Masters of Russian Animation - Volume 2
Volume 2 (1969-1978): "Ballerina on the Boat", "Seasons", "Armoire", "The Battle of Kerzhenets", "Butterfly", "Island", "Fox and Rabbit", "The Heron and the Crane", "Hedgehog in the Fog", "Crane's Feathers", "Firing Range" Contact
Ivan Ivanov-Vano
Fyodor Khitruk
Yuri Norstein
Lev Atamanov
Andrey Khrzhanovsky
Vladimir Tarasov
Anatoliy Petrov
Ideya Garanina
Also Directed by Ivan Ivanov-Vano
No movie overview available.
The tale about a girl with a cold heart who is dying in agony because of joy and love.
Adventures of Ivan the Fool and humpbacked horse in the world of kind magical creatures and cruel people.
The story is based on the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, which disappears under the waters of a lake to escape an attack by the Mongols.
No overview found.
The film addresses issues of racism in the Jim Crow American South. Themes of racial injustice, racial violence, working-class solidarity dominate the film. It depicts black men working in a field, walking in chains, sitting behind bars, and being executed in an electric chair. In most scenes, a white authority figure is seen whipping or guarding the men.
Animated film based on the story of Alexander Pushkin. The new king's wife wants to get rid of their stepdaughter and expels it to certain death in the forest. Princess finds refuge in the forest in the seven bogatyrs. The queen, finds out about it and poisons her...
Ivan and his three brothers are sent to protect the fields again so mysterious culprit responsible for destroying the wheat crop. Lo and behold that culprit is a magic pony who leads them on the enchanted adventure filled with wondrous encounters.
Also Directed by Fyodor Khitruk
This was the second of the Russian Winnie the Pooh series. This one had Pooh and Piglet visiting Rabbit for a meal with honey.
With a cheeky, down-to-earth charm that appeals to both children and adults, the series – beginning with 'Vinnie-Pukh (1969)' – has since developed something of a cult following, and are considered by many to decisively surpass their Disney counterparts, however uneasily they may fit into the official canon. The animation itself is somewhat coarse and minimalistic, but this all adds to the charm of it all, with the story and characters coming to life as though they have just stepped out of a picture-book.
It is a parable about world wisdom and "madness of brave men" who are ready to risk their life for the sake of new opening.
In half a minute, a person who braked at a traffic light has time to look at the screen of a special roadside demonstration device-a movie comic-a "lightweight" version of the creation of the great classic Shakespeare based on the tragedy "Othello". A parable about how modern civilization devalues world culture.
No overview found.
Volume 3 (1979-1985): "Tale of Tales", "Hunt", "Cabaret", "Last Hunt", "There Was a Dog", "Travels of an Ant", "Lion and Bull", "Wolf and Calf", "Old Stair", "King's Sandwich", "About Sidorov Vova".
A bear cub who has trouble sleeping during winter sneaks out of the house and makes a new friend.
Volume 1 (1962-1968): "Story of One Crime", "Man in the Frame", "My Green Crocodile", "There Lived Kozyavin", "Mountain of Dinosaurs", "Passion of Spies", "Glass Harmonica", "Ball of Wool", "Singing Teacher", "Film, Film, Film".
A castaway is interrogated by Interpol, conquered by an imperialist ship, loses his lone palm tree to greedy loggers, is consoled by a missionary who promptly abandons him, is thoroughly examined by scientists, and harassed by journalists.
Montage of still photos with lighting effects.
Also Directed by Yuri Norstein
A little hedgehog, on the way to visit his friend the bear, gets lost in thick fog, where horses, dogs and even falling leaves take on a terrifying new aspect...
The story is based on the legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh, which disappears under the waters of a lake to escape an attack by the Mongols.
Winter Days is a 2003 animated film, directed by Kihachirō Kawamoto. It is based on one of the renku (collaborative linked poems) in the 1684 collection of the same name by the 17th-century Japanese poet Bashō. The creation of the film followed the traditional collaborative nature of the source material – the visuals for each of the 36 stanzas were independently created by 35 different animators. As well as many Japanese animators, Kawamoto assembled leading names of animation from across the world. Each animator was asked to contribute at least 30 seconds to illustrate their stanza, and most of the sequences are under a minute (Yuriy Norshteyn's, though, is nearly two minutes long).
A short film made by Yuri Norstein for the 60th anniversary of the October Revolution, The 25th - the First Day recounts that day using art from the revolutionary period.
A cut-out animation warning for children about the danger of fire and playing with matches, far from the grim warning of your typical PSA and anticipating the complicated human psychology of Norshteyn's subsequent work. And, no doubt, there is a metaphor aimed at the power structure. 1968-69 was a crucial period of transition for the animator, breaking out of the pack at Soyuzmultfilm and beginning to script and co-direct films. Not listed on imdb, this is one - if not the first - of his first solo works as director.
Volume 3 (1979-1985): "Tale of Tales", "Hunt", "Cabaret", "Last Hunt", "There Was a Dog", "Travels of an Ant", "Lion and Bull", "Wolf and Calf", "Old Stair", "King's Sandwich", "About Sidorov Vova".
A story of chilling beautiful wintry St. Petersburg and the child-like main protagonist, whose little joys give him solace in this cold, cruel world.
Skazka Skazok (Tale of Tales) is a 27-minute animated short film, considered the masterpiece of influential Russian animator Yuri Norstein. Told in a non-narrative style by free association, the film employs various techniques including puppets, cut-outs, and traditional cell animation. Using classical music and '30s jazz tunes instead of dialogue.
Montage of still photos with lighting effects.
Russian animated short film.
Also Directed by Lev Atamanov
Two short stories about space
Soviet cartoon, The Dog and the Cat, from Lev Atamanov.
A cyclist goes for a ride racing all kinds of vehicles only to be passed by a centipede.
Two dogs react to each other at a fence.
Two stories about the chicken who knew only two words and about three masters of disguise.
An anti-war film about the ability of individuals to prevent war.
A husband becomes unfaithful to his wife, and buys a bouquet of flowers which he wants to give an another woman. But that woman doesn't come to the meeting, so he tries to get rid of the bouquet.
Also Directed by Andrey Khrzhanovsky
The film is a journey through a fantastic country in which the erotic images of the films of the great Federico Fellini came to life, and Tonino Guerra himself acted as a guide. The heroes of the maestro’s paintings are sailing on a ship to the Enchanted Island. There everyone goes ashore except two - Federico Fellini and Juliet Mazina. Their wanderings continue.
Film by Andrey Khrzhanovsky based on the works of Joseph Brodsky.
The film is based on the drawings and manuscripts of A.S.Pushkin.
An animated film in two parts, about the tragic fate of Estonian artist Ülo Sooster and about his work.
The action takes place during the great Patriotic war. Nurse Maret considered the Director of the clinic a decent person, although he tries to remain politically neutral in relation to the occupiers. One day, a severely wounded Communist underground worker, Thomas, was admitted to the clinic. After performing a complex operation, the doctor restored his life. Nurse Maret was nursing a patient. But then the doctor hands Thomas over to the Gestapo. Outraged patients angrily condemn the doctor's action.
Story about the cow with the crumpled horn that tossed the dog that worried the cat that killed the rat that ate the malt that lay in the house that Jack built.
Stalin's reign of terror in Russia during the first half of the 20th century. Described using a combination of historical settings, biographies and masterpieces from Russian avant-garde artists, composers and writers from this totalitarianism period.
A semi-fictional account of Russian poets Josef Brodsky, who was forced into American exile in 1972.
Also Directed by Vladimir Tarasov
A Space travel comes to an end and before the landing the Cosmonaut falls asleep. He does not hear signals from the Earth. The disaster approaches. When the ship flies over the native house of the Cosmonaut, the ring of the alarm clock which the Grandfather winded up sounds and the Cosmonaut wakes up.
Animators from the distant future fly to another planet to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Soviet animation. Once in a meteor shower, the spaceship makes an emergency landing on an unknown planet, where live monsters with the ability to transform. Unknown formless creatures attack the ship and take away all things from there, along with films on which were recorded cartoons for display. While watching the collection of the best Soviet cartoons, monsters, being very impressed by what they saw, turn into cartoon characters, after which they decide to make peace with people and help them get everything back in place.
A landmark four disc Box Set - Unearthed from Moscow's legendary Soyuzmultfilm Studios, the 41 films in ANIMATED SOVIET PROPAGANDA span sixty years of Soviet history (1924 - 1984), and have never been available before in the U.S.
Soviet animation from Vladimir Tarasov.
In each episode Khoma and his friend Gopher meet different troubles and they manage it thanks to their friendship.
A man walking on the fields encounters an alien visitor from outer space.
A starship crashed on an uninhabited planet and its crew had to abandon it. Years later the survivors and their children try to return to the ship and send a distress signal. But for that they must go through a very dangerous mountain passage.
Also Directed by Anatoliy Petrov
When Eros shoots his arrows on the god Apollo, he falls madly in love with Daphne. But the nymph does not correspond to his love and escapes as she can from the harassment of Apollo. Animated short film based on the Greek myth of Apollo and Daphne.
The Cyclops Polyphemus falls in love with the beautiful nymph Galatea, but she rejects him in favor of Acis, a shepherd. Furious, Polifemo goes in search of Acis to take revenge. Animated short film that explores the love and the sexuality from Greek myth of Galatea and Acis.
Hippo came to the teacher of singing, but all the efforts of the maestro do not help (neither hearing nor voice). It was necessary for the student to simply swallow the teacher, and he sang with a beautiful, alien voice.
Admetus, king of Feres, makes an agreement with the Fates to postpone the date of his death, in exchange for someone else taking his place, without knowing that the chosen one will be his beloved wife Alcestis. Desperate, Admetus asks Hercules for help in rescuing Alcestis from death... An animated short film based on the Greek myth of Admetus and Alcestis.
Volume 1 (1962-1968): "Story of One Crime", "Man in the Frame", "My Green Crocodile", "There Lived Kozyavin", "Mountain of Dinosaurs", "Passion of Spies", "Glass Harmonica", "Ball of Wool", "Singing Teacher", "Film, Film, Film".
Story of a firefly
A Russian scientist creates a mind-reading weapon for his generals on a remote island. After the demonstration, the generals are pleased. Little do they realize, both the weapon, and the creator of the weapon have a mind of their own
A today's schoolboy can become a large scientist that is waited by the great opening in the future, but for this purpose thinking of studies is needed already now.
Also Directed by Ideya Garanina
A comical opera for children and adults about the absence of a nail that almost caused a World catastrophe. The film is based on English folk poetry translated by S.Marshak.
Volume 3 (1979-1985): "Tale of Tales", "Hunt", "Cabaret", "Last Hunt", "There Was a Dog", "Travels of an Ant", "Lion and Bull", "Wolf and Calf", "Old Stair", "King's Sandwich", "About Sidorov Vova".
Two parents put their child in his crib for the night and leave the room. The child starts crying, and the Cat comes into the room to keep him company. The child grabs her tail, and the Cat angrily reminds him that they agreed a thousand years ago that he would not do that. Upon seeing that the child doesn't remember, the Cat sighs and decides to tell him the story from the beginning. The story starts when the planet was young and life on Earth is starting with dinosaurs.
Short film by Ideya Garanina
Loosely inspired in some plays from the Spanish author Federico Garcia Lorca("The Puppet Play of Don Cristóbal", "The Billy-Club Puppets" and "Doña Rosita the Spinster"), this short does an incredibly job capturing all the poetry from those literary works, adding a new level of beauty to them by the art of puppetry and stop-motion animation. "Cabaret" starts as a bizarre comedy filled with many extravagances, then, it quickly evolves into a heart-breaking (But at the same time, captivating) tragedy, filled with a breathtaking lyricism that leads into a memorable ending, having some of the most beautiful lines that have been ever spoken in any animated film.
Soviet animation
An old man who took in and nursed a wounded crane is visited by a young, beautifully dressed woman.