Aleksandr Ptushko

Aleksandr Ptushko
Born
Aleksandr Lukich Ptushkin

19 April [O.S. 6 April] 1900
Luhansk, Slavyanoserbsk uezd, Yekaterinoslav Governorate, Russian Empire
Died6 March 1973(1973-03-06) (aged 72)
Moscow, Soviet Union
Occupation(s)Film and animation director, animator, screenwriter, pedagogue
Years active1927–1972

Aleksandr Lukich Ptushko (Russian: Александр Лукич Птушко, 19 April [O.S. 6 April] 1900 – 6 March 1973) was a Soviet animation and fantasy film director, and a People's Artist of the USSR (1969).[1] Ptushko is frequently (and somewhat misleadingly) referred to as "the Soviet Walt Disney," because of his prominent early role in animation in the Soviet Union, though a more accurate comparison would be to Willis H. O'Brien or Ray Harryhausen. Some critics, such as Tim Lucas and Alan Upchurch, have also compared Ptushko to Italian filmmaker Mario Bava, who made fantasy and horror films with similarities to Ptushko's work and made similarly innovative use of color cinematography and special effects.[2][3][4] He began his film career as a director and animator of stop motion short films, and became a director of feature-length films combining live action, stop motion, creative special effects, and Russian mythology. Along the way he would be responsible for a number of firsts in Russian film history (including the first feature-length animated film, and the first film in color), and would make several extremely popular and internationally praised films full of visual flair and spectacle.

  1. ^ Peter Rollberg (2016). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 591–593. ISBN 978-1442268425.
  2. ^ Tim Lucas, DVD commentary for Black Sunday (1960), Image Entertainment 2000
  3. ^ Upchurch, Alan (Nov/Dec 1991). "Russkaya Fantastika: The Fairytale Landscapes of Aleksandr Ptushko – Part One". Video Watchdog, p. 24-37.
  4. ^ Upchurch, Alan (Jan/Feb 1992). "Russkaya Fantastika: The Fairytale Landscapes of Aleksandr Ptushko – Part Two". Video Watchdog, p. 32-46.