Yuri Norstein And Tale of Tales

by Kitson, Clare

• ISBN13: 9780253218384
• ISBN10: 0253218381
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-01
• Publisher: Indiana Univ Pr

Summary

Widely acclaimed as the best animated film of all time, Tale of Tales is a poetic amalgam of Yuri Norstein's memories of his past and hopes and fears for the future: his post-war childhood, remnants of the personal tragedies of war, the little wolf character in the lullaby his mother used to sing, the neighbors in his crowded communal flat, the tango played in the park on summer evenings, and the small working-class boy's longing to emerge from the dark central corridor of the kommunalka into a luminous world of art and poetry. In Yuri Norstein and Tale of Tales: An Animator's Journey, Clare Kitson examines the passage of these motifs into the film and delves into later influences that also affected its genesis. More than merely a study of one animated film or a biography of its creator, Kitson's investigation encompasses the Soviet culture from which this landmark film emerged and sheds light on creative influences that shaped the work of this acclaimed filmmaker.

Author Biography

Clare Kitson is a former programmer for the National Film Theatre in London and for BBC Channel 4. She has been researching Yuri Norstein and his work for over two decades.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix
Nick Park
Acknowledgements	xi
Why a book?	1	(8)
Our childhood coincided with the end of the war	9	(12)
Light rooms, high windows	21	(16)
A mix of micro-histories	37	(14)
The treatment	51	(10)
Pre-production and a false start	61	(14)
The picture comes together	75	(24)
The film unveiled	99	(8)
What's it about then, Yuri?	107	(6)
Native luggage	113	(32)
Tale of Tales Proposal for a 20-minute animated film	123	(2)
Tale of Tales Treatment for an animated film	125	(6)
Tale of Tales Credits	131	(2)
Time line	133	(4)
Yuri Norstein Filmography	137	(4)
Yuri Norstein Bibliography	141	(4)
Index	145