The Spirit of Genius - Fedor Khitruk and His Films

The Spirit of Genius - Fedor Khitruk and His Films (DVD) (*)

$47.99

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Russian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
Switzerland ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
59 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1998 and produced in:
Russia ( Russia, Eastern Europe )
Switzerland ( Germany, Central Europe )

Directed By:
Otto Alder

Written By:
Otto Alder

Actors:
Otto Alder

Synopsis:

The Spirit of Genius introduces us to part of this terra incognita in film history. Presenting us with what is both a sensitive and fascinating portrait of one of the last great figures in the international animated film scene: Russian film-marker-Fedor Khitruk. Born 1st May 1917, Fedor Khitruk is not only a witness of this century and Russian history, he is first and foremost the founding father of Post-Stalinist animated films in the Soviet Union, a genre which he has helped achieve world-wide recognition since the beginning of the Sixties. Generations of children have him to thank for their first and most impressive visual experiences, and generations of students are still inspired by his films.

Winner of several state prizes and numerous festival awards (Cannes, Leipzig, New York, Venice Oberhausen etc), Khitruk is greatly admired in Russia today. The Film traces the reasons for this veneration. This is obviously a man who succeeded in practicing 'a humane form of socialism' in an authoritarian state, making this a key theme in his films- in spite of various privileges and his status as a functionary. With his sensitive understanding of the pleasures and worries big and small-of people living under state socialism, Khitruk legitimized the animated film politically and socially as an art form, an art form that offered greater political scope than other artistic fields. Some of the big names in this trade, such as Yui Norstein, have him to thank for the fact that they were able to work undisturbed for so many years.

The Spirit of Genius traces not only Khitruk's life and his enthusiasm for the German culture but also focuses on his understanding of art and culture as basis for his 'cosmopolitanism' which inevitably led him to the animated film. It is interesting to note that throughout his life, Khitruk's animated fantasy world revolved around a fixed star by the name of Disney, even though he rejected the moralizing tone in favor of enlightenment. But this is not the contradiction it might at first seem, as we see if we compare Khitruk with another icon of Russian film art: Sergei Eisenstein. A part from interviews with numerous students and colleagues of Khitruk's, the film introduces us to four of Khitruk's main works: History of a Crime', Man in Frame', Winnie-The-Pooh' and 'Film, Film, Film'.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 06 October, 2010.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

El Greco (2007) (DVD)