I really love this film, as did those I watched it with. However, it's very much not made in a mainstream way, despite its mainstream production values, so it will never have a mass audience. I think the problem is that its main character is the sort of sensitive artist who most people will just not feel kinship with, plus it has an "outdated" 19th-century worldview. I'm glad that it was completed and released - truly a miracle.
Improved English subtitles for Hoffmaniada are available since July 2020 on KG (improved from the original translation by Kevin McNeer, which was already mostly pretty good). I hope the film appears on Youtube at some point, as a lot of other Russian animated features have. It was funded out of public funds (even if Soyuzmultfilm is acting rather like a private company these days), so it seems only fair that it should be accessible. Maybe in a few years.
Thanks for this great and insightful comment! It means a lot to us -- your translation work and writing on Russian animation have been incredibly valuable for the English side of the internet.
Out of curiosity, do you have a link to the KG English version of the film you mentioned? This is totally new to us!
Thanks. :) I have a new site at animatsiya.net, by the way (something I'd been wanting to make for quite a long time - a home for subtitled and wordless Soviet/Russian/post-Soviet animation), and I also hope to write more new analytic material on the "Animatsiya" Livejournal blog in the coming months. I hope the English subtitles for "Hoffmaniada" will also appear there, once they upload the film on some site that allows embedding (Youtube, Vimeo, VK etc). I don't want to step on their toes (though I think the best thing they could do is get the film SEEN, but perhaps they're hoping to get a deal with some platform that wants an "exclusive").
I regret to say that KG isn't public, but perhaps people will share it to other places, as these things sometimes go. There are lots of little film communities around...
If someone from SMF is reading this, please feel free to use them, or build on them. They are a bit better than the original translation, so should lead to a better viewing experience for English-speakers (fully translated credits, corrected German spellings, better translations in some spots).
Thank you so much for these incredible links! We haven't seen your new site until now -- what an amazing resource. And we really can't tell you how much we appreciate the link to those subtitles. Have a great week!
I really love this film, as did those I watched it with. However, it's very much not made in a mainstream way, despite its mainstream production values, so it will never have a mass audience. I think the problem is that its main character is the sort of sensitive artist who most people will just not feel kinship with, plus it has an "outdated" 19th-century worldview. I'm glad that it was completed and released - truly a miracle.
Improved English subtitles for Hoffmaniada are available since July 2020 on KG (improved from the original translation by Kevin McNeer, which was already mostly pretty good). I hope the film appears on Youtube at some point, as a lot of other Russian animated features have. It was funded out of public funds (even if Soyuzmultfilm is acting rather like a private company these days), so it seems only fair that it should be accessible. Maybe in a few years.
Thanks for this great and insightful comment! It means a lot to us -- your translation work and writing on Russian animation have been incredibly valuable for the English side of the internet.
Out of curiosity, do you have a link to the KG English version of the film you mentioned? This is totally new to us!
Thanks. :) I have a new site at animatsiya.net, by the way (something I'd been wanting to make for quite a long time - a home for subtitled and wordless Soviet/Russian/post-Soviet animation), and I also hope to write more new analytic material on the "Animatsiya" Livejournal blog in the coming months. I hope the English subtitles for "Hoffmaniada" will also appear there, once they upload the film on some site that allows embedding (Youtube, Vimeo, VK etc). I don't want to step on their toes (though I think the best thing they could do is get the film SEEN, but perhaps they're hoping to get a deal with some platform that wants an "exclusive").
I regret to say that KG isn't public, but perhaps people will share it to other places, as these things sometimes go. There are lots of little film communities around...
Actually, might as well just give a link: https://files.fm/u/ppzgcsagf
If someone from SMF is reading this, please feel free to use them, or build on them. They are a bit better than the original translation, so should lead to a better viewing experience for English-speakers (fully translated credits, corrected German spellings, better translations in some spots).
Thank you so much for these incredible links! We haven't seen your new site until now -- what an amazing resource. And we really can't tell you how much we appreciate the link to those subtitles. Have a great week!
Hi, random anon here who would love the english subs for Hoffmaniada. The link you posted seems to be down, would you be willing to reupload?