Bruce Bickford

Bruce Bickford Trailers

Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep TrailerZappa TrailerAtilla Trailer

Bruce Bickford (February 11, 1947 - April 28, 2019) was a maker of animated films who works primarily in clay animation. From 1974 to 1980 he collaborated with Frank Zappa. Bickford's animation was featured extensively in the Frank Zappa videos Baby Snakes and Dub Room Special. Zappa also released a video titled The Amazing Mr. Bickford, which was entirely composed of Bickford animations set to a soundtrack of Zappa's orchestral music.Bickford's animations depict surreal scenes based on his unique worldview. Often outwardly seeming to be somewhat disconnected from the world around him, Bruce Bickford's work is extremely subjective in its content and concepts, making for some disturbing and shocking imagery. Much of his video work depicted fast-moving, fluid-like transformations of human figures and disfigured faces into odd beasts on surreal structural settings with impressive camera effects (moving around within his stop-motion animation).His life and work were featured in the 2004 biographical documentary film Monster Road, directed by Brett Ingram, which has won numerous film festival awards and garnered acclaim in many countries.He is currently working on Boar's Head/Whore's Bed (line animation, 4500+ frames and counting), Tales of the Green River and Castle 2001, a feature-length film which is animated using 3D shapes made out of bits of paper.A new DVD was released by Bright Eye Pictures in early 2008, titled Prometheus' Garden. It includes the first film that Bickford had complete control over, the 28-minute Prometheus' Garden, originally completed on 16mm film in 1988. The DVD also includes Luck of a Foghorn, a new 30-minute documentary about Bickford by the director of Monster Road. Mr. Bickford was the first ever guest to appear on the internet radio show Pussyfoot.

Most Popular Bruce Bickford Trailers

Total trailers found: 19

Stupor Mundi: Livre 2, Les Hommes qui mangèrent la montagne Trailer (2016)

13 March 2016

A mental journey - historical, political, musical and metaphysical - in contemporary times, from the Sixties until nowadays.

Zappa Trailer (2020)

27 November 2020

With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa.

The Comic that Frenches your Mind Trailer (2008)

17 September 2008

A 5 minute, 2D, straight-ahead animated film by Bruce Bickford.

The Amazing Mr. Bickford Trailer (1987)

01 January 1987

Several pieces of Frank Zappa's music are set against clay animation by Bruce Bickford.

Frank Zappa: A Token Of His Extreme Trailer (2013)

03 June 2013

Frank Zappa: A Token of his Extreme is the 1974 television special recorded at Kcet in Hollywood that was produced by Zappa and aired only in France and Switzerland.

Bruce Bickford Workshop Trailer (2007)

01 January 2007

The result of a workshop at Calarts in January 2007 with Bruce Bickford, animator for many of Frank Zappa's films, including Baby Snakes.

Frank Zappa: Baby Snakes Trailer (1979)

21 December 1979

Rock artist Frank Zappa hosts a concert in New York City. This movie contains tons of on-stage footage, off-stage footage, and animation.

Frank Zappa: New York and Elsewhere Trailer (1980)

01 June 1980

Frank Zappa: New York & Elsewhere is an Austrian released TV documentary directed in 1980 by Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher, aka DoRo productions, who are most popular for their work with Queen.

Luck of a Foghorn Trailer (2008)

01 January 2008

Luck of a Foghorn is a documentary featurette about the late Seattle underground animator Bruce Bickford (1947 - 2019), former collaborator of musician Frank Zappa and creator of Prometheus’ Garden, one of the most original stop-motion films in animation history.

Pachuco Cross Trailer (2015)

01 January 2015

A 2D line-animated film.

Frank Zappa: The Dub Room Special! Trailer (1982)

01 June 1982

Produced by Frank Zappa in 1982, The Dub Room Special combines footage from a performance at the KCET studios in Los Angeles on August 27, 1974, a concert performed at The Palladium, NYC on October 31, 1981, some clay animation by Bruce Bickford, and several interviews.

Selected Line Drawings Trailer (2025)

01 August 2025

Experimental animation by Bruce Bickford, posthumously released from his archives for the “Animation Mixtape” theatrical program.

Cas'l' Trailer (2011)

04 December 2011

Cas'l' is a 45-minute stop-motion clay animated film by Bruce Bickford.

Frank Zappa: Cheaper Than Cheep Trailer (2025)

09 May 2025

The 1974 unreleased made-for-TV concert movie ‘Cheaper Than Cheep’ is finally being released 50 years later! This never-before-heard-or-seen two-hour concert reveals the most intimate performance ever captured from the 1974 Mothers line-up, direct from the lovingly resurrected and restored original vault audio and videotape masters.

Animation Mixtape Trailer (2025)

29 August 2025

A collection of extraordinary animated short films from around the world, curated by Don Hertzfeldt. Released exclusively to movie theaters to support independent animators, the program includes “Martyr’s Guidebook”, “Zoon”, “The Hill Farm”, “I Am Alone and My Head is On Fire”, “Wednesday with Goddard”, “Jesus 2”, “The Big Snit”, “Untitled Line Drawings” (never-before-seen work by Bruce Bickford), and more.

Monster Road Trailer (2004)

01 January 2004

Explores the wildly fantastic world of legendary underground clay animator Bruce Bickford. Traces the origins of his remarkably unique sensibility, journeying back to Bickford's childhood in a competitive household during the paranoia of the Cold War.

Video from Hell Trailer (1987)

28 February 1987

In a little over an hour, 'VIDEO FROM HELL' provides a preview of current and projected Honker releases, including 'BABY SNAKES', 'THE TRUE STORY OF 200 MOTELS' and 'UNCLE MEAT' (all 1987 releases) along with segments of 1988 shows still in preparation ('YOU CAN'T DO THAT ON STAGE ANYMORE'- which will be released after the multi-CD package, 'I NEED YOUR LOVE' - the homespun philosophy of Al Malkin, and 'AN AMERICAN DISSIDENT' - the homespun philosophy of Frank Zappa).

Prometheus' Garden Trailer (1987)

01 January 1987

Inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus, a Titan who created the first mortals from clay and stole fire from the gods, Prometheus' Garden immerses viewers in a cinematic universe unlike any other.

Atilla Trailer (2017)

06 May 2017

Black and white, single line and still an iconic goopy mess of genius.