The Outskirts

Starring:Yuri Dubrovin, Nikolai Olyalin, Aleksei Pushkin, Aleksei Vanin, Rimma Markova, Viktor Stepanov, Anatoli Koshcheyev, Viktor Venes, Aleksandr Vdovin, Galina Zolotaryova, Oleg Mokshantsev, Vyacheslav Kulakov, M. Kostina, Nikolai Pozdnyakov, V. Smirnov, D. Lyamochkin, B. Kazakov, A. Borovkov, Oleg Vershinin, V. Zhmurov
Director: Pyotr Lutsik
Studio: Facets
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

A nice double bill of early Russian films
Eye-opening comedies from the USSR

Outskirts / The Girl with the Hatbox
Starring: Aleksandr Chistyakov , Sergei Komarov , Yelena Kuzmina , Nikolai Bogolyubov , and Nikolai Kryuchkov
Director: Boris Barnet
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

( O ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Bed and Sofa
Arsenal (Silent) (Sub B&W)
Three Soviet Classics (Earth / The End of St. Petersburg / Chess Fever)
The End of Saint Petersburg / Deserter
Storm over Asia

ASIN: B0002A2W9U
Release Date: 2004-07-27

Description

Two Russian Classics by Boris Barnet! Out of U.S. distribution for decades, Outskirts is an internationally renowned masterpiece of early sound cinema. In a remote Russian village during World War I, colorful and nuanced characters experience divided loyalties: family loyalty vs. personal desire, nationalism vs. transcendent humanism. Moving with the speed and grace of the best American silent comedies, The Girl with the Hat Box established Barnet's reputation. The charming Anna (Anna Sten) works in a hat shop, sharing her small apartment with a penniless student. A supposedly worthless lottery ticket from her employer turns into a gold mine, leading to a madcap chase for the ticket - and her love.

Customer Reviews:

A nice double bill of early Russian films.......2005-07-21

These two Russian classics - an early sound film from 1933 and a silent comedy from 1927 - both seem to move along at an easy, slow pace, almost as if nothing is happening, yet there is still a lot going on, mainly visually. My first impressions were that both films are pleasant and interesting to watch, even if there are no particularly intriguing plots, fascinating characters or exciting action scenes. Director Boris Barnet obviously had a good sense of telling a story with images, characters and editing so that the end result is a smooth-flowing film that gives the viewer insight into early Russian cinema and what kind of films the public enjoyed in the 1920s and early 30s. "Outskirts" reminded me somewhat of the silent Soviet classic, "Earth", while the more light-hearted silent "The Girl with the Hatbox" reminded me of my favourite Soviet silent comedy, "Chess Fever". The humour is different from American, but still easy enough for everyone to understand and smile at. Soviet cinema had developed its own unique style in the 1920s, and both these films capture some of those elements which have made early Russian films famous.
"Outskirts" captures the atmosphere and lives of people living in a remote region of Russia during World War I, and I found the aspect of German prisoners of war sent there particularly interesting and unusual. Picture and sound quality are very good, and the English subtitles are easy to read. The silent comedy was restored in 1968 and has a soundtrack from that time which is not too bad; however some of the subtitles are difficult to read at times. This does not detract from the overall feeling of the film, which - like "Outskirts" is somehow a little sad, a little ironic and generally a good mix of all the elements that make for good viewing. Overall, these two Russian classics might not be to everyone's taste, but I would definitely recommend them to anyone interested in early Soviet cinema, and perhaps to anyone curious to see what the Russians were doing in the late 20s and early 30s.

Eye-opening comedies from the USSR.......2004-06-14

As I write this the DVD is not out yet, but I have seen both films theatrically and am confident that preservationist David Shepard will bring them to DVD in fine form. Shepard has brought out several releases which would change anyone's preconception of heavyhanded, doctrinaire Soviet cinema, and this pair ranks with the remarkable comedy Bed and Sofa (also highly recommended) and establishes the little-known-outside-Russia Barnet as sort of the Billy Wilder of Soviet cinema, a cynical yet warm and funny observer of society and character with a great eye for the telling comic detail. Outskirts is an early talkie comedy, and the rougher but also the more adventurous of the two, a series of quick sketches of life in some nowhere burg as World War I breaks out a long ways away. Officially, it's set before the Revolution, and thus the cynical attitudes on display are directed at the old regime, but it's hard not to see it as a plea from the Russian peasantry for the outside world (ie Moscow and the Party) to stop messing with their lives and just let them live and let live.

Customer Reviews:

One of the Greatest Movies Ever.......2004-12-20

Some people claim that if you are not Russian then this movie is hard to understand, I couldn't disagree more. This movie gets straight to the point, then strangles that point in a macabre display of virtuosity. Director Lutsik manages to create an environment that looks like it could have been a dissident film in the 30s, but somehow manages to capture the attention of a modern audience. There is nothing wrong with this movie. It is sublime: subtle, yet as loud and audibly conspicuos as a sledgehammer, uprorious, yet at times somber and solemn.

The movie is about a group of Russian farmers living in the Ural mountains who find out that some know-it-all sold all of their land to the oil companies. The men gather their guns and their comrades to teach those punks a lesson. They take it all the way to the Soviet oil Ministry, and once there it is dubious that they will stop.

The movie changes pace constantly. It goes from being an action film, to surrealism, to mildly droll drama. Lutsik directs each different mode of this film with equal skill, while at the same time maintains consistency, never letting the actors be someone who they are not, or letting the story slip far from his fingers. The comedy is performed perfectly, often in a slapstick fashion. Yet even in the comedic scenes, the movie retains its seriousness, actually showing how much the characters bond with each other.

There is nothing wrong with this movie. It is perfectly paced, perfectly directed, and acted just as it should be. I found this movie completely by accident and what a fortunate accident that was. Watch this movie, love this movie. To be watched with: vodka and potatoes.

Residents - Kettles of Fish on Outskirts of Town

Average customer rating:

A MUST HAVE
A BIG FAN who really wanted more out of this
a fistful of stuff!!!

Residents - Kettles of Fish on Outskirts of Town
Starring: The Residents , and Residents
Manufacturer: Mvd Visual
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

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Wormwood
The Residents - Demons Dance Alone
The Residents - Commercial DVD
Residents - Eskimo
The Residents - Icky Flix

ASIN: B0000AN4HI
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Product Description

KETTLES OF FISH ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN (BOX SET) (RESIDENTS)

Customer Reviews:

A MUST HAVE.......2007-03-13

This DVD contains very rare footage of The Residents live performances. Including Cube-E.

A BIG FAN who really wanted more out of this.......2006-08-26

It is always good to see more from the Guys With Eyes, the Rz, and there are memorable clips here from shows like Freak Show, Cube-E, Wormwood, Icky Flix, the 13th Anniversary Show (how wonderful to see Snakefinger at work--RIP, dude), even a little montage that delves a little into the Rz studio to see some of their collections, and obviously there are a few other DVDs released that have shows in their entirety, like Wormwood, but this DVD felt a little more like a sampler than an unfettered Rz release, with teasing glimpses of the cowboy music from Cube-E but none of the Elvis stuff, and mere intros to the Freak Show shows with little sense of the substance of the entire performance. Icky Flix seemed best represented here, and there are a lot of creative touches to the set up of this DVD, for example how the backgrounds to different menus change whenever you get back to them, but I would rather get my teeth into a full-blown DVD that lets me see a performance by the Residents all the way through. Since their music seems to work so much on development and even its own form of storyline, I would love to watch a perfrmance DVD do the same.

a fistful of stuff!!!.......2004-05-18

that dvd is a gift for the fans of that great band. it contains mainly live performances, but all of these greatly performed!
The residents are known for taking care of a well gained reputation as entertainers. indeed, in every show they have given through the world, they have developed different concepts, all of them related to a very surrealistic way of percieve the reality. you can now see that, and I can tell you without fear that you will enjoy. just keep your mind open and sit.

DVD:

DVD

DVD: Beginner Blues Harmonica

Enterprise 1.1 - Broken Bow/Pilotfilm