglas enters and they start arguing. Then, as the film ends, a third Kirk enters the scene.Frank Gorshin's impersonation of Douglas was about as good as you can find--maybe even better than Kirk himself! Plus, combined with the animation, it was amazing.By the way, the title THE BIG STORY and the setting are highly reminiscent of a Douglas film where he plays a reporter wanting a big scoop in THE BIG CARNIVAL (also called ACE IN THE HOLE).

This short won the BAFTA for Animated Short and was nominated for the Academy Award as well (losing out to Bob's Birthday, if I'm not mistaken) and was well deserving of both nominations, though I think two of the other BAFTA nominees were probably better than this and Monk and the Fish should have won. This is very brief (about two minutes long or so), but it's awfully funny and Frank Gorshin still does an excellent Kirk Douglas impression. Well worth seeing and if I write much more, reading my comment will take longer than watching the short will. Recommended.

The Big Story is an animated piece, using claymation. It's a parody on Kirk Douglas, placing him in a newspaper office. It was nominated for an Academy Award. Need I say more? You can find it on a phenomenal disc entitled SHORT 1: Invention. I've become an avid fan of the entire series. Check it out... You can find it at Amazon.com or any on-line retailer.