- Universe (documentary)
Infobox Film
name = Universe
caption = DVD cover
director =Roman Kroitor
Colin Low
producer = Tom Daly
writer =Roman Kroitor
starring =Donald MacRae
music =Eldon Rathburn
cinematography =Wolf Koenig
editing = Tom Daly
distributor = NFB
released = May 1960
runtime = 29 min.
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0054429"Universe" is a black-and-white short documentary made in 1960 by the
National Film Board of Canada . It dramatizes the nightly work of anastronomer at theDavid Dunlap Observatory inRichmond Hill, Ontario , a facility that is owned and operated by theUniversity of Toronto , Canada. The film was a nominee at the33rd Academy Awards in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject in 1961.In the film, the astronomer prepares his equipment and then photographs by long exposure one star, using the technology of his era (to check that it works, he sets off a flare!). The short film then presents special effects which show an exploding nebula.
Douglas Rain did the narration for the English version; the French version was titled "Notre univers" with narration byGilles Pelletier .Eldon Rathburn composed the musical score.After this work, co-director Colin Low worked with
Stanley Kubrick on "", but as that was a color film the same special effects would not work. His work on this short may have influenced Kubrick to begin his project.Awards
Over a dozen awards, including Best Animated Film at
BAFTA .External links
* [http://www.nfb.ca/trouverunfilm/fichefilm.php?id=10842&lg=en&exp=&v=h "Universe" at the NFB website]
*
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