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SOYUZMULTFILM
Puppetfilm association
1964
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1763 Polzunov's steam engine
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00:00:08,833 --> 00:00:10,992
1776 Kulibin's wooden one-arched bridge
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1801 Artamonov's bicycle
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1833 Cherepanov locomotive
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1878 A.F. Mozhayskiy's flying machine
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1881 Kibalchich's aeronautic device
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This film is dedicated to the wonderful
Russian craftsmen of the past,
present and future.
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LEFTY
after the story by N.S. Leskov
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The tale of how Tula craftsmen
shoed an English steel flea
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Scenario and Direction
IVAN IVANOV-VANO
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Director: Vladimir Danilevich
Composer: Aleksandr Aleksandrov
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Art directors: Marina Sokolova,
Arkadiy Tyurin, Anatoliy Kuritsyn
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Camera: Iosif Golomb
Sound: Boris Filchikov
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Animators:
Yuriy Norshteyn, Galina Zolotovskaya,
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Lev Zhdanov, Kirill Malyantovich,
Mihail Botov
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Background artists: T. Zuykova,
G. Nevzorova, Aleksandr Gorbachyov,
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Vladimir Sobolev, Vladimir Alisov,
V. Rodzhero, A. Volkov
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Puppets and decor:
V. Cherkinskaya, Liliana Lyutinskaya,
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Svetlana Znamenskaya,
Oleg Masainov, N. Budylova,
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Yu. Benkevich, M. Spasskaya,
Vladimir Abakumov
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Script editor: Natalya Abramova
Montage: N. Mayorova
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State Cinematographic Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: G. Gamburg
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Narrator:
D. Zhuravlyov
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Production director:
Natan Bitman
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[Paris City, 1815]
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When the
Emperor Aleksandr Pavlovich
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ended the military campaign of 1812,
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he got the idea of
travelling about Europe,
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to see what marvels could be seen
in the various realms.
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He journeyed through all lands, and
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everywhere, by reason of his amiability,
[Dresden City]
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had heart-to-heart talks with
all sorts of people...
[Vienna City]
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And everyone surprised him with something
[Leipzig City]
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and sought to incline him to their side,
[Amsterdam City]
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but he had with him a
Don Cossack named Platov
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who did not like this inclination;
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And if Platov should notice
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that the Sovereign was interested
in something foreign,
[London, 1816]
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he would go up to him and say,
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"That's all right, of course,
but ours at home are just as good."
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But then the English
invited the Sovereign
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to their arsenals,
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armories, shops, soapworks
and everywhere else
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in order to demonstrate their
superiority over us in all things
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and boast of it.
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[English Cabinet of Curiosities]
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They arrived at a huge building
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with an indescribable entrance,
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corridors without end,
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rooms one after another,
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"A-ah-ah-ah..."
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The Sovereign was very pleased
with all this: "Ah - ah - ah!
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Ah - ah - ah!"
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But Platov strode along
with downcast eyes
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as though he beheld nothing
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and merely twisted his whiskers
into rings.
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They came to the main hall.
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The English immediately began
to show them all sorts of marvels
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and explain to what ends
they were adapted
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in military matters.
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All this delighted the Sovereign
greatly: "Ah - ah - ah!"
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everything seemed to him very good:
"Ah - ah - ah!"
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but Platov preserved his apathy,
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as if nothing of this
meant anything to him.
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The Sovereign said:
"How is this possible?"
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"Why is there such unfeelingness in you?"
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"Is there really nothing here
that astonishes you?"
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And Platov replied:
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"Only one thing here astonishes me:
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that my dashing lads of the Don
made war without all this
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and drove twelve nations
out of our country."
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The Sovereign said:
"That's all prejudice."
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But the Englishmen,
noticing the dissension between them,
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took them straight to the statue
of Apollo Belvedere.
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"This pistol", the Englishmen said,
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"is of unknown, inimitable workmanship -
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one of our admirals snatched it from the
belt of a pirate captain at Calabria."
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"Ah, ah, ah!" gasped the Sovereign
in amazement, "How can this be?
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How is it even possible
to work so delicately?
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If I had just one such craftsman in Russia
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I should be very happy and proud
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and I would instantly
make that man a noble."
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The English protested:
"It can't be taken apart!"
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"Oh, we'll manage"
replied Platov.
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[Made by Ivan Moskvin, Tula]
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The Sovereign said sadly to Platov:
"Ah, ah, ah!
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Why did you have to upset them;
I'm so sorry for them now."
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"Oho, have we blundered!"
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Then they said to the Sovereign:
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"Now we will present you
with a true technical marvel".
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The Sovereign asked:
"What does this mean?"
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"Can you, please", said the English
master artisan, "see that speck?"
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"What do I want a speck of dust for?"
asked the Sovereign.
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"But this," answered the English master
"is not a speck,
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but an infusorium."
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"Is it alive?"
the Sovereign then asked.
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"Oh no," answered the
English master, "it's not alive.
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But it has been forged
out of pure English steel
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in the image of a flea, by ourselves,
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and in the middle of it are
works and a spring.
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Be kind enough to turn the key
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and it'll do a dance."
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"Ah - ah - ah!"
said the Sovereign curiously.
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"Kindly look in the tinyscope."
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"Ah - ah - ah!"
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"Ah - ah!"
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The Sovereign immediately ordered Platov
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to give a million to the Englishmen
in any money they liked.
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Whether in silver five-kopek pieces,
or in small banknotes.
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The Englishmen asked for silver
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as they were, they said,
unfamiliar with banknotes.
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The Englishmen whispered
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and showed another
cunning trick of theirs:
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they had made a present of the flea,
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but had brought no case for it,
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because the case for it, said they,
belonged to the Crown
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and as they were held to
strict account for Crown property,
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they could not make a gift of it
even to the Sovereign.
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Platov got into a great rage over this.
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"Why such rascality?
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You have made a gift,
and received a million for it,
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and that's still not enough for you!
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The case always goes
with every article!"
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But the Sovereign said:
"Stop that, please;
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Don't spoil my politics.
They have their own custom."
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and he asked the Englishmen,
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"What is the value of this walnut,
in which the flea is lodged?"
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The Englishmen rated it
at five thousand more.
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The Sovereign ordered Platov to pay,
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and said to the English: "You are
the finest craftsmen in the world
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and my people, in comparison with you,
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can do nothing."
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Then Platov, without a word,
slipped the tinyscope into his pocket,
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for, he thought, it
should go with the other things
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and, besides, there had been enough
money taken from them as it was.
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The remarkable flea of English blue steel
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remained in Aleksandr Pavlovich's
whalebone casket
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until the Sovereign turned melancholy
on account of military affairs
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and died in Taganrog.
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Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich did not at first
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pay any attention to the flea
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because of the disturbances
at his accession to the throne*
[*The Decembrist Uprising in 1825.]
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Brave Russians and Russian soldiers.
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Bravo, bravo!
It's time to work, work!
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We are Zanevsky-Nevsky soldiers.
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The Tsar is kind enough to note.
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He will say to us courageous,
To us courageous lads,
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That we are just the right
sort of fine young men!
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Who here is from the highest rank?
Who will fit that standard?
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Who will manage such excellence?
Who will manage such stardom?
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"What rubbish is this
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and why did my brother
take such care of it?
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Immediately find out where
it has come from and what it means!"
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They hurried to look through records and registers
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but did not find any mention of it.
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They began asking one person after another,
but nobody knew anything about it.
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Fortunately the Don Cossack Platov
was still alive;
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he was even then lying sadly
on his couch and smoking his pipe.
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As soon as he heard that there
was such an uproar in the palace
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he rose up from his couch,
threw away his pipe
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and appeared before the Sovereign
wearing all his medals.
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"I was there," he said, "when it happened!
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And this is what took place before
my own eyes in England."
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"Bravo, bravo!"
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"This is," said Platov,
"Your Majesty,
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a delicate and interesting piece of work
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but we mustn't let our admiration
get the better of us;
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we must submit it to Russian inspection.
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Our masters in Tula are no worse
than the English ones!"
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"Bravo, bravo!
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That was well said, my brave old man,"
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said the Sovereign.
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"Surpass them!"
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Ho, here's our General Platov!
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Look, across the fields he rode.
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Aye, across the fields he rode.
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Aye, to visit Tula he rode.
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Chief Master of the City of Tula
Ivan Moskvin
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Gunsmith
Lefty
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"This casket," said Platov,
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contains a masterfully-made
English steel flea of fine work."
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The Sovereign orders you,
you cunning dogs,
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to surpass the English master artisans!"
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"What are we to do now,
fellow Orthodox Christians?"
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The gunsmiths responded:
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"The English nation also is not stupid,
but even tolerably cunning,
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and their art has much
sensible contrivance.
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To beat them, we shall have
to think long and hard.
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Leave us the flea,
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go home to your quiet Don and
have a good rest, so the wounds
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you received for your country may heal
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and when you go back through Tula,
stop here and send for us:
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by that time, God willing,
we shall have thought of something."
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"All right, lads!"
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In the smithy!
In the smithy!
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In the smithy are young blacksmiths,
In the smithy are young blacksmiths,
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They are forging - are forging!
They are forging - are forging!
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They are forging, and keep saying...
They are forging and keep saying...
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Come on, Dunya, let's go!
Come on, Dunya, let's go!
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Let's go, Dunya, to the wood, to the wood!
Let's go, Dunya, to the wood, to the wood!
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Gunsmith
Lefty
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The Cossacks got the roof off but
were knocked off their feet themselves
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for the gunsmiths,
in their little closed room,
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had been working continuously
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in an atmosphere so thick and foul
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that a man used to fresh air
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couldn't stand a single whiff of it.
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"We're just knocking in the last nail,
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and when that is in place,
we'll bring out our work."
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"Hand it over!"
commanded Platov.
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"What's the meaning of this?"
asked Platov.
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"And where is your work?"
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"Our work's there as well,"
the gunsmiths answered.
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"What sort of work have you done?"
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"Why explain it?
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It's all there in front of your eyes.
You have a good look at it."
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"You scoundrels haven't done anything,
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and you've probably spoilt the whole thing!
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I'll have your heads for this!"
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"Without cause do you thus abuse us."
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"You're lying, you scoundrels,
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but I'm not letting you go like that.
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You can sit there like a poodle
all the way to St. Petersburg."
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How can you take him from
us thus without a passport?
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He will not be able to come back!
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"Here's a passport for you!"
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"Off you go, lads."
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"Ah! He was such a good master."
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"And what did my Tula craftsmen do
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that's better than the
English infusorium?"
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asked the Sovereign.
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"How dare you deceive the Sovereign?"
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"Wanted to surpass the English masters!"
235
00:26:10,625 --> 00:26:12,450
"What does this mean, my good man,
236
00:26:12,500 --> 00:26:15,033
that we've looked it over
this way and that
237
00:26:15,083 --> 00:26:19,200
and could find nothing noteworthy?"
asked the Sovereign.
238
00:26:19,292 --> 00:26:23,000
"That way, Your Majesty,
it is impossible to see anything,
239
00:26:23,125 --> 00:26:27,167
because our work,
for a tinyscope of that size,
240
00:26:27,292 --> 00:26:31,708
is far too secret," answered Lefty.
241
00:26:41,167 --> 00:26:43,083
"Please look."
242
00:26:51,917 --> 00:26:54,792
"Take a look, if you please,
why, the rogues
243
00:26:54,917 --> 00:26:58,417
have shod the English flea
with horse-shoes!"
244
00:27:18,542 --> 00:27:21,542
"Is your name there, too?"
asked the Sovereign.
245
00:27:22,750 --> 00:27:26,458
"Not at all," said Lefty, "mine's
the only one that isn't there."
246
00:27:26,583 --> 00:27:28,417
"Why?" asked the Sovereign.
247
00:27:29,208 --> 00:27:31,167
"Because," said Lefty,
248
00:27:31,333 --> 00:27:33,992
"my work was smaller than those shoes:
249
00:27:34,083 --> 00:27:36,908
I forged the tiny nails with which
the shoes are fastened on.
250
00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:39,950
That's something
you can't see with any tinyscope."
251
00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,908
"Where is your tinyscope
with which you could
252
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:45,533
produce such a marvel?"
asked the Sovereign.
253
00:27:45,625 --> 00:27:47,417
"We are poor people,
254
00:27:47,833 --> 00:27:50,492
and due to our poverty
we have no tinyscope,
255
00:27:50,542 --> 00:27:53,667
but our eyes are trained to the work."
256
00:27:57,333 --> 00:27:59,333
"Please look."
257
00:29:01,875 --> 00:29:06,617
The Sovereign ordered that the shod
infusorium be immediately packed up
258
00:29:06,667 --> 00:29:09,867
and sent back to England as a sort of gift
259
00:29:09,958 --> 00:29:13,783
so that they might understand there
that it didn't impress us.
260
00:29:13,833 --> 00:29:17,542
And the Sovereign ordered that
a special Courier should carry the flea,
261
00:29:17,667 --> 00:29:21,500
and that Lefty should go with him.
262
00:29:22,542 --> 00:29:25,417
[Don't drink too little,
Don't drink too much,
But drink in moderation.]
263
00:29:29,083 --> 00:29:33,125
Along the river
Along the way to Kazanka,
264
00:29:33,250 --> 00:29:37,250
The gray drake swims.
265
00:29:37,417 --> 00:29:41,333
"Ai, luli, luli,
C'est tres joli."
266
00:29:41,458 --> 00:29:45,667
The gray drake swims.
267
00:29:57,958 --> 00:30:01,750
Along the banks and
along the broad coast
268
00:30:01,875 --> 00:30:05,667
The good fellow goes!
269
00:30:05,833 --> 00:30:09,583
"Ai, luli, luli,
C'est tres joli."
270
00:30:09,708 --> 00:30:13,667
The good fellow goes!
271
00:30:21,292 --> 00:30:25,125
He had curls,
He had fair hair
272
00:30:25,250 --> 00:30:29,333
The lad spoke:
273
00:30:29,500 --> 00:30:33,542
"Ai, luli, luli,
C'est tres joli."
274
00:30:33,667 --> 00:30:37,750
The lad spoke.
275
00:30:53,375 --> 00:30:56,667
"Good work," said the
English artisans,
276
00:30:56,750 --> 00:30:59,583
"subtly done, with vision."
277
00:31:05,542 --> 00:31:09,033
The Englishmen began to clap
Lefty on the shoulder, slap-slap,
278
00:31:09,083 --> 00:31:11,083
and shook hands with him as an equal,
279
00:31:11,208 --> 00:31:13,417
"Comrade," they said,
"comrade - fine craftsman.
280
00:31:13,542 --> 00:31:15,083
Let's have a drink!"
281
00:31:25,958 --> 00:31:30,083
"Comrade, stay here with us.
We'll give you a good education
282
00:31:30,375 --> 00:31:34,208
and you'll become a wonderful craftsman."
283
00:31:41,042 --> 00:31:45,000
The English went to show Lefty their factories
284
00:31:45,083 --> 00:31:48,000
and their skill in making things.
285
00:32:02,417 --> 00:32:06,750
Lefty wasn't so interested in the way
they made new muskets
286
00:32:06,833 --> 00:32:08,917
"We can make them as well as that."
287
00:32:09,042 --> 00:32:13,083
as he was in the condition of the old ones.
288
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,417
[Past their use.
Written off]
289
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:20,833
Whenever he came across an old musket
he'd stick his finger in the muzzle,
290
00:32:20,958 --> 00:32:24,292
run it round the walls
of the barrel and say:
291
00:32:25,083 --> 00:32:30,792
"Oh, the English do not clean
their guns with bricks."
292
00:32:36,917 --> 00:32:44,167
[Pounded Bricks for Cleaning Guns]
293
00:32:44,667 --> 00:32:47,083
[Past their use.
Written off]
294
00:32:47,167 --> 00:32:52,833
"That", he said, "beats ours by a long shot."
295
00:33:00,042 --> 00:33:02,667
"Comrade, comrade!
296
00:33:02,792 --> 00:33:05,167
Stay with us.
297
00:33:05,250 --> 00:33:07,542
"You'll get used to it," they said,
298
00:33:07,667 --> 00:33:12,250
"accept our faith
and we'll find you a wife."
299
00:33:25,542 --> 00:33:29,250
"If you want, we'll
arrange a rendezvous for you."
300
00:33:29,583 --> 00:33:33,917
"Why", said Lefty,
"trouble the girls for nothing?
301
00:33:34,083 --> 00:33:37,533
A rendezvous is for gentlemen
and doesn't become us.
302
00:33:37,625 --> 00:33:39,958
This can never be.
303
00:33:40,042 --> 00:33:42,667
We are committed to our Motherland and
304
00:33:42,792 --> 00:33:46,333
our Russian faith is the true faith."
305
00:35:00,833 --> 00:35:05,583
"Comrade, comrade! Stay with us."
306
00:35:08,208 --> 00:35:11,000
"I thank you humbly for your hospitality,
307
00:35:11,167 --> 00:35:13,158
I've been very pleased with everything
308
00:35:13,250 --> 00:35:16,875
but now I want to get home."
309
00:35:27,333 --> 00:35:34,917
[Duroterranean Sea]*
*North Sea
310
00:35:52,667 --> 00:35:56,958
"Where is our Russia?"
Lefty asked.
311
00:36:24,333 --> 00:36:28,750
"Good boy, Russ! Let's have
a drink," said the skipper's mate.
312
00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:30,708
And then he asked:
313
00:36:30,833 --> 00:36:34,833
"What's the secret you're taking
back to Russia from our country?"
314
00:36:35,333 --> 00:36:38,167
"That's my business," answered Lefty.
315
00:36:38,292 --> 00:36:42,292
"If it's that way," said the mate, "then
let's make a bet, English fashion."
316
00:36:42,500 --> 00:36:45,750
"How?" asked Lefty.
"We bet never to drink alone
317
00:36:45,875 --> 00:36:49,500
but always together and the same drink;
318
00:36:49,625 --> 00:36:52,667
and whoever outdrinks
the other wins the bet."
319
00:36:56,292 --> 00:37:00,167
Lefty thought to himself,
"the sky's cloudy, my belly's rowdy,
320
00:37:00,250 --> 00:37:03,500
I'm bored to death, there's a long way left,
321
00:37:03,625 --> 00:37:06,333
the bet'll make me cheer up a bit."
322
00:37:06,917 --> 00:37:08,833
"All right, it's a go."
323
00:37:13,417 --> 00:37:18,500
[Riga Dunamunde]
324
00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:43,367
"What's the secret you're taking
back to Russia from our country?"
325
00:37:43,458 --> 00:37:45,958
asked the skipper's mate.
326
00:37:46,083 --> 00:37:50,167
"That's my business," answered Lefty.
327
00:38:02,333 --> 00:38:04,875
"Cross yourself and turn away,
328
00:38:05,000 --> 00:38:07,792
there's a black devil
rising out of the deep."
329
00:38:07,917 --> 00:38:11,875
"No!
He's a red and watery-eyed sea-puss."
330
00:38:18,500 --> 00:38:20,500
"No, a black storm-devil."
331
00:38:22,333 --> 00:38:24,792
"No, red and watery-eyed."
332
00:38:39,667 --> 00:38:43,500
[St. Petersburg]
333
00:38:49,250 --> 00:38:53,208
From then on, Lefty
and the skipper's mate
334
00:38:53,333 --> 00:38:56,250
suffered greatly different fates.
335
00:38:56,542 --> 00:39:02,292
The Englishman was taken to
the English Embassy on the English Quay,
336
00:39:02,750 --> 00:39:07,333
but Lefty was asked, "who are you
and where have you come from?
337
00:39:07,500 --> 00:39:11,375
Have you got a passport
or any other document?"
338
00:39:11,500 --> 00:39:14,917
"Take him to the hospital!"
ordered the policeman.
339
00:39:31,083 --> 00:39:35,375
They took him to one hospital but they
wouldn't accept him without a passport,
340
00:39:35,500 --> 00:39:38,667
so they took him to a second,
where they wouldn't accept him either,
341
00:39:38,792 --> 00:39:42,250
then a third and a fourth
342
00:39:42,375 --> 00:39:47,625
and so they kept on until morning,
dragging him round all the distant alleys
343
00:39:47,875 --> 00:39:50,750
until he was beaten all black and blue.
344
00:39:51,167 --> 00:39:56,042
The skipper's mate, meanwhile, was lying
in a warm bath in the Embassy.
345
00:39:56,167 --> 00:40:01,000
The apothecary there and then
rolled a pill and put it in his mouth.
346
00:40:13,750 --> 00:40:18,167
"Tell the Sovereign that the English don't
clean their guns with brick-dust!"
347
00:40:20,917 --> 00:40:23,375
The policeman took Lefty
348
00:40:23,500 --> 00:40:26,417
to the Obuhov People's Hospital
349
00:40:26,583 --> 00:40:31,583
where all people of unknown origin
were allowed in to die.
350
00:40:44,833 --> 00:40:48,667
OBUHOV PEOPLE'S HOSPITAL
351
00:41:55,792 --> 00:41:59,742
"Tell the Sovereign that the English don't
clean their guns with brick-dust;
352
00:41:59,833 --> 00:42:02,250
we shouldn't clean them that way, either,
353
00:42:02,333 --> 00:42:07,833
for if there should be a war, God
forbid, they will not be fit to fire."
354
00:42:08,583 --> 00:42:13,042
"Tell the Sovereign that the English don't
clean their guns with brick-dust!"
355
00:42:30,000 --> 00:42:34,292
"Tell the Sovereign that the English don't
clean their guns with brick-dust;
356
00:42:34,417 --> 00:42:37,458
we shouldn't clean them that way, either."
357
00:42:53,875 --> 00:42:57,367
"The English don't clean
their guns with brick-dust;
358
00:42:57,458 --> 00:42:59,417
we shouldn't clean them that way, either,
359
00:42:59,500 --> 00:43:04,117
for if there should be a war, God
forbid, they will not be fit to fire."
360
00:43:04,167 --> 00:43:06,250
"And who are you?!
361
00:43:06,375 --> 00:43:08,408
Keep your nose out of
what doesn't concern you -
362
00:43:08,458 --> 00:43:11,792
there are generals in Russia for that!"
363
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:47,333
All this is now "a matter of bygone days,"
364
00:43:47,583 --> 00:43:50,000
Lefty's real name,
365
00:43:50,125 --> 00:43:53,542
like the names of many
of the greatest geniuses,
366
00:43:53,667 --> 00:43:57,042
is forever lost to posterity;
367
00:43:57,500 --> 00:44:02,750
but as a myth personified
by popular fantasy,
368
00:44:02,875 --> 00:44:05,333
he is remembered by us now
369
00:44:05,458 --> 00:44:09,292
with great pride and love.
370
00:44:09,417 --> 00:44:12,408
[Tula city]
THE END
371
00:44:12,458 --> 00:44:14,200
Subs by Eus, Pepi (2018) & Niffiwan
(2021), based on Rus. subs by Bornik,
372
00:44:14,250 --> 00:44:16,417
and on the translations by Isabel F.
Hapgood (1890) & George H. Hanna (1958)