Le nez

First of all, the method of animation fits beautifully with the Nicolai Gogol story. A man loses his nose and suddenly his life turns upside down. He realizes he will never have a lady's love. People will mock him in the street. He is full of self loathing. He even contemplates suicide. The Russian authors are so full of darkness. When the man is given a second chance we are left to fend for ourselves as to the outcome. I was quite moved by this. I need to read the story again.

This film was made completely using shadows from a pin screen, with Alexander Alexeieff working from the front and his wife Claire Parker working from the back [according to them this is how they worked]. The pin screen was Alexeieff's invention. A low-resolution product based on his screen can be found in novelty stores. It has pins that you can leave an imprint of your face or hand in. This product was inspired directly by the films.

This film itself has a lot of movement and action. It is difficult to describe. The story itself is kind of dream-like. Not surprising since the original story was the same AND it is difficult to tell a chronological scene using animation on a pin-screen [no doubt].

Alexeieff made other pin screen movies. They are also worth watching. Many colleges and film classes show the video or 16 millimeter film to film classes today.

Le Nez/The Nose(1963) is a brilliant cartoon that has been overlooked today. The story is short but fascinating to watch. Based on the short story by the great Russian author, Nikolai Gogol, this cartoon retains all of the story's humor and surrealness. Le Nez(1963) is probably the best adaption of a Gogol story in the history of cinema. There will be a feature length live feature version of The Nose by the director of Black Cat, White Cat sometime next year. The direction by Alexander Alexeieff is fantastic and creative.