A bit of a gloomy start to December. First we have the (final) death of the Dandy (my copy of the big fat farewell issue's still in the post, but it sounds like a good read), now I've learnt that Russian animation-man Fyodor Khitruk has left the planet at the ripe old age of 95.
It's a good age to live to, so it's not a "tragic" loss, but it's a loss all the same. In fifty years he made over a hundred films, and won even more awards. Here's several of them for the sake of enjoyment:
Story of One Crime (1962)
Man in the Frame (1966)
Film, film, film (1968)
Film, film, film (1968)
Island (1973)
Lion and Ox (1983)
RIP to him. The planet's running out of talented folk at an alarming rate.
Thanks for refreshing some of my childhood memories, I had completely forgotten how excellent some of those Russian films were. Russians produced some amazing animation in the 70s and 80s. Quite a few films come to mind that I would strongly recommend :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, even going beyond the likes of Fyodor there, and the living genius that is Yuri Norstein.
DeleteRuslania's a good source for Russian animation DVDs, if ever you're after any.
Definitely seen Island and Lion & Ox, but the other films are new to me....Love that version of Winnie The Pooh!
ReplyDeleteR.I.P. Mr. Khitruk
The whole of the Russian animation scene is just enormous - I wasn't even fully aware of it until Channel 4 showed Norstein's Hedgehog In The Fog back in 1999. Constantly finding "new" classics!
DeleteChrist, he did all of those?
ReplyDeleteDave Brubeck's died, too. This is a sad day for vibrancy.
Brubeck too? Bah.
DeleteThe "YourDailyCartoon" blog's got a good post regarding him.
When I was at school we watched a very gory Russian animated version of Macbeth (no doubt perfect grist for the mill in the Soviet era, all those royals going power-mad and killing each other) which has stuck with me for a long time. I need to do some reading up!
ReplyDelete