Vysotsky was not Zheglov

Sat Feb 8 23:11:18 UTC 2014

It is very sad to find out that Vysotsky's portrayal of Zheglov "made him the most popular policeman in the Soviet history." It is a total misreading of his character. Zheglov is a crooked cop who is shamed and exposed in the end of the film. Vysotsky's acting was indeed superb, yet he did not intend to create a likeable character. 

Svitlana Kobets

On 2014-02-08, at 3:14 PM, Olia Prokopenko wrote:

> John Wilson made a very good point about some aspects of Vysotsky's legacy that have no parallels in the creative output of the US musicians mentioned here.
> Vysotsky's fame as a theatre and film actor makes his appeal much broader than that of any American musician. 
> While I don't think his Hamlet ranks above Smoktunovsky's famous interpretation, nobody beats Vysotsky as Don Juan (Little Tragedies, a cinematic gem of 1979, dir. Schweitzer). 
> As for the audiences less versed in classics, Vysotsky's portrayal of Zheglov in Mesto Vstrechi Izmenit' Nel'zia (1979, dir.Govorukhin) arguably has made Vysotsky the most popular policeman in the Soviet history. There is a monument to Vysotsky as Zheglov in the former USSR (Kiev?)
> With the exception of Tom Waits, I am unaware of Vysotsky's American counterparts leaving any impact on theater and film.
> 
> Olia Prokopenko
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Sat, Feb 8, 2014 at 1:18 PM, Josh Wilson <jwilson at sras.org> wrote:
> Part of Vystosky’s fame came from the fact that he was he was also an incredible actor of stage and screen – including giving one of the most internationally renowned performances of Hamlet of his generation – if not the 20th century.
> 
>  
> 
> I often include discussion of Vystosky and the bards anytime we have students on Arbat – I don’t think there is a single analogue and I usually tell the students to imagine Dylan, Elvis, Jim Morrison, and James Dean in the same person… and then fill in explanation about what his music meant, how it was distributed, and the crowds of people that still gather at Moscow’s two monuments to him on his birth and death days to remember him by singing his songs.
> 
>  
> 
> I do think that it is apples and oranges – but if you are trying to describe an orange to someone who has never seen one, you have be creative. Hopefully Vystotsky, Spasibo chto zhivoi will come out with subtitles – then you can just hand a copy of the film to folks. That may help. J
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Josh Wilson
> Assistant Director
> The School of Russian and Asian Studies
> Editor in Chief
> Vestnik, The Journal of Russian and Asian Studies
> SRAS.org 
> jwilson at sras.org
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Sentinel76 Astrakhan
> Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2014 4:50 AM
> To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.UA.EDU
> Subject: [SEELANGS] American Analogs of Vysotsky
> 
>  
> 
> Dear All, I have a question for discussion
> 
> In the process of explaining my "Vysotsky in English" project to Americans, I frequently have to explain who Vysotsky is and what is his place in the Russian culture.  Many times I have heard the term "Russian Dylan" thrown around.  In my opinion, there are more differences than similarities.  
> 
> Both Vladimir Vysotsky and Bob Dylan were exceptional singer-songwriters, who rose to fame in the 60s, played guitar, and brought on social change with their tremendous body of work.  Both wrote highly intelligent and politically charged poetry.  But in my opinion this is where the similarities end. 
> 
> Vysotsky destroys Dylan in terms of sheer impact and popularity:  even though both can be reasonably called "Voice of Their Generation," Vysotsky was also one of five most important cultural figures in 20th Century Russia, while Dylan never really reached that level. As far as I can tell, Dylan mostly awed American intellectuals, while Vysotsky was adored by everybody, from President Brezhnev to the last bum in the street.  And, of course, Dylan was no match for Vysotsky's performing skills:  Vysotsky would blow him off the stage without breaking a sweat.  Vysotsky also gets a benefit of not having the "tail end of a career" that many rock musicians fall victim to.
> 
> Naturally, I think it's wise to limit this discussion to their respective countries to even the playing field (otherwise, Dylan's English language makes him far more international than Vysotsky).
> 
> So is there anybody in American culture who would match Vysotsky's
> 
> a.  Songwriting skills
> b.  Performing skills
> c.  Success
> d.  Cultural status
> 
> ?
> 
> Would it be correct to rank the podium of *relevant* American music as 
> (1) Elvis 
> (2) Dylan 
> (3) Cash?  
> Or would Springsteen and Morrison crawl in there somewhere?
> 
> What do you think?
> 
> Vadim Astrakhan
> www.vvinenglish.com
> 
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> 
> 
> -- 
> 
> Olia Prokopenko,
> Instructor, Russian Program Coordinator and Adviser
> 
> Anderson Hall 551
> FGIS, Temple University,
> 1114 W.Berks St.
> Philadelphia, PA 19122
> tel. (215)-204-1768
> oprokop at temple.edu
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Svitlana Kobets, PhD, LMS
Literature Instructor
Continuing Education Division
St. Michael's College 
University of Toronto 
81 St. Mary Street 
Toronto, ON   M5S 1J4
Phone: 647-924-8435
Fax: (416) 926-7287
www.slavdom.com

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