fbpx
Wikipedia

The Overcoat (animated film)

January 09, 2023

The Overcoat (Russian: Шине́ль, Shinyél’) is an unfinished animated feature film that has been the main project of Russian director and animator Yuri Norstein since 1981. It is based on The Overcoat (1842), a short story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol.

The Overcoat
Directed byYuri Norstein
Written byYuri Norstein
Lyudmila Petrushevskaya
Based onThe Overcoat
by Nikolai V. Gogol
Produced byYuri Norstein
CinematographyAleksandr B. Zhukovskiy
Maksim Granik
Animation byYuri Norstein
Francheska Yarbusova
Running time
65 minutes
CountryRussia
LanguageRussian

Around 25 minutes were completed by 2004.[1] The unfinished film has been shown publicly in several exhibitions of Norstein's work around the world and clips of it have been included in a few documentary films about Russian animation and culture. A Japanese theatrical documentary, Yuriy Norshteyn: Making The Overcoat, premiered in 2018.[2]

On March 13, 2007, Norstein stated that he planned to release the first 30 minutes of the film with a soundtrack into theatres by the end of 2007.[3] However, as of 2023, the film remains unfinished, and its production time of 40 years is the longest for any animated motion picture in history.

Plot

The film is based on The Overcoat (1842), a short story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. However, Yuri Norstein has said that "the cinematographer should not be interested in that which is described in detail – he should look to that which is skipped, to that which is implied but is not explicitly written. The break in the text is the most promising, the most alive place for cinema."[4]

History

Upon finishing his film Tale of Tales in 1979, Norstein decided that the next project for his small team (consisting of himself as the animator and director, his wife Franchesca Yarbusova as the artist and his friend Aleksandr Zhukovskiy as the cinematographer) would be an approximately 60-minute-long film based on Gogol's short story The Overcoat. Norstein has said that he considers The Overcoat to be as important a work of literature for him personally as one of the chapters of the Bible.[5]

By 1981, when work on the film began, Norstein had been working at Soyuzmultfilm (the main Soviet animation studio) for 13 years and had worked on some 40 films and directed or co-directed six. Progress was slow, with many interruptions (Norstein estimates that only about three years of work were actually done). Norstein says that Viktor Tinyaev (Виктор Тиняев) helped him during this period. In 1986, with only 10 minutes of the film completed, Norstein was fired from the Soyuzmultfilm studio in which he had worked. This was despite the fact that his films had gathered many international awards, and Tale of Tales had been voted the best animated film of all time by a large panel of international critics in 1984.

With the help of Rolan Bykov, Norstein managed to set up his own animation studio in his home. There, he and his team continued to slowly work on the film. Funding has been sporadic and has come from many different sources, including the Savings Bank of Russia (Sberbank) and TNK oil company. A few minutes were shot under the Soros Fund before 1999.[6] Norstein has been known for refusing funding from certain sources. He refused to accept money from Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Russian Minister of Culture, saying "one cannot take money from those who don't care about you."[7] He also refused help from Nick Park's company Aardman Animations, accepting from them only a few boxes of lightbulbs.[8]

Production came to a temporary halt on November 17, 1999, with the death of cinematographer Aleksandr Zhukovskiy (Александр Жуковский). The loss was crippling for Norstein; he said of Zhukovskiy that he was the only person who ever saw exactly eye-to-eye with him both as an artist and as a friend. By 2001, production had resumed with a new cinematographer, Maksim Granik (Максим Граник), one of Zhukovskiy's students. Production soon halted again—this time for three years. Norstein spent a year and a half making a 3-minute animation for the introduction to Good Night, Little Ones!, a popular Russian nightly show for young children to watch before they go to bed.[9] He also spent nine months working on a 2-minute sequence for the Japanese collaborative film Winter Days (released in 2003).[10] Norstein said that this sequence required as much work as a 10-minute film, and that his work on it influenced The Overcoat and vice versa (the sequence contains a scene with Bashō searching for ticks in his cloak which is similar to a scene in The Overcoat).

In a July 4, 2004 interview, Norstein said that 25 minutes of The Overcoat had been shot.[11]

The studio stopped working on the film for nearly a year while Norstein worked to release his two-volume book, Snow on the Grass, released on August 10, 2008.[12]

As of March 2013,[13] Norstein was still working on the film—his ardent perfectionism has earned him the nickname "The Golden Snail".[14] Although he has been offered chances to leave Russia, Norstein believes that finishing his film in "circumstances approaching comfort" would be impossible.[6]

In a February 2014 interview, Norstein revealed that profits from sales of his recent books and licensing deals are going into supporting his work on a new film, but refused to confirm whether that film is The Overcoat.[15] In April 2015, Norstein said in an interview that most of his time is being spent working on The Overcoat.[16]

Cast and crew

Yuri Norstein is the writer, director, and animator for the film. His wife, Francheska Yarbusova, is the main artist responsible for the characters and backgrounds. Other artists who were working on the film as of 2004 were Larisa Zenevich, Lena Sharapova and Valentin Olshvang (who earlier worked with Norstein on the Spokoynoy nochi, malyshi! sequence).[17] Aleksandr Zhukovskiy was the cinematographer until his death on November 17, 1999. A student of his, Maksim Granik, has been the cinematographer since 2001.

There is not expected to be much dialogue in the film. Norstein originally had Aleksandr Kalyagin in mind to play the main role. However, he has said that his idea of the main character has since changed, and that he is not yet sure who the final voice actor will be.[3]

Technique

 
Norstein animating one of the scenes in the film that required a specialised set.

The animation used is cut-out animation, a type of stop motion. Norstein uses a special technique involving multiple glass panels to give his animation a three-dimensional look. The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass panels about a meter deep (one every 25–30 cm). The individual glass panels can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera (to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away).[11] Some scenes required a different approach, as can be seen in the image on the right.

Norstein refuses to use a computer in his work, and says that even watching computer-animated films makes him ill.[18]

The film is being shot in black-and-white film. Due to the closure of Moscow labs that develop black-and-white film, Norstein's team is currently being forced to develop it themselves.[19]

See also

Other animated films with long production histories

References

  1. ^ Shenderovich, Viktor. "Все свободны" — разговор на свободные темы. Radio Svoboda. July 4, 2004. Accessed on: Nov. 22, 2008.
  2. ^ "Yūrī Norushutein Gaitō o tsukuru" ユーリー・ノルシュテイン《外套》をつくる [Yuriy Norshteyn: Making The Overcoat] (in Japanese). allcinema. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  3. ^ a b March 13, 2007 interview with Yuri Norstein (Ночной полёт. Юрий Норштейн.) (video, at 15:30 and 24:00), Культура, 13-03-2007. Retrieved on 29-06-2007.
  4. ^ (in Russian) Скульская, Елена. Юрий Норштейн. На Тикусая нищего похож, Дело, June 23, 2003. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  5. ^ (in Russian) Третьякова, Мария. "Шинель" как глава Библии, Российская газета, June 22, 2005. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.
  6. ^ a b (in Russian) Мaкcимoв, Андрей. Стенограмма программы "Ночной полет". July 12, 2001. Retrieved on October 13, 2006. Archived July 28, 2004, at archive.today
  7. ^ (in Russian) Боccарт, Алла. Юрий Норштейн: Камера крупно-крупно приблизилась к человеку, Новая Газета, June 2, 2003. Retrieved on October 13, 2006.
  8. ^ Wright, Jane. Tales by a Russian master, Camden New Journal, February 16, 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  9. ^ (in Russian) Железнова, Мария. Покемоны могут спать спокойно, Новая газета, August 13, 2001. Retrieved on February 23, 2007.
  10. ^ (in Russian) Габриадзе, Резо. Юрий Норштейн. Человек, ушедший в гоголевскую "Шинель" 2007-01-23 at the Wayback Machine, Russian Madison, September 18, 2006. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  11. ^ a b (in Russian) Боccарт, Алла. В студии Юрий Норштейн, Радио Свобода, June 4, 2004. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  12. ^ Одушевление черточек. Время. August 28, 2008. Retrieved on: October 25, 2009.
  13. ^ Юрия Норштейна обидел Первый канал. Km.ru. 2013-03-07.
  14. ^ Klimenko, Alexei. Golden Snail of Culture 2006-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, The Moscow News, November 19, 2002. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  15. ^ «Ежик мне изрядно надоел, вот и все», — Юрий Норштейн — о правильном гламуре, Олимпиаде и экзистенции. RBC Daily. 19.02.2014 March 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ Недетские мультфильмы. Создатель «Ежика в тумане» об искусстве и гламуре. Argumenty i fakty. 2015-04-23.
  17. ^ Norstein interview 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. Kinoart, No. 4, 2004. Accessed on Jan. 17, 2009. (in Russian)
  18. ^ Finn, Peter. 20 Years of Toil, 20 Minutes of Unique Film, Washington Post, May 31, 2005. Retrieved on October 14, 2006.
  19. ^ (in Russian) Каренина, Жанна. Юрий Норштейн. Готов ждать, Смотри НаСтоящее (№ 8), September, 2006. Retrieved on October 18, 2006.

External links

  • Yuri Norstein official website (in English)
  • The Overcoat at IMDb
  • [1], [2] – two short, low-resolution clips that have been made available to the public
  • A three-part video about the history and the art behind The Overcoat (Part 1, 2 and 3) (it includes few more scenes as well)
  • Yuriy Norshteyn: Making The Overcoat official website (in Japanese)
  • Yuriy Norshteyn: Making The Overcoat' at IMDb

Russian

  • – has news on any public showings of his work
  • Peoples.ru profile (several articles and interviews)
  • Fan page with several more interviews
  • Comments about the unfinished film from those who've seen it: 1, 2
  • September 2006 interview

January 09, 2023
overcoat, animated, film, overcoat, russian, Шине, ль, shinyél, unfinished, animated, feature, film, that, been, main, project, russian, director, animator, yuri, norstein, since, 1981, based, overcoat, 1842, short, story, nikolai, vasilyevich, gogol, overcoat. The Overcoat Russian Shine l Shinyel is an unfinished animated feature film that has been the main project of Russian director and animator Yuri Norstein since 1981 It is based on The Overcoat 1842 a short story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol The OvercoatDirected byYuri NorsteinWritten byYuri NorsteinLyudmila PetrushevskayaBased onThe Overcoatby Nikolai V GogolProduced byYuri NorsteinCinematographyAleksandr B ZhukovskiyMaksim GranikAnimation byYuri NorsteinFrancheska YarbusovaRunning time65 minutesCountryRussiaLanguageRussianAround 25 minutes were completed by 2004 1 The unfinished film has been shown publicly in several exhibitions of Norstein s work around the world and clips of it have been included in a few documentary films about Russian animation and culture A Japanese theatrical documentary Yuriy Norshteyn Making The Overcoat premiered in 2018 2 On March 13 2007 Norstein stated that he planned to release the first 30 minutes of the film with a soundtrack into theatres by the end of 2007 3 However as of 2023 the film remains unfinished and its production time of 40 years is the longest for any animated motion picture in history Contents 1 Plot 2 History 3 Cast and crew 4 Technique 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksPlot EditThe film is based on The Overcoat 1842 a short story by Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol However Yuri Norstein has said that the cinematographer should not be interested in that which is described in detail he should look to that which is skipped to that which is implied but is not explicitly written The break in the text is the most promising the most alive place for cinema 4 History EditUpon finishing his film Tale of Tales in 1979 Norstein decided that the next project for his small team consisting of himself as the animator and director his wife Franchesca Yarbusova as the artist and his friend Aleksandr Zhukovskiy as the cinematographer would be an approximately 60 minute long film based on Gogol s short story The Overcoat Norstein has said that he considers The Overcoat to be as important a work of literature for him personally as one of the chapters of the Bible 5 By 1981 when work on the film began Norstein had been working at Soyuzmultfilm the main Soviet animation studio for 13 years and had worked on some 40 films and directed or co directed six Progress was slow with many interruptions Norstein estimates that only about three years of work were actually done Norstein says that Viktor Tinyaev Viktor Tinyaev helped him during this period In 1986 with only 10 minutes of the film completed Norstein was fired from the Soyuzmultfilm studio in which he had worked This was despite the fact that his films had gathered many international awards and Tale of Tales had been voted the best animated film of all time by a large panel of international critics in 1984 With the help of Rolan Bykov Norstein managed to set up his own animation studio in his home There he and his team continued to slowly work on the film Funding has been sporadic and has come from many different sources including the Savings Bank of Russia Sberbank and TNK oil company A few minutes were shot under the Soros Fund before 1999 6 Norstein has been known for refusing funding from certain sources He refused to accept money from Mikhail Shvydkoy the Russian Minister of Culture saying one cannot take money from those who don t care about you 7 He also refused help from Nick Park s company Aardman Animations accepting from them only a few boxes of lightbulbs 8 Production came to a temporary halt on November 17 1999 with the death of cinematographer Aleksandr Zhukovskiy Aleksandr Zhukovskij The loss was crippling for Norstein he said of Zhukovskiy that he was the only person who ever saw exactly eye to eye with him both as an artist and as a friend By 2001 production had resumed with a new cinematographer Maksim Granik Maksim Granik one of Zhukovskiy s students Production soon halted again this time for three years Norstein spent a year and a half making a 3 minute animation for the introduction to Good Night Little Ones a popular Russian nightly show for young children to watch before they go to bed 9 He also spent nine months working on a 2 minute sequence for the Japanese collaborative film Winter Days released in 2003 10 Norstein said that this sequence required as much work as a 10 minute film and that his work on it influenced The Overcoat and vice versa the sequence contains a scene with Bashō searching for ticks in his cloak which is similar to a scene in The Overcoat In a July 4 2004 interview Norstein said that 25 minutes of The Overcoat had been shot 11 The studio stopped working on the film for nearly a year while Norstein worked to release his two volume book Snow on the Grass released on August 10 2008 12 As of March 2013 13 Norstein was still working on the film his ardent perfectionism has earned him the nickname The Golden Snail 14 Although he has been offered chances to leave Russia Norstein believes that finishing his film in circumstances approaching comfort would be impossible 6 In a February 2014 interview Norstein revealed that profits from sales of his recent books and licensing deals are going into supporting his work on a new film but refused to confirm whether that film is The Overcoat 15 In April 2015 Norstein said in an interview that most of his time is being spent working on The Overcoat 16 Cast and crew EditYuri Norstein is the writer director and animator for the film His wife Francheska Yarbusova is the main artist responsible for the characters and backgrounds Other artists who were working on the film as of 2004 were Larisa Zenevich Lena Sharapova and Valentin Olshvang who earlier worked with Norstein on the Spokoynoy nochi malyshi sequence 17 Aleksandr Zhukovskiy was the cinematographer until his death on November 17 1999 A student of his Maksim Granik has been the cinematographer since 2001 There is not expected to be much dialogue in the film Norstein originally had Aleksandr Kalyagin in mind to play the main role However he has said that his idea of the main character has since changed and that he is not yet sure who the final voice actor will be 3 Technique Edit Norstein animating one of the scenes in the film that required a specialised set The animation used is cut out animation a type of stop motion Norstein uses a special technique involving multiple glass panels to give his animation a three dimensional look The camera is placed at the top looking down on a series of glass panels about a meter deep one every 25 30 cm The individual glass panels can move horizontally as well as toward and away from the camera to give the effect of a character moving closer or further away 11 Some scenes required a different approach as can be seen in the image on the right Norstein refuses to use a computer in his work and says that even watching computer animated films makes him ill 18 The film is being shot in black and white film Due to the closure of Moscow labs that develop black and white film Norstein s team is currently being forced to develop it themselves 19 See also Edit Animation portal Film portal Russia portalHistory of Russian animation List of animated feature films List of recent films in black and white List of stop motion films List of films with longest production timeOther animated films with long production historiesThe Thief and the Cobbler in production 1964 1993 released hastily finished The King and the Mockingbird a French animated film produced in two parts 1948 52 1967 80 initially released in recut form eventually finished as per director s wishes References Edit Shenderovich Viktor Vse svobodny razgovor na svobodnye temy Radio Svoboda July 4 2004 Accessed on Nov 22 2008 Yuri NorushuteinGaitōo tsukuru ユーリー ノルシュテイン 外套 をつくる Yuriy Norshteyn Making The Overcoat in Japanese allcinema Retrieved 25 January 2019 a b March 13 2007 interview with Yuri Norstein Nochnoj polyot Yurij Norshtejn video at 15 30 and 24 00 Kultura 13 03 2007 Retrieved on 29 06 2007 in Russian Skulskaya Elena Yurij Norshtejn Na Tikusaya nishego pohozh Delo June 23 2003 Retrieved on October 14 2006 in Russian Tretyakova Mariya Shinel kak glava Biblii Rossijskaya gazeta June 22 2005 Retrieved on October 18 2006 a b in Russian Makcimov Andrej Stenogramma programmy Nochnoj polet July 12 2001 Retrieved on October 13 2006 Archived July 28 2004 at archive today in Russian Boccart Alla Yurij Norshtejn Kamera krupno krupno priblizilas k cheloveku Novaya Gazeta June 2 2003 Retrieved on October 13 2006 Wright Jane Tales by a Russian master Camden New Journal February 16 2006 Retrieved on October 14 2006 in Russian Zheleznova Mariya Pokemony mogut spat spokojno Novaya gazeta August 13 2001 Retrieved on February 23 2007 in Russian Gabriadze Rezo Yurij Norshtejn Chelovek ushedshij v gogolevskuyu Shinel Archived 2007 01 23 at the Wayback Machine Russian Madison September 18 2006 Retrieved on October 14 2006 a b in Russian Boccart Alla V studii Yurij Norshtejn Radio Svoboda June 4 2004 Retrieved on October 14 2006 Odushevlenie chertochek Vremya August 28 2008 Retrieved on October 25 2009 Yuriya Norshtejna obidel Pervyj kanal Km ru 2013 03 07 Klimenko Alexei Golden Snail of Culture Archived 2006 06 03 at the Wayback Machine The Moscow News November 19 2002 Retrieved on October 14 2006 Ezhik mne izryadno nadoel vot i vse Yurij Norshtejn o pravilnom glamure Olimpiade i ekzistencii RBC Daily 19 02 2014 Archived March 17 2014 at the Wayback Machine Nedetskie multfilmy Sozdatel Ezhika v tumane ob iskusstve i glamure Argumenty i fakty 2015 04 23 Norstein interview Archived 2008 10 03 at the Wayback Machine Kinoart No 4 2004 Accessed on Jan 17 2009 in Russian Finn Peter 20 Years of Toil 20 Minutes of Unique Film Washington Post May 31 2005 Retrieved on October 14 2006 in Russian Karenina Zhanna Yurij Norshtejn Gotov zhdat Smotri NaStoyashee 8 September 2006 Retrieved on October 18 2006 External links EditYuri Norstein official website in English The Overcoat at IMDb 1 2 two short low resolution clips that have been made available to the public A three part video about the history and the art behind The Overcoat Part 1 2 and 3 it includes few more scenes as well Pictures of Norstein at work on the film Yuriy Norshteyn MakingThe Overcoat official website in Japanese Yuriy Norshteyn MakingThe Overcoat at IMDbRussian Online group dedicated to Norstein s art has news on any public showings of his work Peoples ru profile several articles and interviews Fan page with several more interviews Comments about the unfinished film from those who ve seen it 1 2 September 2006 interview Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Overcoat animated film amp oldid 1131986482, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.