#Russian silent movie

[vintage-russia]

Still from the movie "Дочь купца Башкирова|Merchant Bashkirov's daughter" (1913)

[russianfolklore]

Morozko from the 1924 russian movie "Morozko" by Yuri Zhelyabuzhskiy.

Morozko (Grandfather Frost) is a spirit of frost or sometimes a wizard of winter. Since the 19th century this character has changed, and now he is a symbol of the New Year holiday. Morozko is similar to Santa Claus in his modern role in russian culture.

Honestly, I made this post only to promote the movie. You must see it, it's good. Morozko of 1924 is a silent movie, you can just read the tale to understand what is happening on the screen. The movie is basically a horror (but not really scary, not in modern sense at least), and the plot of the movie is closer to the fairy tale than the plot of the 1964 version.

Pro:

it's a movie adaptation of the fairy tale

it's a horror

Morozko!

actually interesting to watch

it's just 35 minutes long

authentical folk costumes from a century ago

wedding (the wedding song is a banger!)

There are no cons. Just watch it! :)

[thefugitivesaint]

Georgi Stenberg (1900-1933) & Vladimir Augustovich Stenberg (1899-1982), 'Miracle of the Wolves', 1927 Source For some reason this poster (which seems to have little relation to the content of the French historical drama it's meant to advertise) gives me strong 'Take On Me' vibes (the video aesthetics rather than the song itself).

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

August: Fantasy & Sci-Fi

Aelita, Queen of Mars / Aleksandra Peregonets as Ikhoshka

I think of this as "the bumblebee costume" because of the striped body and the headdress that reminds me of antennae. Ikhoshka is Queen Aelita's favorite servant, and she wears this elaborate framework "skirt" over a pair of baggy pantaloons. She also has ballet slippers, a chunky necklace, and something like a battery pack at her waist.

The costumes for the Martian sequences, designed by Aleksandra Ekster, are outlandish and highly imaginative. This movie was said to be a strong influence on Metropolis. You can find several versions of it free to watch on YouTube.

[psy-kylo-gy]

Finally, Act V Day 3 of A Day in the Life of TchaikovsKYLO Ren! Our favorite messy boy has at last renounced the dark side and reclaimed his true self: Ben Tchaikovsolo! Surprises await for both him and his headstrong waifu who is challenging Emperor Ovaltine all alone. Reylo chaos ensues but can love save the day?

Catch up with the entire series here

Well first off I'm so sorry for the wait on this, I had it 99% finished since 2020 but just lost the heart to post it during Covid and my subsequent depression. I really wanted the people who love this series to know that I haven't abandoned it, and the finale is mostly done as well and I'm so excited to bestow Reylo with a GOOD ENDING they deserve.

As always, I want to dedicate this to some special folks who've motivated me and given me such kindness and patience over the years. I'm SO grateful for the love and support and I really hope you enjoy this one, Ben is (of course) a lot of fun: @pandoraspocksao3 @blackeyedlily @violet1979 @missrenaeann-blog @maryloki3000 @fangiosfriend

[fibula-rasa]

Christmas Films of a Century Past

(updated!)

For some reason, I thought it would be a good idea to watch somewhere 50-60 Christmas and Christmas-adjacent silent films from before 1920 to put together a playlist for you all. 

I chose these as a representative selection. My general criteria were:

Christmas should be central to the story

The plot should be novel to a modern viewer or something a modern viewer would be surprised to see so early on film 

The list on the whole should have a variety of settings and narrative structures

Here’s a direct link to the YouTube playlist, if you want to watch them all in one go. (They are all shorter than feature length!)

Two quick presentation notes: 

Some of the videos have music and some don’t, so you may want to check your volume level. 

The intertitles for some of these films are not in English, so be sure you have captions turned on for English translations.

READ ON BELOW!

1. Santa Claus (1898) (UK)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by George Albert Smith 

Short and sweet, this film sees children put to bed by their nanny on Christmas Eve and Santa Claus coming down the chimbley to fill their dutifully hung stockings. Director G.A. Smith used his own patented technique of double exposure to show Santa’s arrival without cutting away from the children’s room. Santa Claus might not pack the punch of a Méliès trick film, but it’s a fun novelty and is purportedly the first appearance of Santa Claus on film.

2. The Little Match Seller (1902) (UK)

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Directed by James Williamson 

This one’s a quick but effective adaptation of the Hans Christian Anderson tragedy featuring impressively well-coordinated superimpositions.

3. The Christmas Angel (1904) (FR)

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Directed by George Méliès for Star Film Company

The Christmas Angel follows an impoverished girl driven into the city to beg on a snowy winter night. First she’s chased away from a church by more seasoned beggars; then she’s thrown out of a poultry seller and harassed by police. On the verge of falling asleep in the snow, a rag-and-bone man rouses her and offers her help. Later, the girl passes out beside a road but is luckily spotted by a wealthy couple on a car ride. When they learn of her plight, they bring her home along with food and gifts. 

Though not as fantastical as some of Méliès’ more famous works, The Christmas Angel is still highly stylized (and stylish) and features special effects that are photographed beautifully. It’s also worth noting that the version of the film included here is the American cut. The original French cut, titled Détresse et Charité (Distress and Charity), did not include the sequence with the wealthy couple and instead ends with the girl dying in the snow. 

4. The Night Before Christmas (1905) (US)

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Directed by Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company

This is the first time the poem “Twas the Night Before Christmas” was put on film. Loosely following the poem, we see Santa Claus prepare for his yearly trek while a middle-class family prepares for his visit. When Santa heads out, we are treated to an extended panning sequence with a fully painted backdrop for a mini Santa and his reindeer to glide across. When Santa arrives at the family home, he chaotically dumps presents and decorations around their living room and makes a large, decorated tree appear out of thin air. (Across many of the movies I watched to put this post together, this seems to be a favored scenario for the jolly fat man around this time—and it’s delightful.) The family then wakes to find their gifts and the film closes with Santa directly wishing us a Merry Christmas. 

5. A Little Girl Who Did Not Believe in Santa Claus (1907) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by J. Searle Dawley and Edwin S. Porter for Edison Manufacturing Company

Even at the risk of this list being too Edison heavy, I couldn’t leave this great short out. While walking with his mother, a rich little boy encounters a poor little girl alone in the cold. They take her home to play and warm up. When the boy learns that the girl doesn’t believe in Santa because apparently Santa doesn’t visit poor children, he hatches a scheme. On Christmas Eve, the boy holds a stake out near the fireplace and takes Santa hostage, tying him up and holding him at gunpoint. The boy then forces Santa to visit the girl—going so far as shimmying down the chimney himself to let Santa in the front door. When the girl wakes up to a beautifully decorated tree, new toys, and a full stocking, she can finally believe in Santa Claus. While I’m generally not so into stories about supposedly benevolent rich people, I do love the implications this story has on how Santa Claus works and I also find the means with which the boy gets his way hilarious.

6. Il Natale di Cretinetti / Foolshead’s Christmas (1909) (IT)

[& Come fu che l’ingordigia rovino il Natale di Cretinetti / How Greediness Spoilt Foolshead’s Christmas (1910) & Il Natale di Cretinetti (1911)]

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Andre Deed for Itala Film

This entry is a three-for, which I hope you’ll excuse, but I couldn’t decide which Cretinetti Christmas to share! Cretinetti, the comedic persona of filmmaker Andre Deed, is an absolute agent of chaos. 

In the 1909 film, Cretinetti attempts to bring a tree home for a Christmas party. The destruction escalates wildly, culminating in an entire building falling to pieces. 

If you can believe it, the stakes are even higher in the 1910 film, when Cretinetti can’t resist sneaking out of bed on Christmas Eve to snack on the candy decorating the tree. When Santa sees what Cretinetti has done, he chides him and takes him back to his workshop—which is apparently in heaven. Destruction ensues. Cretinetti then proceeds to cause havoc for Saint Peter, annoying god so much that he calls the devil to come get Cretinetti. Cretinetti is then chased to hell where demons try to cook him alive. Thankfully, spoiler alert, it was all a bad dream and he wakes up on Christmas morning with a terrible stomach ache. 

The 1911 film returns to localized chaos. Cretinetti has a run-in with a mail carrier and his Christmas packages get mixed up with one of the carrier’s parcels. The parcel contains three bottles of ether which then begin to emit gasses in the middle of the family Christmas party. 

I wasn’t familiar with Cretinetti before reviewing films for this list, but I’m definitely going to seek out more of Deed’s movies. Each of these films had well-executed chaotic slapstick; over-the-top in all the right ways.

7. Making Christmas Crackers (1910) (UK)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Produced by Cricks & Martin Films for Clarke, Nickolls, & Coombs Confectionery

To start, if you’re not sure what a Christmas cracker is, it’s a colorfully decorated paper tube that makes a cracking noise as you pull it open. Inside the tube is a paper hat, a joke, and/or a small toy. It’s a traditional part of UK Christmas celebrations.

This short starts as a documentary of the workers at Clarke, Nickolls, & Coombs constructing the crackers. It’s a fun thought that as early as 1910, people were interested in watching how mass-produced consumer goods were made. It’s also fun to see these skilled workers ply their trade so deftly (even though wages and working conditions were likely less than ideal). The film ends with a family celebrating around a Christmas tree topped with a functional giant cracker.

8. A Christmas Carol (1910) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by J. Searle Dawley for Edison Films Manufacturing Company

There are so so so many film adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol made before 1920 that it was hard to choose which one to include on this list. In the end I chose this 1910 version for its economy of storytelling, fluid use of special effects, and for Marc McDermott’s great performance as Scrooge.

9. Broncho Billy’s Christmas Dinner (1911) (US)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Gilbert M. Anderson (Broncho Billy) for The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company

Gilbert M. Anderson was an incredibly prolific and popular filmmaker and star of early American film, particularly in his role as Broncho Billy. As was typical for Anderson, he’s pulling triple duty on Broncho Billy’s Christmas Dinner as the star, director, and producer. The film features a simple and heartwarming story. 

On Christmas, Billy comes across a young woman in peril as her horses got startled and are now pulling her cart along wildly. Billy manages to wrangle the horses and in gratitude she invites him to Christmas dinner at her parents’ home. Unfortunately, her father happens to be the sheriff. But, all is well, as it turns out that Broncho Billy’s been given a pardon and the sheriff welcomes him to the table gladly. 

The enduring appeal of outlaws or criminals getting into the Christmas spirit is fascinating to me and it’s cool to see such an early instance of the story!

10. Le Noel de la princesse / The Little Princess’s XMas Gift (1911) (FR)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Produced by Société Générale des Cinématographes Éclipse

In all honesty, this is the least Christmassy (but also probably most christian-y) of all the films I included here, but its style and novelty stood out. The sets, costuming, and production design are lush. It might also be one of the weirdest Christmas stories I’ve even encountered.

After Lord Othberg passes away, the conniving Otto plans to assassinate the baby prince in order to inherit the lordship himself. He poisons the baby, but the princess prays for her baby brother to come back to life as her Christmas gift. An angel appears to her and they summon Jesus, who resurrects her baby brother. Of course, they then place the revivified baby in the castle’s nativity scene, to the joy of all but Otto.

11. Ida’s Christmas (1912) (US)

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Directed by Van Dyke Brooke for Vitagraph Company of America

With a more classic Christmassy story, Ida’s Christmas tells us of a family who are facing hard times. Ida (played by a very small Dolores Costello) has her eyes on a pricey doll. Meanwhile, her mother seeks out employment with a wealthy family. The matriarch of the wealthy family overhears Ida’s wish and decides to buy the doll for her as a surprise. Later, Ida is distraught to find that the doll has been purchased but comes across a wallet that someone has dropped. She considers taking the money, but chases down the owner instead. The old man gives her some reward money for returning the wallet. Ida rushes to see if she can buy the doll, but has second thoughts when she thinks about how much her family could use the money. She arrives home with the money just in time for a Santa-esque old man to show up bearing packages and an assurance that the wealthy family has work for her father. The film ends with the family celebrating an unexpectedly Merry Christmas. 

It’s a sweet story that hits so many beats of what we now consider traditional Christmas tales.

12. Рождество обитателей леса / The Insect’s Christmas (1913) (RU)

[letterboxd | imdb]

Directed by Władysław Starewicz for Khanzhonkov

Fair warning, if you thought The Princess’s XMas Gift was odd, you might need to ready yourself for this one. Stop-motion virtuoso Władysław Starewicz (Ladislas Starevich) spins a tale about a tiny ornament of Santa/Ded Moroz coming to life on Christmas and going out into the wild to bring Christmas joy to creatures small and smaller, including a frog and a ladybug. Starewicz’s animation is as impeccable as ever and the short is imaginative and quirky.

Honorable Mention:

Dance of the Seasons (1900)

Christmas Dream (1900)

Christmas Eve (1913)

A Christmas Carol (1914)

Snow White (1916)

A Winter Straw Ride (1906)

[wamorris56-monstertheater]

'Aelita-Queen of Mars' 1924. Movie posters.

[bitter69uk]

“A Russian is like no other creature in the world. Because they look Western, white-skinned, Christian and all that, one forgets that they are heathen barbarians descended from the Tartars and the Slavs … There was nothing wrong with Olga’s Russian; there was nothing wrong with her English. The two just met head on and their collision sounded like the clinking of jewelry – heavy jewelry. I met her in 1964 and she was an old woman, though full of huge, lumpen bursts of energy, at which her wrists of many bracelets jangled ferociously, and her little dog barked and made the conversation incomprehensible. She was blonde and big boned with large eyes and a large red mouth … and with her large wrists made for large baubles, she looked – well, she would have been exotic had she come from Kansas, but, coming from Russia one expected “exotic”, so “strange” would be the word. She was never a conventional beauty even back in the twenties. She was always too large in every respect, both physically and emotionally. Onscreen, especially in her silent films, she played vamps, cruel ones, man-eaters, the kind who rested their hands on their hips as they threw back their heads and opened wide their mouths to make their laughter at the expense of the broken man even harsher … As I say, there are different sorts of Russians, but her sort makes you suffer through all the rest. After the orgy, there’s balalaika and tears and regrets and snoring sleep, and the snow and the people in it sobering up, laughing like the howling wind. Olga was one of those.”

Film historian John Kobal recalling his encounter with “Russian Tigress” Olga Baclanova in his 1986 book People Will Talk reads like a Diane Arbus photo come to life. Baclanova (née Olga Vladimirovna Baklanova, 19 August 1893 - 6 September 1974) was born on this day 130 years ago. Her appearance in Tod Browning’s 1932 horror shocker Freaks ensures Baclanova immortality.

[detectiveangel]

leonid utesov as the titular thief in "the career of spirka shpandyr" (1926)

getting a sense for how far the "wearing a belt over pants that have suspender buttons but not beltloops" look extends across cinematic depictions of down-at-heel anti-heroes. it first really came to my notice in angel heart, of course. feels like a good visual metaphor for being a guy who doesn't quite fit into society's norms. living outside the loop.

[vintage-russia]

Still from the movie "Dying swan" (1916)

[busterkeatonsociety]

#ThrowbackThursday We’re going to make the bold claim that this Soviet poster for “Three Ages,” celebrating its centenary this year, features the worst likeness of Buster Keaton on any poster.  Prove us wrong!

[pacingmusings]

Seen (again) in 2023:

Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein), 1925

[cressida-jayoungr]

One Dress a Day Challenge

February: Coeli's Monochrome Picks

Aelita, Queen of Mars / Yuliya Solntseva as Aelita

Coeli's comment: "Aelita: Queen of Mars has some magnificently weird Constructivist costumes in the Martian sequence (contrasting with the dull Soviet realism of the rest of the movie!)."

The Martian costumes in this film, by Aleksandra Ekster, are indeed quite something! Here, Aelita wears a hat that's something like an umbrella spine or perhaps a radio antenna. And is the design of that bodice meant to hint that she has three breasts, or is it just a stylistic thing?

There's a cool writeup and summary of the movie here.

I featured a costume Ikhoshka, Aelita's servant (who dresses like a bumblebee in a birdcage), in a previous post.

[schlock-luster-video]

On January 4, 1952 Battleship Potemkin debuted in Finland.

[severin-photocopy]

this is kind of the first draft. I never made a fanedit, just some editing for school projects

full movie here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmjChpprHfA&t=541s

the director is Vasili Goncharov who also directed the first russian horror film tho it's lost. rip

[irisinluv]

Playing video games with your yandere sucks. You can’t compete- they keep letting you win! Even if they’re sneaky about it, it just gets takes the fun out of it if there’s no risk. And you tell them that after your 7th win in a row.

They look at you for a second. And the look in their eyes reminds you…. Oh…. Yea…. This person is proper psychotic. If you were anyone else they might introduce more “risk” into games by just playing Russian roulette.

But instead, they simply nod silently…. And then proceed to beat you the next round. And the next. And the next. Until finally you’re pouting, rubbing your temples, and completely baffled at how they keep managing this. This isn’t a video game. This a massacre.

Your Yandere soothes you and compliments a combo you did, praises you for staying alive a whole three seconds longer than the last round…. And suggests taking a break to cuddle and watch a movie instead.

The night ends with you wrapped in their arms, and it never even occurs to you that this was their plan all along.

Earlier, when you decided to game, your Yandere wanted you in their lap, arms wrapped around you as they hold their controller, sneaking in a kiss to distract you….. but you said no. You wanted to sit next to them instead. Said some bullshit excuse about how you move around too much and you’re more comfy gaming this way. So. Naturally. Yan no longer was excited about gaming with you. What’s the point of anything if they’re not wrapped around you while doing it? So, they decide they’ll just throw the game. Bore you till you decide that cuddles are much more exciting. And then it turns into just demolishing you so they can comfort you, in their arms, where you belonged from the start.

( If you ever do agree to play while sitting in their lap or snuggling in some way, you’ll find that the match suddenly is much more balanced and fun )