Tag: movies

Song: “Burn Butcher Burn” from the series “The Witcher”

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On my Facebook, I wrote about how much I disliked the series “The Witcher,” and I found the second season to be far worse than the first. However, in the first season, everyone was blown away by the bard Jaskier’s song “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher,” which unexpectedly became far more popular on the internet than the series itself for a while. And that was true for both the original English version and the Russian adaptation.

In the second season, there was another song performed by Jaskier—“Burn Butcher Burn.” The Russian version sounds rather bland, while the English rendition is far more powerful, almost as if they were two completely different songs. This is unusual because Russian dubbing is typically excellent, owing to decades of experience from the Soviet school of dubbing.

At first, I wanted to feature only the English version in my blog, but then I found a video that compiled the scene in multiple languages with different audio tracks. It starts with the English version and then includes many others, such as Russian and Ukrainian. I must say that in most cases, the voice chosen for the character fits quite well. The Czech and French performances are on par with the original. I’m not as confident about the others. As for my personal playlist, I’ve added the original version.

Song: Johny Cash “Hurt” & Logan/Wolverine

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Not long ago, I wrote about songs that gained a new life or interpretation thanks to new arrangements, including in films.

At the time, I didn’t mention one song, “Hurt,” performed (but not written) by Johnny Cash. That’s because it didn’t fit the criteria: it’s not a reinterpretation or a new arrangement. It’s simply an original song that was used in the trailer for the last Wolverine movie, released in 2017 and titled Logan.

Cash’s version is a cover of a 1995 song by the band Nine Inch Nails. Johnny Cash slightly altered the lyrics, removing any profanity, and recorded his rendition in 2003. The song is considered his final hit during his lifetime, earning numerous awards and receiving high praise from the original authors. Personally, I find it more powerful and emotional than the NIN version.

But why did I mention Wolverine? The thing is, the lyrics of the song didn’t just fit the trailer’s mood—they seemed written specifically for Logan, who, in the movie’s plot, is no longer the invincible and immortal Wolverine we knew, but still has the strength to prove himself one last time. Together, the song and visuals left an unforgettable impression on me. The trailer uses only the first verse of the song, but the music and imagery complement each other perfectly:

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Songs of a Second Chance

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In September, I already wrote about remarkable songs from rather mediocre films. But since songs and films are now inextricably linked, today I want to write about a few songs (or melodies) that received a second chance (and sometimes an even stronger one) compared to their original versions. Sometimes it’s just an interesting cinematic arrangement; other times, it’s an entirely new “reading.” I’ll share examples of what I believe are very successful adaptations. And I mean specifically movie (or TV series) adaptations, as there are plenty of amazing covers out there, but we won’t count those today, or we’d simply get lost in them.

So, my criteria were simple:

  1. The melody or song featured in the film existed long before the movie’s release and was already well-known.
  2. It was released as part of the film (soundtrack).
  3. To me personally, it seems very interesting and, in some ways, even better than the original.

I’ll start with a film that is truly rich in such “second winds” — Hipsters by Valery Todorovsky (oh my goodness, it’s already been 13 years since its release, but it feels like it was just yesterday!). Every musical number in the movie is outstanding, so I’ll highlight just three of the absolute best.

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Who Needs Credits?

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Recently, there’s been another heated debate on the internet about the rules that certain game companies use to decide whether to include or exclude employees from the credits of their games. And this is indeed a fascinating topic!

Games weren’t the first to come up with credits. Movies come to mind much earlier. However, even in films, credits have undergone massive changes. I remember absolutely hating the credits in Soviet children’s films, especially when they were placed at the beginning of the movie. You’d sit down in front of the TV, all ready to enjoy your favorite film—perhaps one you’d been waiting for all week (this was before you could just hop onto Netflix and watch anything). And then you’re hit with “film director,” “cinematographer,” “director”… I couldn’t care less! I wanted to watch the movie, not read their names!

That said, I have to admit that sometimes creators managed to make this part interesting. In some films, they would show the actor in their role alongside how they looked in real life. That, I loved to watch—it didn’t make me want to switch off. Off the top of my head, I can recall this approach being used in New Year’s Adventures of Masha and Vitia and the later Don Cesar de Bazan. In those films, the actors in their everyday appearance looked nothing like their characters on screen.

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Masterpiece Songs from Flop Films

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Recently, I was playing some of my favorite songs for the kids in the car. At some point, I caught myself thinking that many of these songs are far more famous than the movies they appeared in. Usually, it’s the other way around: the soundtrack (music and songs) fades into the background as we get absorbed by the story. Sometimes, both the film and the songs are great, and we end up happily humming the tunes afterward—or they even become hits.

The latter category includes “Prekrasnoye Daleko” (“The Beautiful Far Away”) from the excellent film “Guest from the Future“ (which deviates significantly from Kir Bulychev’s original story, but as kids, we were glued to the screen, and Natasha Guseva—the lead actress—became every boy’s favorite girl in the USSR for years). Or “Krylatye Kacheli” (“The Swinging Swings”) from “The Adventures of the Electronic“. There are plenty of other examples too.

But let’s think about cases where we remember the songs, but the movies didn’t leave much of an impression. Of course, I can’t name them all, so I invite you to add your examples in the comments. I’ll share a few from my own playlist, and I’ll add any suggestions from the comments to the post.

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Book: Robert E. Howard “The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane”

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Today, there are probably few people who are unfamiliar with the character of Conan the Barbarian. Even if they haven’t read a single book about him, they are likely to remember the iconic image of a young Arnold Schwarzenegger portraying the character. However, in the Soviet Union, the author of the Conan series (and many other works), Robert E. Howard, was virtually unknown until 1989. Although Howard himself didn’t write a large number of works, several of his characters became cult figures, Conan being the foremost among them. The series about this hero, which many other authors have continued, now includes not just dozens but hundreds of stories.

Personally, I first encountered Robert E. Howard’s work back in the distant year of 1990, when the Minsk publishing house Eridan released a collection of the author’s works titled The Hour of the Dragon.

A year earlier, in Krasnoyarsk, a thin booklet of just 52 pages had been published, containing two of Howard’s short stories translated by Alexander Bushkov under one cover. Eridan, in its full-length book, used both of these stories in the same translation. The Eridan collection included works about various characters, including the titular novel about Conan the Barbarian. However, one of the stories translated by Bushkov was Wings in the Night, featuring a protagonist named Solomon Kane. At the time, this character didn’t leave much of an impression on me. The story was the only one about him in the collection, and for a 13-year-old, his image clearly paled in comparison to the ruthless, muscular barbarian Conan. It was read and forgotten, in short. Two years later, the same Eridan began publishing a four-volume collection of Robert E. Howard’s works, but even in this, Solomon Kane appeared in only two stories—Wings in the Night and Red Shadows. You’ll agree, that’s hardly enough to develop any strong feelings for the character.

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Book: Isaac Babel “Collected Works. Volume 1”

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babel_1

The way Jewish Odessans speak is something I find incredibly charming—at least, how it’s portrayed, as I’ve never been to Odessa to see for myself. So, I love what I read in jokes or see in films. Two series have stood out to me for capturing the life of Odessa’s courtyards in such a delightful way.

Liquidation, directed by Sergey Ursulyak and starring Vladimir Mashkov as David Gotsman, is an excellent post-war detective story. Even more memorable than the main character is his friend Fima, brilliantly played by Sergey Makovetsky. Lines like, “Return the stolen goods to the calloused hands! You still have to eat off them!” are unforgettable.

The second series is the lighter The Life and Adventures of Mishka Yaponchik, which also plays as a musical, featuring outstanding musical numbers inspired by the songs of the American Barry Sisters. We know that much of what we know about the legendary Odessa gangster Mishka Yaponchik comes thanks to Isaac Babel, who based his character Benya Krik, the “King,” on him. The series builds on Odessa Stories by Babel, though here Benya is called by his real-life inspiration’s name—Mishka Yaponchik.

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Georgiy Daneliya “Nightmare on Tiptoes”

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koshmar

Georgiy Daneliya is one of the most prominent Soviet directors. I can’t say I love all his films, but his works like Walking the Streets of Moscow, Mimino, Kin-dza-dza!, Don’t Grieve!, Afonya, and Autumn Marathon are iconic, along with Gentlemen of Fortune, for which he wrote the script. And that’s not a complete list.

I once stumbled upon excerpts from his memoirs, but I didn’t pay them much attention until I saw a book called A Passenger Without a Ticket at a friend’s—a memoir by the director about his life. I got interested, started reading, and quickly got hooked.

I finished the book in a few days, and at the end, there was a note: “To be continued.” I thought that couldn’t be a coincidence, so I searched online and found that Georgiy Daneliya had actually written three memoirs, later combined into a single cycle, initially called Chito-Grito (when it was a two-part series) and later released as a single book titled Nightmare on Tiptoes.

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“Union of Salvation”

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soyus-spasenia

My wife and I watched Union of Salvation over the weekend.

The film was supposed to tell the story of the Decembrist uprising of 1825. It was these people who called themselves the “Union of Salvation,” intending to “save” Russia from autocracy—as they understood it.

The sets and costumes were great, and the actors weren’t bad. But the script was a big letdown. The entire movie was just a flurry of people and events. Characters come and go at lightning speed; you barely read a name before the next one appears. And for viewers unfamiliar with the history, these character names mean absolutely NOTHING.

Because there’s no explanation at all. If you haven’t read the history, the whole film boils down to “some random men want a revolution, bring out the troops, shout a bit, and die.”

There’s no clarity on what exactly they want, no explanation of why or how they want to achieve it. No motivation. No explanation of who these people are. It’s like the audience is expected to read a history textbook first and only then come to watch. Luckily, I remember some details of these events—not just the Soviet version that glorified the Decembrists as the first Russian revolutionaries who died for the people (even though they actually didn’t care much about the people).

Even the fact that the Union split into Northern and Southern Societies is mentioned so briefly it’s instantly forgotten. And this split wasn’t without reason. At some point, their ideas diverged significantly on what they wanted and the methods to get there, leading to the division.

So, I was deeply disappointed by the viewing. It’s beautiful, but disappointing due to poor directing, because even with some historical knowledge, I’d still want more than just visuals.

The soundtrack, though, was very impressive. I even listened to it several times afterward. They seamlessly blended in “Walking on Water” by Nautilus Pompilius (which is basically the film’s main theme) and even “Vladivostok 2000” by Mumiy Troll. The arrangements came out very interesting.

My rating: 2/5

Reflections on the “Neapolitan Novels”, Friendship, Violence, and Social Mobility

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I started reading the Neapolitan Novels after being bombarded with rave reviews about the book. And I must say, I was not disappointed. Though the book didn’t grab me right away. The saga follows the lives of two friends, from their childhood to old age, spanning from the 1950s to the early 2000s. And this friendship is quite strange—it’s filled with envy and competition. It’s more akin to a codependent relationship between a man and a woman (let me clarify, this is about psychology, not about any kind of romantic love, which isn’t part of the dynamic between these friends). It’s the kind of relationship where they can’t break apart, but being together for too long is unbearable. The two are bound by elastic cords that can’t be snapped. And if they do part ways, it’s only to crash back together with twice the force. They compete with each other throughout their lives, yet it doesn’t stop them from helping one another.

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