Treasures of Soviet Animation Volume 3 (The Short Films of Yuri Norstein) (1968-1979) (Blu-ray) [Region A] Deluxe Edition

Treasures of Soviet Animation Volume 3 / The Short Films of Yuri Norstein

THE 25TH, THE FIRST DAY (25-E - PERVYY DEN) - 1968, 9 min., co-dir. Arkadiy Tyurin. Norstein's first film is a visually striking tribute to the Bolshevik Revolution on October 25th.

SEASONS (VREMENA GODA) - 1969, 9 min. A man and woman ride through the forest while the seasons change around them in this lovely, elegiac short set to music by Tchaikovsky.

CHILDREN AND MATCHES (DETI I SPICHKI) - 1969, 5 min. Norstein's rarely-seen educational short about the dangers of matches, from ancient times up to today.

THE BATTLE OF KERZHENETS (SECHA PRI KERZHENTSE) - 1971, 10 min., co-dir. Ivan Ivanov-Vano. Arguably Norstein's first great animated film, inspired by the legend of the City of Kitezh which disappeared into a lake to avoid Mongol invaders.

THE FOX & THE HARE (LISA I ZAYATS) – 1973, 12 min. Norstein's utterly charming short about a temperamental "house-filching fox" who boots a poor rabbit out of his home. The rabbit turns to a wolf, bear, bull and rooster for help, with surprising results.

THE HERON & THE CRANE (TSAPLYA I ZHURAVL) - 1974, 10 min. An awkward crane and a high-spirited heron go back and forth on marrying each other, in this heartbreaking short about romantic misunderstandings.

HEDGEHOG IN THE FOG (YOZHIK V TUMANE) – 1975, 11 min. The deceptively epic journey of the tiny hedgehog, filled with impossible marvels and dangers: a shimmering white horse and a crafty owl. A fluttering bat, a falling leaf and the ever-present curtain of fog. Widely considered one of the greatest animated films ever made.

A DAY BEFORE OUR ERA (ZA DEN DO' NASHEY ERY) – 1977, 6 min. Co-dir. Fyodor Khitruk. This experimental collage of images of the French Revolution was apparently abandoned before it was finished, and remains one of Norstein's rarest films.

THE TALE OF TALES (SKAZKA SKAZOK) – 1979, 29 min. Norstein's longest film to date, TALE is a story about stories, a dream of many dreams. A giant bull and a little girl skip rope. Couples dance under a streetlight until the male partners disappear, headed off to war. And through it all, the Little Gray Wolf watches silently at the rondo of human loves and losses.

All short films in Russian with English subtitles.