Excerpt from Plato's Cave on Youtube

[Alan Brody]

This animated short was narrated by Orson Welles in 1974. Unfortunately it's only 1 minute-long excerpt. Anyone know how I could get a copy of the whole thing?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FdaklIyVVY

[Skylark]

Here's a weblisting -

PHILOSOPHERS

PLATO'S CAVE
There is an 8 minute "cartoon" of the "Allegory of the Cave" from Plato's Republic. It's narrated by Orson Wells, reading straight from book VII, starting "Next, let us consider our nature, whether it' enlightened or unenlightened" (if memory serves) and ends "It's the duty of the enlightened to help.... etc." The cartoon is paper cut-out animation, and it's a bit garish in color, but it helps. (I liked the 16mm movie version better than the video version, because Plato's description of a fire behind the audience casting a shadow created by an image being held up in front of the fire, and being so realistic that the cave dwellers mistake it for reality, no longer seems so far fetched when you look at the projector and the screen. Plato's describing a movie!) John Wagner

http://www.vaps.vic.edu.au/video.htm

The CAVE

DirectorWEISS, Sam
Production CompanyStephen Bosustow Productions
ProducerBOSUSTOW, Nick
ProducerWISMAR, C.B.
NarratorWELLES, Orson

http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/98668

The Cave [videorecording] : a parable / told by Orson Welles ; produced by Nick Bosustow, C.B. Wismar ; directed by Sam Weiss.
Chicago, Ill. : SVE & Churchill Media, c1974.
Subjects Plato. Republic.

Description: 1 videocassette (9 min., 20 sec.) : sd., col. ; 1/2 in. + teacher's guide.

General note: Distributed by Churchill Films.
"80805-HAVT" (program number).
VHS format.

Summary note: A fable based on Book Seven of Plato's Republic. Animation is used to present a tale in which four prisoners in a cave mistake shadows -- or illusions -- for reality. When one is released into the upper world, he comes to understand the nature of truth and the responsibility that accompanies this understanding.


http://ipac.arrowhead.lib.mn.us/ipac20/ ... SUBJ#focus

[Skylark]

Here it is in toto on youtube-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2afuTvUzBQ

[Alan Brody]

Fantastic, Skylark, thanks for the link! Nice to see the whole thing, though I imagine you're right that it would be even better to see it in a theatre some time, the analogy with motion pictures being so striking. It would also make a great companion piece with River of Freedom, and if you toss in Rime of the Ancient Marriner and Riki Tiki Tavi you'd have a complete omnibus feature of good animated shorts narrated by Welles. I'd settle for having the four on one DVD.

[Skylark]

Always a pleasure - never a chore - omnibus of Welles animated shorts? I could go there...