Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Tapum! The History of Arms


"Tapum! The History of Arms", (a.k.a. "Tapum! La Storia delle Armi"), released in 1958, is the first cartoon ever produced by Italian cartoonist Bruno Bozzetto, produced with a makeshift equipment (the vertical movie camera used to shoot the film was made with an ironing board with a camera on it!). It features an ironic look at the history and evolution of the weapons used by the men throughout the centuries, and ends with an alarming prevision: the constant improvement of weapons will be the cause of the destruction of the whole humanity in an undetermined future...
It's a nice cartoon with some very funny gags, and a style that reminds of the one used by UPA in the same period.
And now, for your enjoyment, here are some pictures from this cartoon:

We can assume what the reason of the first fight was: the shining smile of a woman... It was probably a woman who invented the first weapon: the club…
Here we can see the testing of an armour...Nothing could ever stop the man...