Pérák a SS (1946) watch online HD

Jiří Trnka's "Pérák a SS" ("The Chimney Sweep") is one of the most unusual cartoons that I've ever seen. Set during the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, a collaborator spies on his neighbors in a scene that reminded me of "Rear Window". The goose-stepping goons arrest several people, as well as some inanimate objects. But when a chimney sweep notices that he can bounce around on springs, he hatches a plan to free the prisoners...which also means that he plays a series of tricks on the Nazis.

It's well known that a number of WWII-era cartoons made Hitler and the Nazis look comical. Once it came out what they'd done to people, people decided that it was no longer acceptable to make the Nazis look funny. Nevertheless, the cartoons from that era have some really funny stuff, and that includes this one. I recommend it. I hope to eventually see Trnka's stop-motion cartoons.

"The Chimney Sweep" (also known as "The Spring Man and the SS" is one of the most unusual cartoons I have ever seen and because of this, it's hard to give a rating to this one. It is worth seeing but it's certainly not the sort of thing most folks today would enjoy.

The film is a Czechoslovakian anti-Nazi occupation cartoon that came out just after WWII. While the story claims it might be true, it clearly isn't! The film begins with a horrid little collaborator spying on all his neighbors and reporting them to the SS. The folks who were arrested are marched past where a chimney sweep is working and he comes up with an odd idea--to put springs on his feet so he can sneak into the prison and liberate these people. And, using cartoon physics, he bounces all over the place--and destroying the Nazis everywhere. And, in the end, he's won the admiration of his countrymen.

"The Chimney Sweep" using VERY simple animation and is in black & white--so aesthetically speaking, it's not a lovely film. But, it manages to do a lot with this--looking very artsy and unique. I assume that color wasn't used simply because Europe was a mess after the war and color film stock was either not available or too prohibitively expensive. Still, it's a cute little cartoon--mostly for older film viewers, history buffs and the like. Odd but worth seeing. And, if you'd like, you can download it for free at archive.org.