jamesjustice-92

There are movies you can watch over and over and over again, they're called timeless classics and although they might be outdated in some things they will always be great pieces of cinema with viewers spanning over generations. One of those movies is "Operation Y" directed by the great Soviet mastermind of Leonid Gaiday with fantastic performances by Alexander Demyanenko and many others.

Growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s such Soviet movies as this were a part of my upbringing. They were always on TV on special days or holidays and me and my family watched them and laughed every time - we knew every line by heart, could replay any piece of music from the narrative and act out any scene - that's how timeless these movies were, Operation Y in particular. Shot in the 1960s it was still relevant 40 years later and even now, 60 years later it still looks amazingly excellent. And it's not a nostalgic feeling, it's a fact.

I always liked the first part of the movie best - it had the best laughs, lots of slapstick comedy, good heart and morale. There are and were many bullies who do bad things for whatever reason and it's standing up to them and trying to re-bring them up that makes a difference in this world. Sasha is afrad of a bigger and older fellow but he's not scared of him and he shows him that no matter what age or social status you have right now it's never too late to make a change and be better than you are.

The second part has romance in it and I never cared about it when I was a boy but now it's my favorite piece in the trilogy. The whole idea of being absorbed in the textbook studying for the exams so hard you barely notice where you're at and who you're with is maybe ridiculous but it sure makes up for oh so many laughs. I have to also point out the editing in this movie which is simply outstanding - cross-cutting, close-ups, long shots, sped-up shots - Gaiday uses them all to deliver the perfect movie which never tends to be boring, where every scene is completely necessary in the narrative, it's beyond masterful and no one ever did it the way Leonid could.

The third part, the titular Operation Y, is probably the weakest in the trilogy but thrives on social commentary of those times when people tried to screw the government over in hopes of a big pay-up and did all kinds of illegal things and in the midst of it Sasha turned up, a young man caught in the wrong place at the wrong time but doing the absolutely right thing trying to defend something that was the furthest from being his and succeeding. It's people like him who live true to the human nature that make me not lose hope in this world of mad, crazy, messed up and despicable people.

I believe this movie would translate into all languages and every single being on the planet should watch it at least once in their lifetimes. Not many pieces of cinema could get better than this.

I don't know what force made Buster Keaton do those awful Educational Pictures "comedy" short features but he sure feels lost in mostly all of them. Probably the transition to talkies played its part on him too, like on many others of his era as well, and he had to sign up for everything that was thrown his way to stay busy and relevant but, after watching seven of those pictures, they all feel dated to me, bland, unfunny and most certainly uncreative.

The E-flat man is one of the better ones of them, at least it doesn't seem all that ridiculous from the get-go as the vast majority of all of Buster talkies up to that point in his career. But just like pretty much all it lacks cohesive storyline, continuity, jokes (what's simply crucial in a Buster Keaton movie) and from a technical side - a good sound editing as well.

In this one Elmer (Buster Keaton's frequent Educational character) elopes with his girl in the middle of the night but mistakenly takes the police vehicle instead of his own, stolen a little earlier, and while on the run they encounter some giggly situations.

Buster here is that same old chap we fell in love with a while back but he's bored to death and it's visible in every scene - that he's only in it to get a quick buck and move on to the next project, that he is suffering with finding out whether he belongs in this new world of talking pictures or not. Time will prove that it's never going to be the former, and it makes me sad to see talents go to waste and do something they aren't worthy of but it's also a part of their journey, the one that helped them become better and stronger (and hopefully do some more decent pictures), so I'll keep digging for bronze (I can only dream of gold under these circumstances).

I've mostly ever known Buster by his short features in the late 1910s and early 1920s as well as his great feature length movies throughout the 20s but little did I know of his 1930s short comedies for Educational Pictures, the first one of them being The Gold Ghost.

It's a rather simple story of a man who just wanted to prove himself worthy to this world and to the girl that he liked, and he ends up in the ghost town in Nevada and decides to take over as its sheriff. The narrative is rushed and doesn't get much time for development of the character - instead it utilizes as many gags as it can, and it gives plenty thanks to the setting.

Buster is a master when it comes to slapstick and physical comedy and he does the job pretty well in this short, earning more than a chuckle not once. Sadly he loses it by the end of it and when there comes the time for a final brawl it feels awkward and not very well choreographed. Add here bad sound editing and dialogue delivery - people seem to be talking from the far end of the room when they are right in front of us on the screen and most of the times their lips move but the sound is inaudible - and you'll get a fine 20 minute comedy flick that could have easily been one of Buster's best if it was silent and was made in the year 1920. But as of 1934 it is just ok.