Reviews

Ivan Vasi'lievich Changes Profession, is a science comic fiction film directed by Leonid Gaidai in 1973. The film takes place in 1973 Moscow, where an engineer, Aleksandr Timofeev, is working on a time machine in his apartment. He successfully complete his invention and accidentally traps Ivan Vasilevich Bunsha, his apartment superintendent, and George Miloslavsky, a bugular and trickster, back in time to Ivan the Terrible's Palace. Ivan the terrible also becomes trapped in the future where he is mistaken for Ivan Bunsha and both parties try to disguise themselves as the other Ivan. By the end of the film both Ivans end back to their "reality" and Aleksandr awakes to realize that everything he just went through was just a dream. Ivan Vasi'lievich brings entertainment value to the forefront. The film was full of melodramactic and comedic events. One event that stood out and was rather comedic is the scene where Ivan the Terrible sees a painting in Aleksandr's apartment. The painting depicts Ivan the Terrible killing his son but he fails to recognize himself. One scene which showcases the melodramactic aspects of the film is the scene where Zina Aleksandr's wife meets Ivan the terrible and Yakin, the film directo, starts to question which "actor" is portraying Ivan, only to have Ivan get real upset and start to attack Yakin in a comedic way. The use of color in the film was used to separate the "dream" portion from reality. Reality was shown in black in white in the beginning of the film and the when Aleksandr had an accident he was unconscious and dreamt all of the events in color only to wake up in reality which the film ends in black and white. The use of color was very effect and provided a good separation of reality in the film.

The story of Father Sergius is a Russian Silent film directed by Yakov Protazanov based on the events of Prince Kasatsky. Kasatsky becomes engaged to Mary and soon finds out that she had an affair with Tsar. Protazanov then follows Kasatsky journey and his struggle to attain pure holiness. Protazanov creates very picturesque scenes. Throughout the film the camera is set up in specific ways to capture the atmosphere of the rooms and kind of give the image of somber and helplessness. When Kasatsky becomes a monk he still suffers with the inability to be holy. The scene where he cuts his own finger in order to protect himself from being seduced by a woman is a good example of how Protazanov is able to create a feeling of helplessness. This scene takes place in his cell, which is very dark and still and has no indication of life. Another scene in which Protazanov captures Kasatsky feeling of dread and agony is when his reputation grows and people come from all over to come visit him and get prayers from him. Throughout this scene Kasatsky become the main focus of the frame and the people around him are constantly moving and approaching him as he stands still and tries to take it all in. Protazanov does a great job at capturing life around Kasatsky flowing as he just stands still and suffers in his own agonizing feeling of self worth. As the film goes on you see the journey of Kasatsky and how the film evolves around his mental state.