OSCAR-NOMINATED SHORTS AT UCLA

After the brouhaha over keeping the presentation of the Oscars for short films on the Academy Awards broadcast, it would be nice to report that this year’s nominees are an impressive group of first-rate films. Unfortunately, both the animation and live-action candidates (showing at the Melnitz Theater on the UCLA campus from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. today) are a decidedly mixed bag.

“Luxo, Jr.” (U.S.A.), by John Lasseter and Bill Reeves, is the first computer-animated film to receive an Oscar nomination. Like the best-drawn animation, “Luxo” tells a story and delineates characters through pure motion. A game of ball between two extremely realistic desk lamps depicts the affectionate relationship between a patient father and his rambunctious son. The weak point of this charming film is its extreme brevity: “Luxo” lasts only two minutes--including credits--and feels more like an exercise than a complete film.

In “A Greek Tragedy” (Belgium), Nicole Van Goethem uses conventional cel animation to tell the story of three caryatids who struggle to support a crumbling pediment. After being assaulted by wind, archeological excavators and other disasters, the weary trio decides to throw in the cornice and dance away their troubles. Despite an inconclusive ending, this amusing short has won a number of awards, including the Grand Prix at the 1985 Annecy Animation Festival in France.

Bob Stenhouse combines various techniques, including computer graphics, cel animation and processed live action in “The Frog, the Dog and the Devil” (New Zealand). Although the film contains some striking imagery--the opening is a deft spoof of a Sergio Leone Western--the diverse visual styles never blend, and it remains less than the sum of its eclectic parts.

All three nominees for live-action short focus on various aspects of films and film making.

In “Exit” (Italy), by Pino Quartullo and Stefano Reali, a party of future explorers excavates a ruined movie theater and rediscovers laughter and tears when they see Chaplin’s “City Lights.” “Exit” looks like an inexpensive student film, and its modest production values can’t disguise the threadbare familiarity of its story. The Chaplin clips provide the only real laughs and pathos.

In contrast, “Love Struck” (U.S.A.) boasts the opulent visuals of a prime-time sitcom. Director Richard Massur attempts to satirize the conventions of cinematic romance, but often falls into the cliches he’s trying to spoof. At 23 minutes, the film seems far too long, and the audience soon wearies of his ill-starred, yupscale lovers.

Created for the 50th anniversary of the Directors Guild of America, “Precious Images” (U.S.A.) is a dazzling collage of some of the most celebrated moments in American film, from “Birth of a Nation” and “Citizen Kane” to “Star Wars” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” In a tour de force of editing, Chuck Workman juxtaposes similar scenes--kisses, fights, dance numbers--from dozens of features.

“Precious Images” simply outclasses its rivals, but as the titles comprise the only new footage in the film, it seems an odd candidate for an Oscar nomination. How could an independent production possibly compete with the finest moments of Hollywood’s greatest actors, actresses, directors and cinematographers? (The selection committee of the academy’s short films branch apparently debated whether the film should have been submitted as a documentary.) The Oscars are supposed to honor the best new films, and while “Precious Images” is indisputably excellent, it isn’t new.

Also included in the daylong “Docu-Day” screenings are the other nominated shorts: “Debonair Dancers,” “Red Rooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse,” “Sam,” “The Masters of Disaster” and “Women--for America, for the World.”

The feature-length documentaries will be screened as well. They are: “Artie Shaw: Time Is All You’ve Got,” “Chile: Hasta Quando?,” “Down and Out in America,” “Isaac in America: The Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer” and “Witness to Apartheid.”

Seating is limited. For reservations, call (213) 655-7089 or 825-2581.