A fantastic article and translation job! I had never actually watched this film before despite several recommendations, but your article changed that and it was every bit what you said it would be.
By the way, I've taken the liberty of editing your subtitles a bit to break up some extra-long lines and correct a few translation mistakes I found (such as the very opening poem, which was actually more correct in the 2016 subs. I tried to translate it a bit more poetically, but I'm not sure I'm quite satisfied with the result). Hope I didn't screw anything up in the process! The new version is over here: https://www.animatsiya.net/film.php?filmid=1173 (I also fixed up the Russian subs while I was at it)
Also, not sure if you mentioned it before, but the two directors teamed up once again in 1975 to direct another feature avant-garde animated-live action hybrid Mayakovsky adaptation:
But although it also has quite interesting segments (especially Vladimir Tarasov's segment at the 1-hour mark, and the perhaps-too-bizarre "Bazaar" segment at 19:42 animated by Ideya Garanina), the 1962 film seems to be clearly stronger.
Ah, Niffiwan! We were hoping you might run across this piece. Thanks for the kind words about the article and translation -- it means a lot from a veteran translator like you. (And happy it was able to introduce you to this unique film!)
It's great to see that The Bath has a page on Animatsiya now. Your tweaks to the subtitles make sense. It was confusing to translate the poem at the start, so we went with Julie Cassiday's English version of it from 1998, but it seems she didn't have it right either. Will take another crack at it when there's time.
As for Mayakovsky Laughs, it definitely has impressive elements to it -- we ran across it on Animatsiya and watched some while researching The Bath. But you're right that it feels like a step down from their 1962 film, even as bold as it is.
Lastly, one quick aside on the subject of Soviet animation. It's a goal of ours to write about the Alice in Wonderland series from the 1980s, but we're missing an important source -- a deleted YouTube video called "Как создавалась Алиса. Kievnauchfilm: Making of Alice," featuring interviews with Genrikh Umanskiy and the son of director Efrem Pruzhansky. We're wondering if you or someone in the translation community might know if it's saved somewhere.
Ah, a shame! Maybe it will turn up again one day. And thanks for the link -- this playlist/channel is a valuable archive. We've used it a few times before but should really explore it more.
My great-grandfather had a flower shop called Eilers on the Nevsky Prospect in Saint Petersburg, and Mayakovsky lived in the apartment upstairs. He writes about it in his book entitled The Egyptian Stamp. My father, who was born in 1912, was first arrested in 1931 and sent to the gulag and internal exile for the next ten years. But last I heard, the old Eilers shop is still a florist shop.
If you ever want to read a truly, truly great book on that epoch, get a copy of "All That Is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity" by Marshall Berman (1982).
Fantastic article. Mayakovsky (along with Brecht and my teacher Suzan-Lori Parks) was one of great inspirations in college. I had no idea this film existed.
A dive into Harry Smith's version of Brecht's Mahagonny would be a nice complementary article.
Thanks very much, Richard! Awesome to hear that you had this link to Mayakovsky. And Harry Smith is totally new to us -- we'll see if there's a copy of Mahagonny available to watch.
A fantastic article and translation job! I had never actually watched this film before despite several recommendations, but your article changed that and it was every bit what you said it would be.
By the way, I've taken the liberty of editing your subtitles a bit to break up some extra-long lines and correct a few translation mistakes I found (such as the very opening poem, which was actually more correct in the 2016 subs. I tried to translate it a bit more poetically, but I'm not sure I'm quite satisfied with the result). Hope I didn't screw anything up in the process! The new version is over here: https://www.animatsiya.net/film.php?filmid=1173 (I also fixed up the Russian subs while I was at it)
Also, not sure if you mentioned it before, but the two directors teamed up once again in 1975 to direct another feature avant-garde animated-live action hybrid Mayakovsky adaptation:
https://www.animatsiya.net/film.php?filmid=449
But although it also has quite interesting segments (especially Vladimir Tarasov's segment at the 1-hour mark, and the perhaps-too-bizarre "Bazaar" segment at 19:42 animated by Ideya Garanina), the 1962 film seems to be clearly stronger.
Ah, Niffiwan! We were hoping you might run across this piece. Thanks for the kind words about the article and translation -- it means a lot from a veteran translator like you. (And happy it was able to introduce you to this unique film!)
It's great to see that The Bath has a page on Animatsiya now. Your tweaks to the subtitles make sense. It was confusing to translate the poem at the start, so we went with Julie Cassiday's English version of it from 1998, but it seems she didn't have it right either. Will take another crack at it when there's time.
As for Mayakovsky Laughs, it definitely has impressive elements to it -- we ran across it on Animatsiya and watched some while researching The Bath. But you're right that it feels like a step down from their 1962 film, even as bold as it is.
Lastly, one quick aside on the subject of Soviet animation. It's a goal of ours to write about the Alice in Wonderland series from the 1980s, but we're missing an important source -- a deleted YouTube video called "Как создавалась Алиса. Kievnauchfilm: Making of Alice," featuring interviews with Genrikh Umanskiy and the son of director Efrem Pruzhansky. We're wondering if you or someone in the translation community might know if it's saved somewhere.
You can see a sign that it once existed on VK: https://vk.com/video/playlist/-38172315_43057920?section=playlist_43057920&z=video-38172315_162785958%2Fclub38172315%2Fpl_-38172315_43057920
If not, no worries. And thanks again for the comment!
No, I never saved that video, unfortunately. By the way, I assume you're familiar with this playlist? https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz8JvTEXtEYTtlGRbjuAga2jGLSIgWrsg
A good resource for books on Russian/Soviet animation that otherwise are not easy to get ahold of.
Ah, a shame! Maybe it will turn up again one day. And thanks for the link -- this playlist/channel is a valuable archive. We've used it a few times before but should really explore it more.
My great-grandfather had a flower shop called Eilers on the Nevsky Prospect in Saint Petersburg, and Mayakovsky lived in the apartment upstairs. He writes about it in his book entitled The Egyptian Stamp. My father, who was born in 1912, was first arrested in 1931 and sent to the gulag and internal exile for the next ten years. But last I heard, the old Eilers shop is still a florist shop.
Incredible story -- thank you so much for sharing.
If you ever want to read a truly, truly great book on that epoch, get a copy of "All That Is Solid Melts into Air: The Experience of Modernity" by Marshall Berman (1982).
Fantastic article. Mayakovsky (along with Brecht and my teacher Suzan-Lori Parks) was one of great inspirations in college. I had no idea this film existed.
A dive into Harry Smith's version of Brecht's Mahagonny would be a nice complementary article.
Thanks very much, Richard! Awesome to hear that you had this link to Mayakovsky. And Harry Smith is totally new to us -- we'll see if there's a copy of Mahagonny available to watch.