Soviet Winnie the Pooh
Hey, it’s Winnie-the-Pooh, but he’s in Russian in these three Soviet era animated stories by Fyodor Khitruk and Boris Zakhoder! (Thanks, Ed!)
Stop-Motion Soviet Wonder
Enjoy children’s book writer Eduard Uspensky’s Cheburashka in all his glory in this subtitled, stop-motion short, “Cheburashka and Crocodile Gena!” It’s like Rankin & Bass’ American puppet-mation Christmas specials, but Soviet.
“Catsuits, Boilersuits, and Racing Suits”
At the Vintagent, Paul D’Orléans writes about the history of one-piece utility suits from boilersuits to Catwoman and Girl On A Motorcycle (1968). “The story of the ‘boilersuit’ and its (super)heroic descendants is a curious tale; a purely functional clothing item historically laden with a mix of Utopian […]
“Life Got You Down? Time to Read The Master and Margarita”
At Lithub, Viv Groskop writes about Mikhail Bulgakov’s The Master and Margarita. “Written in the 1930s but not published until the 1960s, The Master and Margarita is the most breathtakingly original piece of work. Few books can match it for weirdness. The devil, Woland, comes to Moscow with […]
So Many Musicals!
The Vulture has a list of fifty swell-looking non-Holllywood, non-English musicals for your perusal!
“Beautiful Books, Terrible Times”
Hyperallergic has a piece on Soviet children’s books between 1920 and 1935, with images from Inside the Rainbow: Russian Children’s Literature 1920-35: Beautiful Books, Terrible Times. “The 1920s in Russia weren’t exactly what people had hoped they would be. After the 1917 Russian Revolution brought down the old regime […]
Soviet Experimentation in “Ornamental Sound”
“In 1929, the Russians produced their first talkie, the snappily titled The Five Year Plan for Great Works. The possibility of synchronized sound inspired a trio of pioneers, composer Arseny Avraamov, animator Mikhail Tsihanovsky and engineer Evgeny Sholpo who were fascinated by the curved loops, arcs and waveforms […]
