Flatland the Film | 
| Directors: Ladd P. Ehlinger Jr, Ladd Ehlinger Jr
Actors: Greg Trent, Chris Carter, Linda Meigs, Ashley Blackwell, Mark Slater
Studio: Flatland Productions, Inc.
Category: DVD
Buy New: $21.95
New (1) Used (1) from $20.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  37 reviews
Sales Rank: 11898
Format: Ntsc, Full Length, Collector's Edition, Animated, Widescreen, Limited Edition
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Original Language)
Running Time: 98
UPC: 094922720467
ASIN: B000NJ60FM
Publication Date: 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Interdimensional! Signed by the director! Can be INSCRIBED by the director at your request! (Use Amazon's link to Contact Seller after ordering with your personal inscription request). Makes a great, unique gift! Orders shipped daily! Educators are licensed to freely show the DVD in their classrooms.
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| Features:
| • | Signed by filmmaker Ladd Ehlinger Jr | | • | 5 out of 5 stars from Phil Hall, Film Threat: http://www.filmthreat.com/index.php?section=reviews&Id=9709 | | • | An A from SciFi Weekly review at http://www.scifi.com/sfw/screen/sfw15198.html | | • | "Smart without being cheeky" Ozus World at http://www.sover.net/~ozus/flatland.htm | | • | "Wholly original and clever, Flatland is what independent film-making is all about" - The Sci-Fi Movie Page at http://www.scifimoviepage.com/ |
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Product Description
Ladd Ehlinger Jr.s feature length animated adaptation of Edwin Abbott's 1884 "Flatland." Screenwriter: Tom Whalen. Composer: Mark Slater.With penetrating satire, Flatland the Film takes us on a mind-expanding dimensional journey through an animated adaptation of Abbot's 19th century novel.A Square, Attorney-at-Law, inhabits a world that is flat and two-dimensional. Together with his wife Frau A Square, he tries to raise his children -5 pentagons and A Hexagon- as best he can in a rigid society governed by tyrannical triangles and pompous priest circles.It is three days until the much anticipated year 3000 in the Southern Republic of Flatland and A Square has a job to do. He must meet with his latest client, A Line, the first female Flatlander to be arrested for the taboo practice of Chromatism - the act of coloring ones sides in order to resemble a higher class of geometrical figure.During this meeting an entire rebellion of Chromatists is launched, and A Square must shield his family from the horrors of urban Flatlander war.Within this turmoil, a mysterious visitor from the third dimension arrives: A Sphere, CEO of Messiah, Inc. Flatlanders, according to A Sphere, must learn that there is another dimension called height. A Square must spread the word as his Apostle of the Three Dimensions.But having been flat his entire life, A Square is unable to comprehend these three dimensions. Out of desperation, A Sphere pulls A Square out of Flatland altogether to show him the true nature of Spaceland, and the universe. And in so doing, he risks the very fabric of space-time itself, potentially destroying all of creation.Will A Square make it home to Flatland? Will he be able to understand the Third Dimension? Will he be able to spread the gospel of the Third Dimension to his fellow Flatlanders - or will he be executed for blasphemy?The answers to these questions and more are to be found in Flatland the Film!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 32 more reviews...
Two reviews in one April 8, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This review covers both versions of "Flatland" released in 2007, one by Ladd Ehlinger, Jr. with a mostly unknown voice cast, and the other by Jeffrey Travis with some Hollywood big names providing the voices.
The source material for both is the 1884 novella by Edwin A. Abbott, but the approaches of the two films differ radically. The book is a staple of science fiction, and one of the few to address mathematical issues at its core. Being a product of its time, the book is technically naive, and politically incorrect based on current sensibilities.
The Travis film is visually slicker, but significantly shorter, and tackles philosophical issues relative to the passage of time from initial publication. As such, it tampers with the plot to mixed effect. Unlike some others, I have no problem with some of the revisions to the underlying plot since they do help bring some of the book's major issues into somewhat sharper focus. On the other hand, they also add a "feel good" and politically correct sensibility that seems out of place.
The Ehlinger film is much truer to its source material, which is both a strength and a weakness. Given a current perspective, its 19th century depiction of the political and social subjugation of women is a distraction that the Travis film avoids. It's also a longer film and could have been more effective with some of the same plot and editing license employed in the Travis film. Where it does tamper with the plot, some of the decisions are questionable as other reviewers have pointed out.
So which is better? In my opinion, the short answer is the Ehlinger film. Despite its length, political incorrectness, and technical inferiority (the animation of the Travis film is much more sophisticated), it resonates at a technical level to a degree that the Travis film can't match. As a scientist, this means a lot to me. On the other hand, the Travis film resonates on an emotional level that the Ehlinger film can't match. So the answer may be whether you're looking for technical insight or emotional satisfaction.
Most jarring in the Travis film is that, unlike the Ehlinger film, the animators never quite caught on to the implications of a two-dimensional universe. It is filled with objects which are instantly recognizable to us, yet would be clearly impossible or meaningless in the film's reality (e.g. the protagonist's daughter has toys which only make sense to someone with a 3-D perspective, and how does he open his briefcase?). The cover art is an obvious first impression example. The Travis film's characters look more human, but ask yourself how their eyes work. One detail of the book is that looking at a Flatlander from above, all of his internal organs are clearly visible, as they should be. Travis' animators hint at this, but don't meet it head-on. The Ehlinger film's animators may not have had the resources to make as slick a film as Travis', but they obviously gave a great deal of thought to what they were doing (or maybe not, since the necessary designs were all in the book). In short, Travis had the budget, but Ehlinger had the passion for the project - albeit perhaps a bit too much respect for the source to create a truly superior adaptation.
The differences reflect different target audiences, though. The Travis film is an educational short film which was obviously meant to be viewed by classrooms of middle school and high school students. As such, it had to be socially inoffensive while conveying concepts of geometry that would never occur to non-mathematicians. That it includes recognizable names voicing the characters will help it grab a bit more attention - an educational short film for the "X-Files" generation. The Ehlinger film would mostly appeal to people with a college level interest in mathematics, or others who are already familiar with the book.
Neither film is perfect, but I'm giving the Ehlinger film a rating of 4 and the Travis film a rating of 3. Depending on your sensibilities, your conclusion may be exactly opposite of mine, so I hope this review includes enough information to guide you to an informed selection.
Or, like me, you could simply buy both... ;-)
 Brevity is the soul of wit. March 30, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I'm a mathematician by education, and I thoroughly enjoyed E. A. Abbott's book when I read it a couple of decades ago. Flatland the film stays close to the mathematical ideas of the book, though the plot wanders astray. That variance doesn't interfere with enjoyment of the film.
What does interfere is the length of the film. It's way too long, drawn out, and frankly boring. I wanted to see how this classic of geometry played out. But for that avocational interest, I would have ejected this disk way before the end. This film wants editing, and the editor should cut it down to 1/3 of its present length. Part of the charm of the book was its small size, but the film has lost that virtue.
A much smaller sin is the stylized depiction of violence: the blood running from the figures, the repeated attacks on the opposition senator, the massacre by machine gun from the hovering aircraft, the nuclear explosion. Even if the animators did cut their professional teeth on shooter video games, these elements are irrelevant to the central mathematical message of the story, in their fulsomeness they have little relevance to the plot, they weren't present in the book, they are patently offensive, and they make the film questionable for viewing by children. This alone would cost the film a star.
The silent panels of text contain, in some cases, important messages for the story. In the remake, audible narration should overlay these panels. If I wanted to read, I would buy the book.
The beauty and technical quality of the animation and sound is superb, and the makers chose an excellent soundtrack.
db
 Thought-provoking... and funny at times March 22, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is, undoubtedly, one of the most innovative and bizarre films I've seen lately, and I can tell you I see a few every week!
The graphics are just wonderful - probably not so high-tech as you can see in some stupidly expensive Hollywood productions, but who needs those when the beauty is in what those flat characters say and show us! Well, maybe those who don't have anything to say...
The use of the different dimensions and the explanations that the characters use to make us understand are of the highest level -- lucid and intelligent, it's a really thought-provoking film, one of those few left out there!
...And what's more, it's even funny at times!
Absolutely Superb! A must see for all, a must have for ever March 20, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
The challenge of creating imagery from such a novel that challenges our understanding of the world itself, a world broken down to basics and presented as an allegory at the same time, is simply monstrous. When that is done from an independent filmmaker and produces this sort of result one simply talks about poetry.
I am one of these people whose understanding of the universe and social interactions is limited enough to simply laugh their way out of most of it. And this film offered me plenty of reasoning for things that were always mysteries or jokes or pages of history I could not read. Abbott's novel was just the beginning, and as a text many people would say that they have expected it to be somewhat different or would indeed have made it differently themselves were they the filmmakers. True, but this does not make it a bad film.
I think that every kid in this world should watch it. Just for the sake of understanding some of the principles of math or the social sphere in a visual context.
Excellent Movie March 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Flatland was as wonderful movie for those who love challenges and deep thinking. The movie was filled with humor and plot twists, along with some strange but funny creatures. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in the dimensions
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