Monday, November 06, 2006

There Was Walt, And Then There Was...Uncle Joe

Okay, we've all been fixated on the great animation icon Walt Disney, but have you stopped to consider that other unsung hero of animation? Oh, if we only had eyes to see...

Soviet Propaganda Films From Stalin’s Animation Factories Released

Shocking, Beautiful, Anti-American Collection Never Before Seen in the West

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Soviet propaganda films, some over 80 years old, will be released to the U.S. for the first time on November 7, 2006, in coordination with the 89th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Films by Jove, the major distribution company for Russian animation, has packaged the Soviet propaganda films in a series on DVD which they will distribute with Kino International.

The eight-hour series, issued as a DVD 4-pack, will retail for $89. The series is based on more than four dozen rarely seen anti-American, anti-German, anti-British, anti-Japanese, anti-Capitalist, anti-Imperialist pro-Communist animated shorts produced by the Soviets from 1924-1984.

“This is a groundbreaking collection for both the unique insight it provides into the Soviet propaganda machine that was operating all those years, as well as the opportunity to appreciate truly beautiful, although sometimes disturbing, films by brilliant and creative undiscovered filmmakers,” said Joan Borsten, President of Films by Jove and producer of the series...

I don't know about you, but I'm going to run out and order my copy as soon as it hits Blockbuster Video....

2 comments:

Kevin Koch said...

That may be fairly pricey, but I'll bet there's some amazing animation on those DVDs. Here's a link to the trailer on YouTube.

There's no listing of it on Amazon, but if I can find it at a decent price I'll probably go for it. Here's a link that apparently shows stills from the animated films. Quite a variety of styles.

Rolling Red said...

Judging by the YouTube trailer that Kevin Koch posted this intriguing collection of Anti-American Propaganda - *as narrated* - is in itself a modern day Anti-Communist propaganda. How can anyone take such obvious and obtuse commentary seriously. Hilarious!

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