The Astronauts (1959)
A surrealist animated short by Walerian Borowczyk and Chris Marker, sending a homemade spacecraft on wildly imaginative cosmic adventures.
The Astronauts - Movie Information
- Original Title: Les Astronautes
- Release Year: 1959
- Directed by: Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker
- Type: Movie
- Genres: Animation, Sci-Fi
- Runtime: 14m
- Original Language: French
- Spoken Languages: No Language
- Release Date (Theatrical): January 1, 1959 (France)
- Alternative Titles: Astronautene (NO), Ein Weltraumflug (DE), Астронавты (SU), Gli astronauti (IT), 宇宙飛行士 (JP), Oi astronaftes (GR)
- Production Companies: Les Films Armorial, Argos films
- Production Countries: France
The Astronauts - Plot
An inventor builds a homemade spacecraft, and uses it to have various adventures, including peeping at women, visiting 'human' planets, and becoming involved in intergalactic warfare.
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The Astronauts - Cast & Crew
Director(s)
- Walerian Borowczyk
- Chris Marker
Main Cast
- Michel Boschet
- Ligia Branice
- Anatole Dauman
- Philippe Lifchitz
Writers
- Walerian Borowczyk
Producers
- Anatole Dauman
The Astronauts - FAQs
What is The Astronauts about?
The Astronauts follows a quirky inventor who builds his own spacecraft and blasts off into a series of surreal adventures — spying on women through windows, landing on planets inhabited by humans, and stumbling into the chaos of intergalactic warfare. It's a playful, dreamlike short that blends animation with live-action imagery.
Is The Astronauts a surrealist film?
Absolutely. The Astronauts is steeped in surrealism, blending cut-out animation, collage, and live-action footage into a wonderfully strange visual experience. Borowczyk and Marker use the cosmos as a canvas for absurdist humor and dreamlike imagery, making it a landmark of experimental animation rather than conventional science fiction.
Who directed The Astronauts?
The film was co-directed by Walerian Borowczyk and Chris Marker — a remarkable pairing of two visionary French filmmakers. Borowczyk was celebrated for his animated and avant-garde work, while Marker is best known for La Jetée. Their collaboration on this 14-minute short produced something genuinely unique in cinema history.
How long is The Astronauts?
The Astronauts runs just 14 minutes, making it a short film. Don't let the brief runtime fool you — it packs in an impressive amount of invention, wit, and visual imagination. It's the kind of short that lingers in the mind long after the final frame.
Is The Astronauts based on a true story?
No, The Astronauts is entirely fictional — and gleefully so. The film is a product of pure creative imagination, drawing on surrealist tradition and the space-age enthusiasm of the late 1950s. Its whimsical inventor and cosmic escapades owe far more to fantasy and satire than to any real-world events.
What animation style does The Astronauts use?
The film uses a distinctive collage and cut-out animation technique, mixing hand-crafted animated elements with photographic imagery and live-action footage. This layered, tactile approach was a hallmark of Borowczyk's early work and gives The Astronauts its unmistakable handmade, dreamlike visual texture.
Where can I watch The Astronauts?
Streaming availability for The Astronauts varies by region. As a rare 1959 French short film, it tends to surface in curated collections of experimental or avant-garde cinema. Checking dedicated art-house streaming platforms and film archives is your best bet for tracking it down.
Did The Astronauts receive critical recognition?
The Astronauts is widely regarded as a significant work in experimental animation history. Critics and scholars celebrate it as an early showcase of Borowczyk's extraordinary visual imagination and as a fascinating meeting point between his sensibility and Chris Marker's. It remains a touchstone for fans of avant-garde and animated cinema.
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