"Closed Mondays" (1974) in HD restored

Here is my restoration attempt on the academy award winning short film "Closed Mondays" by Bob Gardiner and Will Vinton and helped introduce "claymation" to the world. This restoration comes from a 16mm print scanned in 2K, with extensive color correction, cleaned up audio, and repair to damaged frames.

[@randyshoquist7726]

I'm from Portland Oregon, and we were pretty proud of our homeboy Will Vinton when he won an Oscar for this. As I recall It toured art film houses for years with "King of Hearts" and Harold and Maude," and even "Thank You Mask Man."

[@wa1ufo]

Absolutely incredible! As a kid I watched Gumby and loved it and still do! The creator of this had to have been a genius. Thank you!

[@MichaelKepler]

Excellent restoration! When I was in High School and the TAG program was a new thing (late 1970s), our rural Oregon school district didn't know what to do with it, so they assigned it to an awesome English teacher who just showed me what forms to fill out, and let me run wild. I could check out films from the ESD on my own, which is how I first saw a 16mm print of Closed Mondays. I became obsessed with it and claymation and this teacher actually arranged for a field trip of the TAG students to Bob Gardiner's studio in Portland. He had already split with Vinton over "creative differences" or something. While there was ample evidence of a drinking problem and difficulty completing contracted projects on time, Gardiner was an awesome talent. He played original music for us that was amazing, accompanying himself on electric piano. He showed us something that seems to have been forgotten by art and technology history called "Cylindrical Multiplex Holography". I don't have room here to describe that accurately but it was amazing. He even agreed to let me come back on my own on a later date to get in his way and ask lots of questions. I'm not sure how I got out there the second time. Even with my decaying memory there is so much more about those experiences I wish I could share here. One thing though: he was in the middle of making a commercial for Kodak which was a clay morphing sequence through all of their camera models through the years, but said he was way behind deadline on it. Do you know, or anyone else who reads this, if that was ever finished and where I might be able to see it? Also, little known and probably impossible to find, he said he made claymation comedy "porno" films which he would show in the local bars. Did anybody reading this witness any of that? He died alone and, it seems, broke and broken, somewhere in California earlier this Century. I wish I had spent more time with him, and I wish I had kept going with my own claymation attempts.

[@joshhicks8286]

What a sad and beautiful story that, in a way, mirrors the tone of the film.

[@1abnormalman23]

Ahhh dude you met a pioneer! His technique was genius, sadly i can’t find any record of the bar tapes but please tell us more stories if you find the time! Or trade emails? i love stopmotion and i admire the raw talent that goes into ”Sculptimation”

[@adamschwartz3449]

Thank you for sharing that story. Very interesting history.

[@hectormanuel8360]

Dude, watch the Claydream documentary. After the seeing the doc I'd say those porno films sound very likely

[@timothywright5967]

I liked this restoration, but the music appeared to be off key.

[@CleoPhoenixRT]

Over 11,500 single shots were shot to make this. I wish I could look into the mind of people with that much passion for a craft. Its fascinating.

[@dolorescruzauthor]

Oh how amazing to see this again! I remember seeing it when it first came out and was blown away then. I’m just as blown away now. Incredible creativity and artistry.

[@bowlofscabs1]

What a find! The restoration is excellent. Thank you. I went to high school with Bob but didn't know he would be at Arts and Crafts. We became friends there. Truly a multi talented genius ala Vincent. Once we were in Safeway. I faked a heart attack. Bob drug me out by my foot as people gawked. So sad when I called and had no answer and found the obit through google. I still do crazy things to honor his memory.

[@hectormanuel8360]

Go see the documentary Claydream.

[@MikesPOV]

Watched this in 1974 and everyone in the theater lit up. Please make it downloadable.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Thanks for the views. Leave a comment if you liked the restoration.

[@themikejustice]

They used to run this and other short films on the local cable channel as filler between features back in the very early 80’s. One time I invited all my friends over to watch JAWS II, but this came on first-and everyone started screaming at me that there was no shark, and then they started making fun of me for “thinking” this claymation short was JAWS II. I cried and cried. Thanks, Closed Mondays, for ruining my childhood.

[@thealetube3509]

So wait....your friends left After only 8 minutes????

[@themikejustice]

@@thealetube3509 No. They stayed for the whole short and then watched JAWS 2.

[@milliequick1271]

Thanks for posting this! Claymation never really looks dated

[@hrrproductions553]

Man, Will Vinton was an amazing creator of Claymation shorts such as this one! 🤩😉👍

[@jwelch5742]

The first stop-motion animation to win an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.

[@CloudDog1113]

How come this doesn’t have over million views Beautiful Art Talent lost on the internet

[@stevendunkley8890]

One of my all time favourite animations that has never been bettered.

[@roquefortfiles]

You've obviously never seen the Great Cognito. Look it up.

[@elwoodjacobs4353]

I wish they released the music from this. I love the piano song & the music from the woman's painting.

[@voicetube]

I remember seeing this when it came out (or shortly after) at an animation festival I think in Los Angeles and I remember even though I was a rambunctious youth, it affected me deeply, this film. Classic.

[@zardoz5004]

Very cool. Another gem I did not know existed. There are many parts in there that take on an entirely new meaning with society heading into the age of AI.

[@raindog48]

In my "archive" (i.e., mess) I just ran into a page from an old (Pyramid?) film catalog for this film ("Sale--$100.00 / Rental--$10.00") and, remembering that it was a one-time favorite of mine, I ran to my library catalog. They don't own it! Then I came to KZbin and there it was! Thank you for your restoration efforts . . . and for posting this treasure!

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Thank you for watching and your kind words

[@tombrunn-f9c]

best clay short ever made 1976

[@Rheinhard]

Wow! Thanks for this! I remember first seeing this on a PBS art showcase program of some sort back when I was a wee sprat of about 9 or so. Really kinda freaked me out at the time! I love the computer with the Mick Jagger lips!

[@BSIII]

Excellent restoration! This is gorgeous

[@andyb811]

I first saw this on PBS on the International Animation Festival with Jean Marsh.

[@iamvartist]

Magnificent !

[@superpan218]

Aside from the warped sound, the restoration is a decent job. That's the thing about old films, they have that weird thing where the sound is warped and weird-sounding. It's not that easy-listening to the ears.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

It has to do with the audio being an optical soundtrack on the film, and after years of a print being played stretching happens to the celluloid and lowers the pitch and it's more severe in certain places.

[@boatraft]

Nicely done, thanks for putting in the effort for me to enjoy Portland's first Academy Awarded movie. :)

[@MrSeb81]

I Live Near Portland

[@paulsiegfried6337]

@@MrSeb81 I live in Portland! Long live rose city! Yeah!

[@crapstermcduck6593]

Very funny! Marvelous animation!

[@SomeoneCommenting]

His face is amazingly expressive

[@georgeshelton6281]

This classic cartoon movie; brought back the most amount of memories of mine, no jokes no kidding. It reminded me of when David R. Shelton; was listening to a black vinyl record, it's called 'The Well Tempered Synthesizer.' This record album contains the pieces of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti and Monteverdi. It also brought back the memory of; when I was listening and watching , other short cartoon movies I've been paying attention to. One of the classic short cartoon movies is called: 'This Box.' This cartoon movie has a modern twist, to the story of Noah's Ark. This story ends with when; there was a woman that has. the same kind of box he has. I also remember this cartoon movie; it features the semi human cartoon characters who are like inflatable dolls which comes to life, when one character himself, was an inflatable doll. First the character himself; has to insert a special kind of black rubber plug, and then he pumps the air in them. Perhaps I can even show you; what other cartoon movies, I also have memories of. It's easy to understand the person in pictures of course. 📷 📝 🎥 😔 🤧 😌 😳 😏 🤪 🔌 ⚫ ◼ ⬛ ♟ ▪ ✒ ❤ 💗 ♥ 💖 💓 💕 ❤ 💗 ♥ 🐝 👀 ⌚ 📺 ⚫ 🎥 👌 👏 🙌 🤣 😂

[@DebzLife]

Only 500 views for this masterpiece. Danggg

[@macuaig2]

Along with erasing “Usual crap” from the exterior sign, someone bleeped out “What the hell?!” at the musical notes section at 1:58. Very sad.

[@emilyelizabethbuchanan998]

That was done almost instantly after its first release. Almost all releases after are censored.

[@hrtdinasaurette3020]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@chaoticcanyon2081]

A lot of work, but so worth it for this film gem, The color is so much better, although some textural details got lost. I think the sound is distorted, most noticeable in the musical parts. Compare to the original 16mm I viewed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h6Clnp-YhqajgKc

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Appreciate the kind words. The other video you linked isn't the same as mine, completely different print. Mine had damage at the beginning that i had to do a lot of work on and is still noticeable to me. The biggest culprit in the textural detail being lost is in the print and the film making process itself. They developed an experimental rig to make this film, and as such, the background is more in focus than the actual subject in a bunch of shots, and the print I had was in good condition, but not perfect and there was some variance in Pyramid's optical printer. As for the sound, it comes straight off the optical track on the print. I did what I could to clean it up a tiny bit, but again, without access to the original elements, it's the best of what there is available. I'm always on the lookout for new prints and if I find one of this film, I'll do another restoration and use the best of multiple sources.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

you can hear in a couple of places the pitch shift really noticeably due to the optical track having been through the projector so much it stretched .

[@chaoticcanyon2081]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 Not a big crit against you. I love what you did. I saw this in a film festival when I was like13. I've always loved clay animation being a Gumby fan as a child. But Closed Mondays was like the Star Wars of clay animation. Then I bought a Wil Vinton VHS tape online from his website, then I copied the tape to DVD. Thank God since I currently can't seem to find his work now for home viewing. Take care.

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

@@chaoticcanyon2081 Thanks man. I love it too and all of his work. I will keep looking for improved prints and update the restoration when I can.

[@peterdavies2960]

The computer turning into Mozart at 4:18 kills me 😂

[@iverburl]

Einstein. There is a brief glimpse of E=mc2

[@Zomby_Woof]

I remember this from HS. English class was right after morning break, which I rarely returned from, as I was too baked and the classes had little to offer me. [Silly me - it never occurred to me to switch from an academic track where public HS truly had little to offer me, to a shop/trades focus where I could have learned all sorts of widely useful skills.] But I did return, and watched this...film. Whereupon we were then required to offer forth our interpretations. I vomited up some inane claptrap, because I truly did not know what to think of it. My mind at that time was fully occupied with dproblem solving via the scientific method, and I didn't have much interest on or appreciation of imagery and symbolism.

[@Robert-nk7yw]

Bob was a straight shooter. Mad as H of Oregon when I last talked with him by phone. Very cruel to me,still are. Julie Manray's comment Oregon Art Commissions are evil! My friend and roommate John Fahey added on one record liner: Oregon Fart Commission. Robert Wheeler

[@Alanah-t3p]

You knew Bob? Who is Julie Manray?

[@gabepaul3911]

wAt WaS dAt GuY tHiNkInG oF?

[@peterdavies2960]

What was Mr. Vinton on when he made this?

[@fattymcfatso1083]

Question on the ending (spoiler): Do you guys think that he was a statue all along who wandered away from the gallery and then eventualy returned? Or, was he a human who somehow got trapped by the gallery?

[@hectormanuelcruzcruz1468]

el origen de una noche en el museo

[@roberthaworth8991]

The plot is rather like that of the Twilight Zone episode, "The After Hours".

[@KennethV2000]

So wait, did the guy died or something at the end?

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Nah, it turns out he was a statue that was part of the exhibit the whole time.

[@BSIII]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 that ending makes it a complete mindfrick. Genius stuff. Great restoration

[@ryanzeigler9763]

RIP WV

[@VJFranzK]

2:26 warped record groove!

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

Nope, warped optical sound track. It happens at the film gets run through the projector over and over. The pull of the sprocket drives actually stretches the film slightly over time and it causes those pitch bends.

[@VJFranzK]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 you're right, the entire soundtrack is warped but it's less evident in other places

[@paulkiefer3893]

How did you colorize it I wish someone would do the mattel food fighters commercial in hi quality like this?

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

I used Lumetri color tools. i absolutely love the mattel Food Fighters commercial, and I have nearly all those toys. If I ever find a decent quality copy of that commercial, I'll do what I can to restore and improve it.

[@BSIII]

I may have the sample the computer audio for a hook. I hear it

[@nubecity8548]

Estaba borracho o estaba high?

[@MichaelKepler]

By the way, while your version has many improvements over others available online, I question whether is is from one of the original 16mm prints. The original has another entry on the schedule sign out front which reads "- USUAL CRAP -" under the "OCT 3 - MARCH 19" line. This was doctored out of the video releases, and possibly some 16mm redistributions. There may be more, but the first one I found on YT with the original sign is here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apDEh5etqJiIhac

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

So, if you look at my restoration, when the old man passes in front of the sign, you can see some "damage" or fluctuation. The colors change briefly, and some blurriness appears. I originally thought this was chemical damage to the print, but it is in fact because they made that change and then cut it into their inter negative. I imagine it was done optically, and was easy enough on the frames with no animated movement, but when he walks in front of the sign, they had to do some frame by frame work, and it looks like they cut that back into the inter negative with an optical printer created negative. just a few frames, and that's why the quality drops. I found a second print, and it had "damage" in the same place and the "usual crap" removed. I haven't been able to find a print with the original uncensored sign in it. Maybe I could add it back in digitally

[@MichaelKepler]

@@stephendoriankutos4429 This makes me wonder what happened to all of those ESD" 16mm reels. I hope you find a good source for that scene. I'm sure you could edit back in digitally. In the meantime, again, this is an excellent restoration and I thank you for doing it and sharing it. ("ESD"="Educational Service District". Back in the 70s in rural Oregon, multiple school districts would share a common library of 16mm films and other A/V materials which would be checked out and returned like library books, only through the mail, and only by teachers, although I had a teacher who would just sign off on my requests if I did the paperwork. It was a pleasant surprise to find they had a lot of the Claymation and other animation and art films.)

[@stephendoriankutos4429]

@@MichaelKepler Thank you so much for your kind words. Will and Bob did so much great work, and I wish I had more access to them and their archives. The dream would be to do restorations from the negatives. And I have seen those Cylindrical Multiplex Holograms and they are absolutely amazing! Real melding of art and technology. These guys were geniuses and never properly recognized for their talents and innovations. Glad to know there are more people out their the do know them and their work and recognize it's brilliance.

[@armyshope]

Mutations mutations

[@zachatck6567]

4:02 - 4:43 What......in the world.....was that

[@TerraKing]

MUTATIONS MUTATIONS METAMORPHALOGICAL MUTATIONS

[@dassenpooper]

Anyone know what the paintings on the walls are, I assume they're based on/copies of real artworks