Very Blue Beard
Encyclopedia
Very Blue Beard is a 1979
Soviet musical
comedy
animated film loosely based on the Bluebeard
fairy tale
by Charles Perrault
. Directed by Vladimir Samsonov, screenplay by Arkady Arkanov. Cinematography by Vladimir Milovanov. Original music score by Gennady Gladkov. Lyrics by Yuliy Kim
. Released by T/O Ekran
A detective is investigating the crimes of a medieval duke
Bluebeard - is he really guilty of killing his wives?
Bluebeard says he was sincerely looking for a happy married life. He "was living alone, all alone in the world" and "wandered around the castle, waiting for [his] brides". Bluebeard wished to be "a husband and a father" and to have, like other people, "family, love and duty". However, his first wife, Marianna, was a terrible fashion-monger, who tormented Bluebeard with recent fashion trends. She cut his beard, completely renovated the interior of the castle and didn't pay Bluebeard any attention, calling him old-fashioned. In the end, exasperated Bluebeard treaded on the tail of her personal dragon and Marianna was burned alive. His blue beard grows again.
The second wife, Lilianna, was a health worker
. She noted that Bluebeard suffered from "total thinness" and that he treated himself with criminal negligence: "You're on the brink of the grave, but I'll take your case." Lilianna made her husband do gymnastics
, yoga
, prohibited drinking wine, eating meat and etc. Extremely exhausted Bluebeard endured it due to his love for her, but finally poisoned her with an Amanita
(toxic mushroom
).
The third wife, Vivianna, was very beautiful, sociable and cheery. Unlike previous wives, she had butterfly wings. At first Bluebeard and his wife happily feasted, surrounded by friends and neighbors of the duke. Vivianna, singing "love has no boundaries", flew around the castle: "If it is possible to embrace all living creatures, I am ready to embrace them all". One day Bluebeard went hunting and returned only to find Vivianna in bed with one of his own friends. After short mêlée combat Bluebeard was killed by a stab in the back.
Detective writes down the story. On the way home he calls his wife to tell her about a successfully completed investigation. His paranoiac wife doesn't believe him and starts a quarell, accusing her husband of infidelity and promising him divorce. The detective spitefully answers "I'll be home in a moment, my dear", and a blue beard grows on his face.
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
Soviet musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
animated film loosely based on the Bluebeard
Bluebeard
"Bluebeard" is a French literary folktale written by Charles Perrault and is one of eight tales by the author first published by Barbin in Paris in January 1697 in Histoires ou Contes du temps passé. The tale tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives and the...
fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
by Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault
Charles Perrault was a French author who laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from pre-existing folk tales. The best known include Le Petit Chaperon rouge , Cendrillon , Le Chat Botté and La Barbe bleue...
. Directed by Vladimir Samsonov, screenplay by Arkady Arkanov. Cinematography by Vladimir Milovanov. Original music score by Gennady Gladkov. Lyrics by Yuliy Kim
Yuliy Kim
Yuliy Chersanovich Kim is one of Russia's foremost bards and playwrights. His most famous works, encompassing everything from mild humor to biting political satire, include songs for movies such as Bumbarash, The Twelve Chairs, and An Ordinary Miracle, as well as the songs "The Brave Captain,"...
. Released by T/O Ekran
Studio Ekran
Studio Ekran is a Russian TV film studio. It was founded in 1968 and produced made-for-TV movies, mini-series and animated cartoons...
A detective is investigating the crimes of a medieval duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
Bluebeard - is he really guilty of killing his wives?
Plot summary
The nameless detective, interested in Bluebeard's case, drives to question him, at the same time making a phone call to his wife. His overly jealous wife tries to persuade him to return immediately, as she suspects him in infidelity. But the detective is fascinated with the story of Bluebeard, who suddenly appears in front of him.Bluebeard says he was sincerely looking for a happy married life. He "was living alone, all alone in the world" and "wandered around the castle, waiting for [his] brides". Bluebeard wished to be "a husband and a father" and to have, like other people, "family, love and duty". However, his first wife, Marianna, was a terrible fashion-monger, who tormented Bluebeard with recent fashion trends. She cut his beard, completely renovated the interior of the castle and didn't pay Bluebeard any attention, calling him old-fashioned. In the end, exasperated Bluebeard treaded on the tail of her personal dragon and Marianna was burned alive. His blue beard grows again.
The second wife, Lilianna, was a health worker
Health care provider
A health care provider is an individual or an institution that provides preventive, curative, promotional or rehabilitative health care services in a systematic way to individuals, families or communities....
. She noted that Bluebeard suffered from "total thinness" and that he treated himself with criminal negligence: "You're on the brink of the grave, but I'll take your case." Lilianna made her husband do gymnastics
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...
, yoga
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
, prohibited drinking wine, eating meat and etc. Extremely exhausted Bluebeard endured it due to his love for her, but finally poisoned her with an Amanita
Amanita
The genus Amanita contains about 600 species of agarics including some of the most toxic known mushrooms found worldwide. This genus is responsible for approximately 95% of the fatalities resulting from mushroom poisoning, with the death cap accounting for about 50% on its own...
(toxic mushroom
Mushroom
A mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus; hence the word "mushroom" is most often applied to those fungi that...
).
The third wife, Vivianna, was very beautiful, sociable and cheery. Unlike previous wives, she had butterfly wings. At first Bluebeard and his wife happily feasted, surrounded by friends and neighbors of the duke. Vivianna, singing "love has no boundaries", flew around the castle: "If it is possible to embrace all living creatures, I am ready to embrace them all". One day Bluebeard went hunting and returned only to find Vivianna in bed with one of his own friends. After short mêlée combat Bluebeard was killed by a stab in the back.
Detective writes down the story. On the way home he calls his wife to tell her about a successfully completed investigation. His paranoiac wife doesn't believe him and starts a quarell, accusing her husband of infidelity and promising him divorce. The detective spitefully answers "I'll be home in a moment, my dear", and a blue beard grows on his face.
Voice cast
- Mikhail Boyarskiy, as Detective and the Duke Bluebeard
- Oleg Anofriev, as Duke's dog
- V. Ignatyeva, as Marianna, the first wife
- M. Smirnovs, as Lilyanna, the second wife
- Larisa DolinaLarisa DolinaLarisa Aleksandrovna Dolina is an Azerbaijani-born prominent Russian jazz and pop singer and an actress...
, as Vivyanna, the third wife - Aleksandr Belyavskiy as the Narrator
External links
- Very Blue Beard 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...