Brain Pickings

Film, Film, Film: 1968 Soviet Animated Parody of the Movie Industry

by

A vintage satirical look at cinema’s ego and bureaucracy.

In 1968, Russian animator Fyodor Khitruk — best-known for the Russian animated adaptation of Winnie the Pooh and his 1962 gem, Story of a Crime — set out to parody the ego-driven, bureaucratic world of Soviet cinema. The result was Film, Film, Film — a satirical short film telling the story of how a historical movie is made through near-silent pantomime. Its aesthetic — a dynamic mix of minimalist yet provocative image and typography — is somehow reminiscent of the Information Age visual vernacular Marshall McLuhan and designer Quentin Fiore were crafting on the other side of the Iron Curtain around the same time.

Part two continues below:

Film, Film, Film, along with other groundbreaking animated shorts from Russian animation pioneers, can be found on Masters Of Russian Animation — a remarkable collection of animated shorts from the 1960s through 1980s in four volumes.

Donating = Loving

Bringing you (ad-free) Brain Pickings takes hundreds of hours each month. If you find any joy and stimulation here, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, between a cup of tea and a good dinner:





You can also become a one-time patron with a single donation in any amount:





Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and offers the week’s best articles. Here’s what to expect. Like? Sign up.

Share on Tumblr