Time Piece: The Story of Everyman’s Torment
Time Piece is the acclaimed 1965 nine-minute experimental short film that was written, directed and produced by Jim Henson; the film also starred Henson. Beginning in the spring of 1964, nearly ten years after the introduction of the Muppets, Henson filmed the short film on weekends and late nights between his commercial projects and Muppet appearances. Premiered at New York City’s Museum of Modern Art in May of 1965, Time Piece enjoyed an eighteen-month run at one Manhattan movie theater and in 1966 was nominated for the Academy Award for Outstanding Short Subject.
Time Piece is the story of Everyman, frustrated by the typical tasks of a typical day. With a rhythmic soundtrack and visual clock motif, the film follows follows a nameless man through his mundane daily activities, a montage intercut with surreal fantasy and pop-culture references. The film touches upon themes such as man’s dislocation in time, time signatures, time as a philosophical concept and slavery to time. The film’s only dialog is a repeating cry of “Help!”from Henson, who can’t help but sound like his Kermit the Frog counterpart.
Time Piece: The Story of Everyman’s Torment
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