Poruchik Kizhe

Ever wonder where that episode, "Tuttle," came from in the middle of the first season of M*A*S*H? Well now the cat's out of the bag: they got it from this Soviet film, a satire on how dumb the Tsar is, due to the slip of a pen (rendering the phrase "the Lieutenants, though ..." into "Lieutenant Kizhe" which has no meaning) and nobody being honest or gutsy enough to contradict him and just tell him the truth -- Kizhe doesn't exist and never did. So they make up an imaginary life for him and eventually kill him off. And 40 years later, David Ketchum and Bruce Shelly borrowed this zany plot and gave us essentially the same story, only on the other side of what had become the Cold War, proving that people in high positions can be equally dumb no matter what their loyalties may be!

The fact that this film was shown at London's Barbican suggests to me that the print must have been acceptable enough for such a showing. Now the question is, Why isn't this long lost and important film available in DVD (or even VHS)? A large number of persons in Europe and the USA have for many years hoped to see this film, if for no other reason than the wonderful music written for it by Sergei Prokofiev. What does one have to do to get such a wonderful production as this available for a wider public, not just patrons to the Barbican at London? Having been a devoted listener to Prokofiev's music for many years and aware of this film, PLEASE, someone 'out there' do the right thing and bring it out as a DVD.

I thought this was lost but a watchable copy of the complete film can be found on Google Video. At last you can see how Prokofiev's music fits in. It's a bizarre film, with exaggerated Russian comic acting, but quite stylish. The score is, of course first rate and and comes over well even on a fairly poor copy.

The famous Troika appears as a song during chaotic night time ride and the romance is sung as a solo with harp accompaniment.

On the whole the sound is as goo as most prints of Alexandeer Nevsky that I have seen - though i await a restored version from Ruscico - the Russian Cinema Council.

I hope they do a restored version of this forgotten classic.

Made in 1934, this brilliant piece of filmaking combines elements of Expressionism, Dada, and Surrealism with directorial style reminiscent of Cocteau, Renoir, Leger and Bunuel. Add the music by Prokofiev and it transcends cinematic art. I've followed, sought and studied film for over four decades. This is a seminal work of early cinema with superior subtitling. An absolute must see for those who love the art.

Outside Russia "Lieutenant Kizhe" is known chiefly as the source of Serge Prokofiev's "Lieutenant Kizhe Suite", which he based upon the original score that he wrote for this film. That's unfortunate because this move is a very funny satirical farce about the unexpected consequences of a typographical error and deserves recognition in for its own merits. In that sense, while watching this I couldn't help wondering if it might have provided the inspiration for Terry Gilliam's movie, "Brazil".

Tsar Paul is such a martinet that his courtiers are so terrified to admit to a typographical error in the regimental orders of the day that they resort to inventing a non-existent Lieutenant Kizhe in order to comply with what is written down on the paper. However, matters begin to spiral out of control when the eccentric Tsar takes a personal interest in the "confidential and invisible" officer.

This movie is highly recommended to anyone who thinks that Russian Cinema begins and ends with the heavy, epic propaganda films of Serge Eisenstein. "Lieutenant Kizhe" is well produced and the actors are excellent, but the material is never ponderous. incidentally, for those who may be interested, it is available on Youtube. I might add that even the subtitles are very legible, which is not always the case with Russian films.