Tale of Tales
Encyclopedia
Tale of Tales is a 1979 Soviet
/Russian
animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn
and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm
studio in Moscow
. It has won numerous awards, has been acclaimed by critics and other animators, and has received the title of greatest animated film of all time in various polls. It has been the subject of a 2005 book by Clare Kitson titled Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey.
Mirror
, attempts to structure itself like a human memory. Memories are not recalled in neat chronological order; instead, they are recalled by the association of one thing with another, which means that any attempt to put memory on film cannot be told like a conventional narrative. The film is thus made up of a series of related sequences whose scenes are interspersed between each other. One of the primary themes involves war, with particular emphasis on the enormous losses the Soviet Union
suffered on the Eastern Front
during World War II
. Several recurring characters and their interactions make up a large part of the film, such as the poet, the little girl and the bull, the little boy and the crows, the dancers and the soldiers, and especially the little grey wolf . Another symbol
connecting nearly all of these different themes are green apples (which may symbolize life, hope, or potential).
Yuriy Norshteyn wrote in Iskusstvo Kino magazine that the film is "about simple concepts that give you the strength to live."
(notably the E flat minor Prelude BWV
853 (from The Well-Tempered Clavier
)) and Mozart
(the Andante second movement from Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, K41) are used, and the World War II era tango
Weary Sun
, written by Jerzy Petersburski
, features prominently. However, the most important musical inspiration is the following traditional Russian lullaby
, which is included in the film in both instrumental and vocal form.
Many situations in the film actually derive from this lullaby, as well as the character of the little grey wolf. Indeed, the film's original title (rejected by the Soviet censors) was The Little Grey Wolf Will Come.
The name Tale of Tales came from a poem of the same name by Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet
that Norshteyn loved since 1962.
paid homage to Tale of Tales in the video of their song "Girl and the Sea" from their first album Beams
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
/Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
animated film directed by Yuriy Norshteyn
Yuriy Norshteyn
Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales...
and produced by the Soyuzmultfilm
Soyuzmultfilm
Soyuzmultfilm is a Russian animation studio based in Moscow. Over the years it has gained international attention and respect, garnering numerous awards both at home and abroad. Noted for a great variety of style, it is regarded as the most influential animation studio of the former Soviet Union...
studio in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. It has won numerous awards, has been acclaimed by critics and other animators, and has received the title of greatest animated film of all time in various polls. It has been the subject of a 2005 book by Clare Kitson titled Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey.
Plot
Tale of Tales, like Tarkovsky'sAndrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
Mirror
The Mirror (1975 film)
The Mirror is a 1975 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky. It is loosely autobiographical, blending childhood memories, newsreel footage and poems by his father Arseny Tarkovsky...
, attempts to structure itself like a human memory. Memories are not recalled in neat chronological order; instead, they are recalled by the association of one thing with another, which means that any attempt to put memory on film cannot be told like a conventional narrative. The film is thus made up of a series of related sequences whose scenes are interspersed between each other. One of the primary themes involves war, with particular emphasis on the enormous losses the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
suffered on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Several recurring characters and their interactions make up a large part of the film, such as the poet, the little girl and the bull, the little boy and the crows, the dancers and the soldiers, and especially the little grey wolf . Another symbol
Symbol
A symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
connecting nearly all of these different themes are green apples (which may symbolize life, hope, or potential).
Yuriy Norshteyn wrote in Iskusstvo Kino magazine that the film is "about simple concepts that give you the strength to live."
Music and poetry
In addition to the original score composed by Mikhail Meyerovich, this film makes use of several other pieces of music. Excerpts from works by BachJohann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
(notably the E flat minor Prelude BWV
BWV
The Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis is the numbering system identifying compositions by Johann Sebastian Bach. The prefix BWV, followed by the work's number, is the shorthand identification for Bach's compositions...
853 (from The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier
The Well-Tempered Clavier , BWV 846–893, is a collection of solo keyboard music composed by Johann Sebastian Bach...
)) and Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
(the Andante second movement from Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, K41) are used, and the World War II era tango
Tango music
Tango is a style of ballroom dance music in 2/4 or 4/4 time that originated among European immigrant populations of Argentina and Uruguay . It is traditionally played by a sextet, known as the orquesta típica, which includes two violins, piano, double bass, and two bandoneons...
Weary Sun
Ta ostatnia niedziela
To ostatnia niedziela is one of the long-time hits of Jerzy Petersburski. A nostalgic tango with lyrics by Zenon Friedwald describing the final meeting of former lovers who broke up, it was performed by numerous artists and gained the nickname of Suicide Tango, regarded as the perfect background...
, written by Jerzy Petersburski
Jerzy Petersburski
Jerzy Petersburski was a Polish pianist and composer of popular music, renowned mostly for his Tangos, some of which were milestones in popularization of the musical genre in Poland and are still widely known today, more than half a century after their creation.Jerzy Petersburski was born April...
, features prominently. However, the most important musical inspiration is the following traditional Russian lullaby
Lullaby
A lullaby is a soothing song, usually sung to young children before they go to sleep, with the intention of speeding that process. As a result they are often simple and repetitive. Lullabies can be found in every culture and since the ancient period....
, which is included in the film in both instrumental and vocal form.
| Russian | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
Баю-баюшки-баю, Не ложися на краю. Придёт серенький волчок, Он ухватит за бочок И утащит во лесок Под ракитовый кусток. |
Bayu-bayushki-bayu, Ne lozhisya na krayu. Pridyot serenkiy volchok, On ukhvatit za bochok I utashchit vo lesok Pod rakitovy kustok. |
Baby, baby, rock-a-bye On the edge you mustn't lie Or the little grey wolf will come And will nip you on the tum, Tug you off into the wood Underneath the willow-root. |
Many situations in the film actually derive from this lullaby, as well as the character of the little grey wolf. Indeed, the film's original title (rejected by the Soviet censors) was The Little Grey Wolf Will Come.
The name Tale of Tales came from a poem of the same name by Turkish poet Nazım Hikmet
Nazim Hikmet
Nâzım Hikmet Ran , commonly known as Nâzım Hikmet , was a Turkish poet, playwright, novelist and memoirist. He was acclaimed for the "lyrical flow of his statements"...
that Norshteyn loved since 1962.
| Russian | Transliteration | English translation |
|---|---|---|
Стоим над водой - солнце, кошка, чинара, я и наша судьба. Вода прохладная, Чинара высокая, Солнце светит, Кошка дремлет, Я стихи сочиняю. Слава Богу, живем!.. |
Stoim nad vodoy - solntse, koshka, chinara, ya i nasha sud'ba. Voda prochladnaya, Chinara vysokaya, Solntse svyetit, Koshka dryemlyet, Ya stihi sochinyayu Slava Bogu, zhivyom!.. |
We stand above the water - sun, cat, plane tree Platanus Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae.... , me and our destiny. The water is cool, The plane tree is tall, The sun is shining, The cat is dozing, I write verses. Thank God, we live!.. |
Awards
- 1980—LilleLilleLille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
(FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
) International Festival of Films: Jury Grand Prize - 1980—Zagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsZagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsAnimafest Zagreb, also known as World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb, is an annual festival dedicated to animated film held in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association, the event was established in 1972 at the time when Croatia was part of SFR Yugoslavia)...
: Grand Prize - 1980—OttawaOttawaOttawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
(CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) International Animation FestivalOttawa International Animation Festival-History:In 1976, the Canadian Film Institute founded the biennial Ottawa International Animation Festival . First held August 10 to 15, 1976, the OIAF created a gathering place for North American animation professionals and enthusiasts to ponder the craft and business of animation...
: Best Film Longer Than Three Minutes Award - 1984—Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
Olympic Arts Festival: voted by large international jury to be the greatest animated film of all time - 2002—Zagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsZagreb World Festival of Animated FilmsAnimafest Zagreb, also known as World Festival of Animated Film in Zagreb, is an annual festival dedicated to animated film held in Zagreb, Croatia. Initiated by the International Animated Film Association, the event was established in 1972 at the time when Croatia was part of SFR Yugoslavia)...
: again voted by large international jury to be the greatest animated film of all time
Creators
| Director | Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales... (Ю́рий Норште́йн) |
| Writers | Lyudmila Petrushevskaya Lyudmila Petrushevskaya Lyudmila Stefanovna Petrushevskaya is a Russian writer, novelist and playwright.The Moscow-born Petrushevskaya is regarded as one of Russia's most prominent contemporary writers, whose writing combines postmodernist trends with the psychological insights and parodic touches of writers such as... (Людми́ла Петруше́вская) Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales... (Юрий Норштейн) |
| Art Director | Franchesca Yarbusova (Франче́ска Ярбусова) |
| Animator | Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Norshteyn Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales... (Ю́рий Норште́йн) |
| Camera Operator | Igor Skidan-Bossin (И́горь Скидан-Босин) |
| Executive Producer | G. Kovrov (Г. Ковро́в) |
| Composer | Mikhail Meyerovich (Михаи́л Мееро́вич) |
| Sound Operator | Boris Filchikov (Бори́с Фильчико́в) |
| Script Editor | Natalya Abramova (Ната́лья Абрамова) |
| Voice Actor | Alexander Kalyagin Alexander Kalyagin Alexander Kalyagin is a Soviet/Russian actor and director, member of the Public Chamber of Russia, People's Artist of Russia , Laureate of the State Prizes for his works in the theatre and the cinema... (Алекса́ндр Каля́гин) as Little Grey Wolf |
| Film Editor | Nadezhda Treshcheva (Наде́жда Трещёва) |
Cultural influence
The Australian electronic duo The PresetsThe Presets
The Presets are an Australian electronic duo formed in 2003, consisting of Julian Hamilton on vocals and keyboards, and Kim Moyes on drums and keyboards. They released their debut album Beams in 2005 to positive critical response. Their 2008 release Apocalypso debuted at number-one on the ARIA...
paid homage to Tale of Tales in the video of their song "Girl and the Sea" from their first album Beams
Beams (album)
Beams is the debut album by Australian electronic dance music duo The Presets, released on 12 September 2005.- Track listing :- Reception :...
.
See also
- History of Russian animationHistory of Russian animationThe History of Russian animation is very rich, but is so far a nearly unexplored field for Western film theory and history. As most of Russia's production of animation for film|cinema and television was created during Soviet times, it may also be referred to as the History of Soviet...
- Films that have been considered the greatest everFilms that have been considered the greatest everWhile there is no general agreement upon the greatest film, many publications and organizations have tried to determine the films considered the best. The films mentioned in this article have all been mentioned in a notable survey – be it a popular poll or critics' poll...
- List of films based on poems
- List of stop-motion films
External links
- Tale of Tales at the Animator.ruAnimator.ruAnimator.ru is a Russian website chronicling the films, people and studios of the animation industry in Russia, the former Soviet Union and the CIS. It also includes a forum, a news block, a photo-gallery and an animators labour exchange...
- Book review of "Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey"
- Comparison of various DVDs containing the film (in Russian, but with helpful pictures)