Heart of a Dog is a American documentary film directed by visual artist and composer Laurie Anderson. Contents. 1 Background; 2 Release and reception.
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View All Photos 1. Artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband, mother, beloved dog and subjects such as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings. View All Heart of a Dog News. The film is often notable for Anderson's honesty. January 10, Full Review…. It's an odd, wandering trip, but Anderson's personal touch makes it work. January 22, Rating: November 19, Rating: November 12, Full Review…. Ghosts haunt Heart of a Dog - but so, too, does love. November 12, Rating: August 25, Full Review…. February 15, Full Review….
November 13, Full Review…. Nonlinear and exploratory, Heart of a Dog is elusive by design. September 11, Full Review…. August 22, Full Review…. Bulgakov seems to offer a similarly discomfiting blend of verbal dexterity, incisiveness, shock value, and utter disregard for the negative repercussions of his work, which in Bulgakov's case could have been of the most severe kind. I wonder if I would have got as much out of this if I hadn't read it soon after finishing a big history of the Russian Revolution, whose hypocrisies are so unerringly skewered here.
And the characters are no simple allegories; the doctor, Preobrazhensky perhaps partly modelled on Pavlov , may in some way symbolise the Bolshevik leaders in that scene, but at other times he is a sympathetic model of liberal Tsarist Russia. Terror's useless for dealing with an animal, whatever level of development it might be at. I've always said that, I still say it and I always will. They're wrong to think that terror will do them any good. No sir, no sir, it won't, no matter what colour it is: He ends up as head of a sub-department and possible member of the Cheka secret police.
Ultimately, the gruesome experiment does not work, and Preobrazhensky's reflection on it all again takes on the most direct political connotations. This was my attempt, but an unsuccessful one, as you can see. He spoke for a while and then began to revert to his original primitive condition.
The target, of course, is not the people themselves, but their mendacious leaders. No wonder the Soviets banned the book on sight in , and it wasn't actually published, anywhere, until just ten years before that Blue Jam sketch was broadcast! There are several translations of this available, and not being a Russian reader, I compared a few of them before I ordered my copy.
Unfortunately, I got confused by all the different Amazon "Look Inside" tabs I had open at the same time, and ordered the wrong one. I ended up with Andrew Bromfield's version published by Penguin, which, OK, is perfectly serviceable. Here's an example of it, from the first few pages, moving from the dog's internal monologue to a description of a nearby typist: Wasn't getting in his way, was I? Not going to eat the entire National Economic Council into ruin if I have a rummage in the rubbish tip, am I?
Just take a look at that fat ugly mug of his some time: A real brazen-faced thief.
Tossed her skirt up to her knees, exposing the cream stockings and a narrow strip of badly laundered underwear, choked off her words and smothered the dog in snow. Otherwise it reads OK, and as it was done in it should at least benefit from more recent scholarship than the other two I looked at.
Vintage publish the Michael Glenny version from , which I prefer in many ways this is actually the one I meant to buy: What harm was I doing him, anyway? I'm not robbing the National Economic Council's food supply if I go foraging in their dustbins, am I? Just take a look at his ugly mug — it's almost fatter than he is. It blew her skirt up to her knees, showing her fawn stockings and a little strip of badly washed lace underwear, drowned her words and covered the dog in snow. Meanwhile in the US, the most common translation seems to be the Mirra Ginsburg one published by Grove Press, which in my opinion is rather poor.
What harm did I do him? Would the People's Economic Soviet get any poorer if I rooted in the garbage heap? Take a look at that mug of his sometimes—it's wider than it's long. A crook with a brass jowl. It blew up her skirt above her knees, baring the cream-colored stockings and a narrow strip of the poorly laundered lace panties. It drowned out her words and swept across the dog.
Heart of a Dog - Wikipedia
But to my ear, this has several other problems. Anyway, your mileage may vary. But whichever translation you pick, find a way to get your canines into this, pronto. View all 24 comments. View all 4 comments.
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A key work of early modernism, this is the superbly comic story of a Soviet scientist and a scroungy Moscow mongrel named Sharik. Attempting a medical first, the scientist transplants the glands of a petty criminal into the dog and, with that, turns a distinctly worryingly human an Rating: Attempting a medical first, the scientist transplants the glands of a petty criminal into the dog and, with that, turns a distinctly worryingly human animal loose on the city.
The new, lecherous, vulgar, Engels-spouting Sharik soon finds his niche in governmental bureaucracy as the official in charge of purging the city of cats. It was rejected for publication by the censors in , and circulated in samizdat for years until Michael Glenny translated it into English in —long before it was allowed to be officially published in the Soviet Union.
Anyone who's ever read The Master and Margarita already knows that Bulgakov is a rebel, an anarchist, and damn good and funny with it. His thoughts were, based on the novels I've read, contrarian in the extreme as well as profoundly sensitive to practical concerns: But I ask you: Why must we now keep our galoshes under lock and key? And put a soldier on guard over them to prevent them from being stolen? Why has the carpet been removed from the front staircase? Did Marx forbid people to keep their staircases carpeted? Did Karl Marx say anywhere that the front door of No.
What good does it do anybody? That's writing that's a joy to read. But we can't leave revolutionary-era Moscow without hearing from the eponymous heart-haver. Early in the book, we're told the sad tale of an unwanted dog whose people-savvy beats that of most of the humans I've ever met: Eyes mean a lot. Without him, Bulgakov's banned and suppressed works might remain out of the English-speaker's reach.
View all 8 comments. Sep 04, Mary rated it it was amazing Recommended to Mary by: What does it mean to be human? To be an individual? How unfortunate we must be, us, merely to be human beings. We can never escape what we truly are. We can nip and tuck our way around our flaws, but humans inevitably are always their own disastrous downfalls and worst nightmares. Heart of a Dog is, before anything else, FUN. It's just really damn entertaining. We start with a sort of Woody Allen neurotic type stream of concsiousness narrative from a stray dog, Sharik, who is swooped up by doctor What does it mean to be human?
We start with a sort of Woody Allen neurotic type stream of concsiousness narrative from a stray dog, Sharik, who is swooped up by doctor Preobrazhensky. The doctor, aiming for notoriety, removes the dog's testicles and pituitary glands and replaces them with those of a deceased man. Bake for a few days and voila!
Your monster is ready, monsieur! Philip Philopovich Preobrazhensky is one sorry doctor. Not only does his experiment yield a strange and frightful sort of human creature of a Frankensteinian nature, but his 'creation' starts to call him out on his own shit.
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Did you just stir up a recipe for breeding communists? And look at how this dog, this animal, is thinking like a Commie! Bulgakov delivers a solid core message amongst all this hysteria about the dangers of people and government brandishing their power on others. About how horrifyingly bad things can go when the haves help themselves to the have-nots. You can think for days on this stuff and go around in circles, there are so many ideas flying around in the pages of this books.
Bulgakov has, for the second time, seduced me with his whimsical, terrifying, outrageous and unique voice. A voice still relevant today. A voice we should all heed. View all 25 comments. View all 13 comments. Jan 08, Darwin8u rated it really liked it Shelves: Ronald Reagan used to alarm his Soviet counterparts by saying that surely they'd both unite against an invasion from Mars.
What happens when a Russian stray dog meets a early Soviet doctor? Testicles and pituitary glands get involved and a New Soviet man is made. Part Kafkaesque transformation story, part mockery of eugenics and early Soviet attempts at creating the ideal Russian man, Bulgakov's novella is not quite as brilliant a Ronald Reagan used to alarm his Soviet counterparts by saying that surely they'd both unite against an invasion from Mars.
Part Kafkaesque transformation story, part mockery of eugenics and early Soviet attempts at creating the ideal Russian man, Bulgakov's novella is not quite as brilliant as The Master and Margarita , but still it is a stunning example of underground Soviet literature. It is funny, absurd, dark, and worth an afternoon. Feb 23, Sidharth Vardhan rated it really liked it Shelves: That of a stray dog is one of the hardest lives of all.
Always suffering from hunger and being forced to live under open sky come rain or winds. And they are always afraid of people around them - a fear probably born of some violent experience. Our protagonist is one such dog.
Heart of a Dog
The first-person narrative of dog in first few chapter will put a knowing smile on face of anyone who has observed dogs closely. What follows is a cruel experiement in which some of dog's body parts are replaced with that of That of a stray dog is one of the hardest lives of all. What follows is a cruel experiement in which some of dog's body parts are replaced with that of a dead man. And thus sci-fiction themes of moral issues relating to genetic engineering and that kind of thing is there.
The description kind of reminded me of this inhuman experiment. Another way of looking at it is a satirical allegory of revolution. The dog-human being the government of prolls. The very name of human whose organs were used a thief Chugunkin derives from Russian word for cast iron. Of course after transformation, iron becomes Stal or steel, which is word from which Stalin's name is driven. There are some rather funny moments. The dogs of Russia are apparently rather well informed.
They all know how to read - mostly from hoardings over groccery shops, restaurants etc. They are also well versed in all curses in Russian language. They are also well versed in language of revolution. View all 3 comments. Feb 27, Jan-Maat added it Shelves: If your only acquaintance with Bulgakov is Master and Margarita then Heart of a Dog will come as a surprise.
It is one of several science out of control, possibly influenced by Jules Verne and H. However what is not to like about this mad scientist story about how things go horribly wrong when the pituitary gland and testicles of a dead man are transplanted into a stray dog? Behold the Soviet new man constructed from death and a dog. No wonder that the opera going, traditionally If your only acquaintance with Bulgakov is Master and Margarita then Heart of a Dog will come as a surprise. No wonder that the opera going, traditionally bourgeois scientist can't get on with his creation.
A twist on Frankenstein and his monster, but this time it is the monster that seems to be in step with the Zeitgeist in its combination of the worst in dog and man, while his creator who is at odds with the society he finds himself in and his own creation. Although very strongly not recommended for cat lovers there is broad comedy here in line with Bulgakov's other satirical stories and plays while the theology of the later Master and Margarita has yet to make an appearance.
View all 23 comments. Most importantly, though — the book is utterly hilarious. The humour is mainly farcical — most certainly inspired by the work of Nikolai Gogol, esp. Bulgakov, who spent most of his writing life as a dramatist, has a perfect ear for dialogue and captures the absurdities of his homeland with a sense of unfazed abandon. It is his fearlessness as a satirist that makes this novel such a pleasure to behold, and even more telling that it would take a further sixty-two years before this book was printed in the Soviet Union. A man ahead of his time who defined his era so wonderfully.
I'm not even sure where to begin So here it is! Me highlighting my ignorance on the subject I decided to read this story simultaneously with The Master and Margarita with the hope of completing The Heart of a Dog first. I did this na I'm not even sure where to begin I did this namely because, if goodreads is telling us right, The Master is fittingly considered Bulgakov's "masterpiece," and I have noticed over the years that reading an author's masterwork before reading anything else by them leads to an initial period of intense excitement, followed by a steady series of increasingly disappointing disappointments yes, I said it.
However, if you start with something "average" no offense intended toward this story , you generally proceed through the author's remaining works with a more "fair and balanced" couldn't help myself view. It's sort of a big-picture approach, I suppose. That said, for such a small story, this novella is dripping in allegories which refer to historical events and political views of which my knowledge is minimal, and for which one could write quite a hefty term paper.
It seems that Bulgakov wanted to illustrate that even if the Bolsheviks believed that the Russian people would evolve into a perfect specimen of mankind sort of a "master race," if you will , they will never be able to truly separate themselves from the animals with which they concurrently evolved and are forever linked to. Further, Bulgakov seems to take issue with the semi-isolationist economic policies of the area, as well as the government centralization of power over most industries. There is additionally a "big brother" undertone to the Soviet government's interference in the lives of the characters, as seen in the many legal troubles that Doctor Preobrezhensky almost faces by simply stating his anti-communist stance.
All of this is piled up in a relatively short and sweet novella to such an extent that you leave it feeling overwhelmed and impressed at the clever trick that has been played on you. You have literally GORGED yourself on knowledge of Soviet Russia, and filled your head to the brim with additional questions which will leave you feeling compelled to investigate this country's dark history in far greater detail. So you see, this one is a doozy. However, it is far more enjoyable than this semi-clinical review would indicate. Bulgakov employs an interesting technique of shifting the narrator and narrative style from first to third person and back again, for example that makes for quite a dynamic reading experience.
The sections of the story told from Sharik's view as a dog seeing the worlds with almost-human, yet primarily survivalist eyes are particularly humorous, upsetting, and impressively crafted. I would be interested to find out what it would have been like to read this novella as a citizen of Russia at the time that it was written 's.
Of course, the novel was banned before publication and was not released in Russia until the mid to late 60's, so this is unfortunately something that we can never really know View all 85 comments. How not to train your dog There are many breeds of dogs, and humans — Each come with certain qualities, each serve a certain purpose. Bulgakov, the doctor, examines the Frankenstein theme, laying bare the nature of the revolutionary, what is imbedded in his heart, what lives in his brain.
This is the conclusion, after a ground-breaking organ transplantation, that leave us with a talking, swearing, boozing and gener How not to train your dog There are many breeds of dogs, and humans — Each come with certain qualities, each serve a certain purpose. This is the conclusion, after a ground-breaking organ transplantation, that leave us with a talking, swearing, boozing and generally ill-behaving dog.
Now for the training, which turns out to be a mouthful … what dog will ever suppress the instinct to chase cats?! Sep 19, Anthony Vacca rated it really liked it. It ain't easy being a dog. No, it ain't easy. Especially when you have to rummage the streets of Moscow, avoiding the bitter proletariat who will kick you and curse you and throw boiling water on your hide, just because you want a bite to eat.