Jan Svankmajer’s animation is witty, macabre, violent and always perverse in its bizarre transformations of objects and beings. His films have spawned many imitations in television advertising, music video and fellow animators. This video contains a retrospective collection of his short films. “Dimensions of dialogue” is a brilliant indictment of human alienation symbolised by cannibalism; “The Flat” pits a man against a malevolent room in a special effects tour de force; two magicians fight to the death in “The Last trick”; while “Down to the cellar” probes the roots of childhood fear; “Virile games” finds all the world’s a battle field.