Norstein

Thus far, my favorite animated films we have watched in DM101 are from Norstein. It was amazing how the films were great when you didn't even know what was exactly happening. Yuri Norstein shows incredible talent through the mediums he chooses and the results are simply jaw dropping.

My favorite of the Norstein films we watched was The Battle of Kerzhenets. Norstein takes cut out animation to a level I found unimaginable until I watched. The world in this film is highly expanded, and as the Masters of Animation reading states, Norstien's use of shading and backgrounds with depth help accomplish it. If anyone would like to watch it again, I put it right below.

If anyone was interested, I actually looked up The Battle of Kerzhenets online to better understand exactly what was going on and I thought I would share (now that you've watched it again). So, the film is loosely based on the legend of The Invisible City of Kitezh. In the story, the "Invisible City" disappears under water to escape an attack by the Mongols. The story takes place during the Middle Ages when the Mongol and Tartar people had dominion in Russia. But in the film, focus is mostly on the battle between both of these forces which many, including me, believe to symbolize the collision of the cultures. And if anyone was wondering about the female figure in the beginning, it was Virgin Mary watching over the Russians in battle. I thought it was a very great shot of the film because it visually displayed their faith in general as well as their belief in support from her.

I found this image and it perfectly shows how visually awesome the film is. I remember Prof. Leeper noting how its seems as though you are watching several amazing pieces of art, one after another on the screen. And if you read the information in the beginning of the video, it actually says most of the animation was based on art made between the 14th and 16th centuries. In my opinion, integrating these pieces of art into an animated film is magnificent and very significant in the realm of animation because it really is something we don't see alot of.