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Doodlebug

  • 1997
  • Not Rated
  • 3m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
20K
YOUR RATING
Doodlebug (1997)
FantasyMysteryShort

In his squalid apartment, a man tries to squash with his shoe an insect of some kind that is moving around the room.In his squalid apartment, a man tries to squash with his shoe an insect of some kind that is moving around the room.In his squalid apartment, a man tries to squash with his shoe an insect of some kind that is moving around the room.

  • Director
    • Christopher Nolan
  • Writer
    • Christopher Nolan
  • Star
    • Jeremy Theobald
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    20K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Christopher Nolan
    • Writer
      • Christopher Nolan
    • Star
      • Jeremy Theobald
    • 31User reviews
    • 8Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos8

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    Top cast1

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    Jeremy Theobald
    Jeremy Theobald
    • The Man
    • Director
      • Christopher Nolan
    • Writer
      • Christopher Nolan
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews31

    7.019.6K
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    Featured reviews

    10MushuHard

    A Kafkaesque by Nolan

    I never heard about someone, who after watching this short by Nolan didn't have smile in his face. This movie is just masterpiece among the short movies (I watched plenties) and very inspiring according to fact that on the scene is just a man with a shoe and he's trying to catch something.

    In this movie Nolan shows us that, he can really grab our attention. And play with our emotions like he does in many other movies, like a true genius and all he needs is just 3 minutes.

    Interesting fact is that Nolan was also behind the camera which is very rare according to the Following which was the last movie he shot. And I personally like his camera.

    Yet I would also mention that the soundtrack is made by David Julyan who made soundtracks for another Nolan movies Following, Memento, Insomnia and The Prestige.

    So I would recommend Doodlebug to everyone who is Nolan fan, who likes Kafkaesque movies and basically to everyone who likes movies, cinematography and dynamic short movies.
    7KrazzyDJ

    Humble Beginnings

    A word of advice. Watch this movie straightaway without reading anything about it. Most of the plot summaries you'll go through will mostly end up ruining the movie for you. Its incredibly short (about 3 minutes) so even if it ends up sucking for you, it wouldn't have in any way hurt to devote 3 minutes to what I find a great start for a by now famous and master craftsman Nolan. Heck even a visit to the loo takes more time so giving 3 minutes to this movie without any second thought shouldn't be hard enough. Let the bug surprise you.

    Doodlebug came to my attention when doing a bit of research (that isn't the right term but I'll stick to it anyway) on Christopher Nolan now that his final movie in the Batman trilogy is about to hit out. It appears he made two more shorts before this of which one named Larceny, I've heard a lotta praises about but sadly couldn't manage to get my hands on it anywhere. So I decided to started my Nolan filmography with this one. For the meager amount of money, this movie is quite a watch. Excellent camera-work, nice editing which keeps the movie flowing smoothly (and not much like Nolan's later non-linear works), good effects for a short (that's just me though) and a decent performance make this worth a watch. Now I don't exactly know what messages this movie wished to convey but I do know that those were some entertaining and insightful 3 minutes into what was to come in the future from this guy. Following's up next for sure.
    6injury-65447

    Style

    The short has a nice style, mysterious, eerie, noir ish. But I'm not completely engaged by the story or any kind of metaphor going on
    7jannikpeveling

    Fun to watch

    Great atmosphere, interesting story and pretty good execution by Chris Nolan who later will become one of the greatest directors of all time. Kind of an origin story ;)
    Imposter56

    Disappointing but not terrible

    Christopher Nolan is hands-down my favorite director so I had high expectations for this film. I was immensely disappointed with the confusing story that seemed to have no answer. It stood as a metaphor for something that needed no metaphor. It was interesting, but unfortunately not a masterpiece like much of his other work.

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Christopher Nolan shot this film when he was studying English literature in London.
    • Connections
      Edited into Cinema16: British Short Films (2003)

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    Details

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    • Release date
      • 1997 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Doodle Bug
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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