#Hussar Ballad

[alightinthelantern]

film reviews: Hussar Ballad (1962, Eldar Ryazanov)

Hussar Ballad (1962, Eldar Ryazanov) is a Soviet musical period film. When Napoleon’s Grande Armée invades Russia in 1812, 17-year-old noblewoman and tomboy Shura Azarova disguises herself as a man and joins the Russian Army as a cornet (lowest rank of commissioned officer, typically boys who carried their units’ flags). During the months of war Shura distinguishes herself several times with acts of heroism, and has many arguments with her betrothed, who likes her male guise but is hotheaded and dislikes her female guise based on first impressions, and they nearly fight a duel on several occasions. Shura’s closest scrape with death comes when she steals an enemy’s uniform and infiltrates a French unit encamped at her own estate, but is caught and is sentenced to be shot at dawn, and it is up to the Russian army to storm the manor and rescue her from death.

Review: This is a simple, old-fashioned film with a straightforward plotline with all of the usual tropes to satisfy audiences. Shura is found out as a woman at one point but an earlier act of heroism allows her to stay on in the army and continue serving. Later on Shura helps come up with a plan to fight the enemy despite her youth. And so on. It’s a pleasant, enjoyable film which doesn’t raise any high-minded ideas but which I can’t say much against. The film sets appear oddly flimsy at times, and I have to wonder about the budget of the film. The battle scenes are decent but the pyrotechnics are laughable (again, this was the USSR in the 1960s). The main drawback of the film is that for a musical there are only a few songs in the entire film, and there should have been more in my opinion. For those who enjoy simple, old-fashioned entertainment, the film is on YouTube and can be watched here.

[cuteniaarts]

Small drawing collection of my latest creation Emran as a teenager/freshly minted Air Acolyte, for my dear partner in unhinged OC shenanigans @katkastrofa, as promised <3

[habemuscarnificem]

@edwardashley i see you've reblogged a russian empire hussar post and i do hope you haven't seen the movie Hussar's Ballad 1962 yet because it's a BANGER and the entire plot is based on a popular joke

it has all the stuff tumblr people like

[ravenovni]

I feel like Flynn Rider with a bunch of swords pointed at his throat.png for saying this but gosh sometimes I wish Letterboxd had some sort of review search function that let you hide any reviews with the words "gay" or "gender" 😭😭

[malachitezmeyka]

Yes, Reflection from Mulan is a very Aiza-coded song, I’m not going to deny that because that’d be stupid, it fits her down to a T

HOWEVER!! I have also been saying that she is very Shurochka Azarova (main character of The Hussar Ballad) coded, which is a rather conflicting statement to the previous one because Mulan and Shura are rather different characters, united only by very similar storylines.

And that’s when I got it: Aiza is Mulan-coded, but EMRAN is Shurochka-coded. And my proof is Shura’s rendition of Long Long Ago, which is exactly how I imagine a teenage Emran, who has finally grown into himself and is a bit high on being free from his previous life, would act

[Quick translation done by yours truly, with no rhyme because do I look like I have the spoons for that??:

They call me a boy without a moustache

For that I truly, that I truly do not care

For at least they don’t label me a coward

Long long ago, long long ago, long long ago

Another twirls his moustache angrily

Stares down at every bottle’s, every bottle’s end

But he himself is just a parody of a hussar

Long long ago, long long ago, long long ago

Another swears of his fiery passion

But if the wine, but if the wine has all been drunk

Then all his passion is at the bottom of the bottle

Long long ago, long long ago, long long ago

For lovers the sea is only knee-deep

And I agree, and I agree with them on that

But all are guarded by silent threat of infidelity

Long long ago, long long ago, long long ago]

DO NOT EVEN TRY TO TELL ME I’M WRONG BECAUSE I KNOW FULL WELL THAT I’M RIGHT!!!

[phantomrin]

Inktober 2023

Day 4 - Cornet Azarov (Shurochka) & Lieutenant Rzhevsky

"The Hussar Ballad" - a 1962 musical film - fanart. Another beloved-since-childhood movie :)

[slavic-roots-western-mind]

Favorite soviet movies (and where to find them)

The general opinion about the soviet union varies from person to person, but I think many can agree that the movies that came from this time period were phenomenal. Here are my top favorite movies that I recommend, which also have generally good english subtitles.

Hussar Ballad

A rare musical-comedy gem that I absolutely adore. Shura Azarova, a 17 year old girl joins the army to fight against Napoleon. Plot twist: She's pretending to be a guy and starts falling for a fellow soldier, who she actually engaged to but he has no idea that his new friend is actually a girl (she doesn't like him in the beginning and no wonder lmao). Has a lot of catchy numbers, especially давным давно/ a long time ago/ davnim davno. It may seem a little weird, but watch the first 10 minutes, I guarantee that it will not be a waste of your time.

2. Ivan Vassilvveich changes profession/Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future.

A scientist successfully creates a time-machine but accidentally sends his building's manager and a thief all the way back in time to Ivan IV The Terrible's reign, whilst sending the actual Tsar to the modern decade. Chaos ensues for all.

3. Prisoner of the Caucasus/Shurik's New Adventures/Kidnapping, Caucasian Style (I had no idea this movie had this many translations lol) A kind but naive student named Shurik goes to the Caucasus on vacation where he meets a young woman named Nina, who he ends up accidentally kidnapping (yes, he's that much of a dumbass but he was told that bride kidnapping is a tradition that Nina follows and God forbid that anyone uses this thing called communication). It works out in the end just as chaotically as it started.

4. The Garage A cooperative is planning on buliding a garage for its members except for it now has to be reduced and there won't be enough space for everyone so someone's going to be left out. The comitee ignores said members objections, so someone locks them in for the night leading to them spending the night locked inside the museum which is also the meeting spot. It's actually quite funny, despite the odd description, but I am writing it whilst extremely caffeinated so bear with me here.

5. Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (Невероятные приключения итальянцев в России). A fantastic comedy. An elderly lady of soviet origin reveals to her grandaughter that there's a treasure buried in Leningrad. However, the wrong people hear about it, so they try to outwit each other in their race to Russia. Pretty funny, especially when the actual treasure hunting commences.

6. The Bremen Town Musicians An animated movie, but nonetheless deserving a mention. The troubadour with his gang of friends made from a donkey, a dog, a cat and a rooster travel around singing, until he meets a princess but the king doesn't approve of them etc. Pretty standard story, but the singing is amazing, especially Troubadours song "Luch solntsa zolotovo/Луч солнца золотого/ Beam of the Golden Sun" with the translation here sung by Muslim Magomayev who honestly deserves a separate post dedicated because his voice is amazing. The english subtitles are a bit iffy here, but nonethless it's worth a watch as it's only 20 or so minutes long.

7. The Mystery of the Third Planet Also an sci-fi animated movie, but the staple of my childhood. Captain Zelyoniy and Professor Seleznyoviy with his daughter go around various planets collecting new species for the zoo. However, on one of the planets they end up discovering something odd and before they know it, they're right in the middle of a conspiracy and a famous missing captain. Fantastic soundtrack and great animation.

There are many more movies that I'd definitely recommend, so this list will be updated sometime in the future.

[usergreenpixel]

So, I just spotted a post on Tumblr about Alexandr Andreevich Alexandrov (Nadezhda Durova) and remembered that I had made the mistake of misgendering the man in the above post.

Of course, it wasn’t done maliciously, but I do need to acknowledge that mistake. I’m not perfect.

I’m a Russian and my country is extra dismissive and/or oblivious about queer people in the present, let alone in history, so Alexandrov’s story for us is presented more like a Russian Mulan than a trans man, even though clearly Alexandrov lived under his male identity and went by male pronouns.

I’m truly sorry for this mistake and I’m going to correct the tidbit mentioning Alexandrov to reflect his actual pronouns.

P. S. I also referred to Chevaliére d’Éon with he/him pronouns in my Banner of the Maid review, even though she went by Genevieve and used she/her pronouns during the later years of her life.

However, I did that because I was referring to the d’Éon in the game, who is portrayed as a man, not to the real chevaliére. Hopefully that clarifies things.

[anglerflsh]

You would like the hussar ballad (1962) movie. Not only is it trans but also gay. I believe there is a version with english subs on youtube, you should check it out.

oh! I might, I might

[kaxen]

There was a ballet adaptation of Hussar Ballad in 2011.

Hussars and guys in the tightest pants you can cram them into is an interest of mine.

More images here: https://en.krasopera.ru/play/view/34

[ttoshaaa]

Thanks for tagging me @katecaru!!! a wonderful tag game btw

9 favourite films watched in 2022:

king stag (1969) / monologue (1972) / springtime (1947) / léon morin, priest (1961) / dead poets society (1989) / the hussar ballad (1962) / other people’s letters (1975) / wizards (1982) / a winter night in gagra (1985)

@i-hate-radishes @madame-karenina @pixcit and anyone who wants to join you’re welcome!

[alightinthelantern]

Movies on Youtube:

Brief Encounter (1945, David Lean)

Opening Night (1977, John Cassavetes)

Close Up (1990, Abbas Kiarostami)

Taste of Cherry (1997, Abbas Kiarostami)

The Song of Sparrows (2008,  Majid Majidi)

Russian Ark (2002, Alexander Sokurov)

Dreams (1990, Akira Kurosawa)

Dersu Uzala (1975, Akira Kurosawa)

The Idiot (1951, Akira Kurosawa)

Drunken Angel (1948, Akira Kurosawa)

Tokyo Story (1953, Yasujirō Ozu)

Early Summer (1951, Yasujirō Ozu)

Late Spring (1949, Yasujirō Ozu)

The Flavor of Green Tea over Rice (1952, Yasujirō Ozu)

Good Morning (1959, Yasujirō Ozu)

An Autumn Afternoon (1962, Yasujirō Ozu)

Sword for Hire (1952, Inagaki Hiroshi)

Rebecca (1940, Alfred Hitchcock)

Thunderbolt (1929, Josef von Sternberg)

Larceny (1948, George Sherman)

Among the Living (1941, Stuart Heisler)

Andrei Rublev (1966, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Mirror (1975, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Solaris (1972, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Ivan’s Childhood (1962, Andrei Tarkovsky)

Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972, Werner Herzog)

Fitzcarraldo (1982, Werner Herzog)

Medea (1969, Pier Paolo Pasolini)

Medea (filmed stageplay)

Is It Easy To Be Young? (1986, Juris Podnieks)

We'll Live Till Monday (1968, Stanislav Rostotsky)

Ordinary Fascism (aka Triumph Over Violence) (1965, Mikhail Romm)

Battleship Potemkin (1925, Sergei Eisenstein)

The Third Man (1949, Carol Reed)

Johnny Come Lately (1943, William K. Howard)

Mister 880 (1950, Edmund Goulding)

Beethoven’s Eroica (2003, Simon Cellan Jones)

Katyn (2007, Andrzej Wajda)

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004, Brad Silberling)

Mean Girls (2004, Mark Waters)

The Neverending Story (1984, Wolfgang Petersen)

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990, George T. Miller)

The Thief and the Cobbler (Richard Williams)

Osmosis Jones (2001, myriad directors)

Megamind (2010, Tom McGrath)

Ghost in the Shell (1995, Mamoru Oshii)

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004, Mamoru Oshii)

Steamboy (2004, Katsuhiro Otomo)

Badlands (1973), Terrence Malick

Wargames (1983, John Badham)

By the White Sea (2022, Aleksandr Zachinyayev)

White Moss (2014, Vladimir Tumayev)

The Theme (1979, Gleb Panfilov)

The Duchess (2008, Saul Dibb)

Bed and Sofa (1927, Abram Room)

Fate of a Man (1959, Sergei Bondarchuk)

Ballad of a Soldier (1959, Grigory Chukhray)

Uncle Vanya (1970, Andrey Konchalovskiy)

An Unfinished Piece for Mechanical Piano (1977, Nikita Mikhalkov)

Family Relations (1981, Nikita Mikhalkov)

The Seagull (1970, Yuli Karasik)

My Tender and Affectionate Beast (1978, Emil Loteanu)

Dreams (1993, Karen Shakhnazarov & Alexander Borodyansky)

The Vanished Empire (2008, Karen Shakhnazarov)

Winter Evening in Gagra (1985, Karen Shakhnazarov)

Day of the Full Moon (1998, Karen Shakhnazarov)

Zero Town (1989, Karen Shakhnazarov)

The Girls (1961, Boris Bednyj)

The Diamond Arm (1969, Leonid Gaidai)

Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures (1965, Leonid Gaidai)

Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession (1973, Leonid Gaidai)

Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia (1974, Eldar Ryazanov & Franco Prosperi)

Office Romance (1977, Eldar Ryazanov)

Carnival Night (1956, Eldar Ryazanov)

Hussar Ballad (1962, Eldar Ryazanov)

Kin-dza-dza! (1986, Georgiy Daneliya)

The Most Charming and Attractive (1985, Gerald Bezhanov)

Autumn (1974, Andrei Smirnov)

War and Peace: Part 1 (1966, Sergei Bondarchuk)

War and Peace: Part 2 (1966, Sergei Bondarchuk)

War and Peace: Part 3 (1967, Sergei Bondarchuk)

War and Peace: Part 4 (1967, Sergei Bondarchuk)

The Red Tent (first half) (1969, Mikhail Kalatozov)

The Red Tent (second half) (1969, Mikhail Kalatozov)

Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939, Sidney Lanfield)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939, Alfred L. Werker)

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942, John Rawlins)

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1943, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes Faces Death (1943, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: The Spider Woman (1944, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: The Scarlet Claw (1944, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: The Pearl of Death (1944, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: The House of Fear (1945, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: The Woman in Green (1945, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: Pursuit to Algiers (1945, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: Terror by Night (1946, Roy William Neill)

Sherlock Holmes: Dressed to Kill (1946, Roy William Neill)

If any of the links don’t work, try looking up the film in this playlist: link

[frodothefair]

Whyyy couldn’t Lord of the Rings have ended like this?!

Everyone gets to sing, they all ride home in their fancy military garb, er, elvish cloaks, and the brothers-in-arms end up ♡Together♡.

-- “Long Ago” (song from the movie “The Hussar Ballad”) / “Давным-давно” (песня из кинофильма "Гусарская баллада")

[armadillowithmaliciousintent]

I think there might be something wrong with me. Cause I was doodlin right. And then entry of the gladiators came on, no reaction kept doodlin. Then the winged hussars came on, no reaction kept doodlin. But then. The Ballad of Smokin’ Joe rudeboy. Immediate, visceral reaction. I cowered as he stepped into the street with a jingle in his feet. I cried as Bo was gunned down in cold blood by that velvet cloaked son of a bitch. I cheered as Vishnu gifted joe eighteen additional arms to duel the mountain mongoose gang. I joined him in flipping off the Starbucks employee. My jaw dropped as his own daughter beat him in a duel.

[dykepuffs]

There is a very silly film about him called Hussar Ballad by Eldar Ryazanov, which isn't an explicitly trans film but it also is way more respectful and doesn't forcibly feminise him like a lot of the Polly Oliver type stories do at the end (Often there isn't so much respect for the subjects, even when they're real people). And I love him.

I just discovered that there was a person who was afab and ended up joining the russian army by the name of Alexander Durov in 1806.

Born a woman, Nadezhda Durova (birth name) ran away from home and joined a light cavallery regiment dressed as a man.

After his identity was uncovered, the russian tsar summoned him to the palace at St. Petersburg, where he impressed the tsar so much that he awarded Durov the Cross of St. George and promoted him to lieutenant in a hussar unit.

He always referred to himself as a man and was upset when people called him a woman.

He signed letters with his male last name.

He expressed feelings of disgust towards his sex and how that worried him a lot.

He never married willingly and adopted many dogs and cats.

He only danced with women when attending a ball.

He asked to be buried under his male name Alexander Andreevich Alexandrov but the church did not agree to that.

I never saw him in "historical transmasculine people" compilations and only discovered his story coincidentally.

Unfortunately, historians still adress him with female pronouns, although he did not want that.

Let's remember him together. We won't allow him to be forgotten.

I'll probably add onto this post later or make a better one but you can read a lot on this wikipedia article:

[malachitezmeyka]

Heartbreaking: No songs in playlist fit newest obsession :(