Dmitry Puchkov
Encyclopedia
Dmitry Yuryevich Puchkov , also known as Goblin and Starshiy Operupolnomocheniy Goblin, is an English-to-Russian movie and video game translator
, script-writer, and author
. His alternative voice-over
translations of famous Hollywood movies are widely known both for their perceived profanity
and humour.
Puchkov's translation of the Russian gangster film Bumer is his only work on Russian movies and was the last "alternative dubbing" of his studio Bozhya Iskra.
). Puchkov was known by the nickname Goblin or Starshiy operupolnomochenniy Goblin (Senior Operative Agent Goblin) years before he became popular as a film translator. At the time of his earliest public works, he worked as a police detective for the Militsiya
. Because of a newspaper article titled "Goblins in Militsiya Overcoats" that rebuked the corruption of the Militsiya staff, Puchkov and his workmates began to call each other "goblins" in irony.
Puchkov started using the pen-name Goblin while sharing his experience in PC-games-oriented magazines when writing about the computer game Quake. He started a personal website called Goblin's Dead End (Tynu40k Goblina), which focused on Quake. Puchkov became a popular commentator among the Quake community, but he remained virtually unknown of otherwise.
His book Dungeon Cleaners (Санитары подземелий) was published in 1999, and became an Internet bestseller
, and quickly sold out. Loosely based on the game concept, the book later became the basis for Dungeon Cleaners, the strategic role-playing computer game by 1C
and Skyfallen Entertainment
. The game is now in production, and the official website names Puchkov as creator of the game's concept and virtual world
.
at the Militsya House of Culture for two years, but is otherwise self-taught as a translator. His first film translation was completed during the Perestroika
period, when Western productions were first introduced to Soviet viewers.
The first films he translated was Carlito's Way
in 1995, and shortly after Aliens
, Once Upon a Time in the West
, and Last Action Hero
. All of these translations were made for a small circle of friends and were never publicly released, but since the process of dubbing by means of the VCR was not complicated, the translations became widely known and distributed.
The development of the DVD
format revived Puchkov's interest in translating movies, and his works became known to a larger public audience. Translated tracks of the movies could be downloaded at no charge as mp3
files (includes only voice of Goblin, without original sound of the movie) from Puchkov's website. He named his studio Full P (Полный Пэ, Пэ in this context stands for the curse word пиздец, the phrase roughly translates to "complete fuck-up") and designed a logo, which, being stamped on every translation DVD, CD or video cassette, became a recognizable label.
Puchkov is known as a strong advocate of quality translation, and opposes the practice of literal interpretation of movies, which has become commonplace in Russia. His position is that precise translation backed by thorough research and identification of Russian equivalents in cases of lexical gaps should be the product provided to Russian aficionados of foreign films. Puchkov maintains lists of gaffes made by other film translators.
, allowing the original soundtrack to be heard. Puchkov contends that this provides a more authentic product, closer to what the director originally intended. Puchkov's works feature an approach in which every line is translated properly and never deleted, and in which the style of language and speech is made as close to an original as possible. Word play
and other figures of speech
are translated to appropriate forms found in Russian.
Another important highlight of Puchkov's work is the translation of English expletive
s to Russian expletives. Original dialogue containing words and expressions usually censored on American TV, are maintained in Puchkov's translations. This is in contrast to the officially released movies in Russia, which were often much softened, often bearing little similarity to the original movie release in English. In most cases, this avoids distortion of the original production, since censored language from characters who were meant to appear vicious or profane may be changed into attractive, or even funny characters by censored translation.
There are several widely known funny examples of this softened translations, like this dialogue in Commando
:
— Fuck you! Asshole! — Прощайся с жизнью! (Say "good bye" to your life!)
— Fuck YOU! Asshole! — Это ты прощайся с жизнью! (Say "good bye" to your life yourself!)
is a patois language, based on the use of specific generally unprintable obscene words. It is not just slang, as thought of in the common sense. It is as an entire "slang" language, composed only of obscene words. Because of this, some Russian-speakers believe that obscenities in the Russian language are much stronger, and more vulgar in comparison to individual obscene words used in other languages.
Puchkov's contention is that people who think that the usage of mat is inappropriate don't understand the differences between the development of Western and Soviet/Post-soviet cinema industries. During the Soviet Union period, the usage of obscene words was strictly banned, while in the Western World, the appearance of vulgar and coarse speech in books and movies gradually became more accepted by the society as freedom of expression. For this reason, Puchkov has called himself a pioneer in his FAQ
.
Dmitry Buzadzhi, a Russian language translator, does contend that the quality of Puchkov's own translations is rather mediocre, notwithstanding his supposedly thorough approach. Specifically, he sometimes misses some of the finer nuances of the piece's style. Nevertheless, his translations appeal to audiences for their strong individual style and expression (even when ill-placed).
The list of his translated movies now exceeds 70 and includes: Aliens
, Blade
,
The Boondock Saints, Dead Alive, Dead Man
, From Dusk Till Dawn
, Kill Bill. volume 1
, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Platoon
, Predator
, Pulp Fiction
, Snatch
and many more.
Puchkov also translates cartoons and thinks his best work was his translation of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
. Other cartoon translations are: Shrek
, Shrek 2
, The Incredibles
, Ice Age
, Chicken Run
.
, South Park
, The Sopranos
, the funny translation of Bumer produced in cooperation with the makers of the original, and others.
The latest work in this field is Guy Ritchie
's RocknRolla
. This time, distributors contracted Puchkov to do a translation for the dub, with himself voice-acting the narrator, Archy. At the premiere Puchkov himself read a non-censored, voiceover translation; in theaters, a somewhat milder version was shown.
In addition to his film translation, he also made several commercial translations of computer games, including Odium
, Serious Sam
, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
, and Bumer: Sorvannye bashni (Bumer: Blown Away Towers).
The Lord of the Rings translations were adapted by Goblin into two books containing much of the humor of the translated films. A Computer game The Fellas and the Ring has also been developed by Gaijin Entertainment
and published in Russia by 1C. The game allows the player to choose one of seven characters and play through 12 levels slashing through enemies equipped with weapons ranging from knives to flamethrowers.
documentary computer game was officially launched. Puchkov has proved himself as the ideological leader and inspirer of the development of this project, which was announced as the response to "the intentional destruction of historical memory of the people".
. He served in the army, where he was employed as a military driver and operated a truck; he also received basic tank driver training. He retired from his work in the Militsiya
in 1998 after working there for 6 years.
He has also worked as a librarian, truck driver, air compressor
operator, automobile mechanic, plumber
, driller assistant, electrician, polisher, turner, metal smith, cab driver, masseur, police canine
handler, criminal investigator, sperm donor
and sales manager.
He is married and has an adult son, though he avoids speaking of his family in public in order to "keep business to business and personal to personal". His son, a successful businessman, avoids saying that his father is the famous Goblin for the same reason. He currently lives in Saint Petersburg and is working as a freelance translator, participating in projects he is interested in.
Puchkov is an avid reader and maintains a large personal library.
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
, script-writer, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. His alternative voice-over
Voice-over
Voice-over is a production technique where a voice which is not part of the narrative is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations...
translations of famous Hollywood movies are widely known both for their perceived profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
and humour.
Puchkov's translation of the Russian gangster film Bumer is his only work on Russian movies and was the last "alternative dubbing" of his studio Bozhya Iskra.
Early career
He was born August 2, 1961 in Kirovograd, UkraineUkraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
). Puchkov was known by the nickname Goblin or Starshiy operupolnomochenniy Goblin (Senior Operative Agent Goblin) years before he became popular as a film translator. At the time of his earliest public works, he worked as a police detective for the Militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
. Because of a newspaper article titled "Goblins in Militsiya Overcoats" that rebuked the corruption of the Militsiya staff, Puchkov and his workmates began to call each other "goblins" in irony.
Puchkov started using the pen-name Goblin while sharing his experience in PC-games-oriented magazines when writing about the computer game Quake. He started a personal website called Goblin's Dead End (Tynu40k Goblina), which focused on Quake. Puchkov became a popular commentator among the Quake community, but he remained virtually unknown of otherwise.
His book Dungeon Cleaners (Санитары подземелий) was published in 1999, and became an Internet bestseller
Bestseller
A bestseller is a book that is identified as extremely popular by its inclusion on lists of currently top selling titles that are based on publishing industry and book trade figures and published by newspapers, magazines, or bookstore chains. Some lists are broken down into classifications and...
, and quickly sold out. Loosely based on the game concept, the book later became the basis for Dungeon Cleaners, the strategic role-playing computer game by 1C
1C Company
1C Company is one of the largest independent Russian software developers and publishers. Its headquarters are in Moscow, Russia. It is best known outside of the former Soviet Union as a video game developer whose presence has come to dominate events like the KRI, and whose products have begun to...
and Skyfallen Entertainment
SkyFallen Entertainment
SkyFallen Entertainment is a Russian computer game developer, that was founded in 2002.- Games Developed in Russia :*Dawn of Magic*Death Track: Resurrection*Dawn of Magic 2...
. The game is now in production, and the official website names Puchkov as creator of the game's concept and virtual world
Virtual world
A virtual world is an online community that takes the form of a computer-based simulated environment through which users can interact with one another and use and create objects. The term has become largely synonymous with interactive 3D virtual environments, where the users take the form of...
.
Film translator
Puchkov studied EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at the Militsya House of Culture for two years, but is otherwise self-taught as a translator. His first film translation was completed during the Perestroika
Perestroika
Perestroika was a political movement within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union during 1980s, widely associated with the Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev...
period, when Western productions were first introduced to Soviet viewers.
'At that time I already had certain knowledge in English. The quantity of untranslated phrases and obvious bloopers irritated me from the very beginning. And at that time I already wanted to make translation thoroughly, in other words do it the way a good film deserves.'
The first films he translated was Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way is a 1993 crime film directed by Brian De Palma, based on the novels Carlito's Way and After Hours by Judge Edwin Torres. The film adaptation was scripted by David Koepp. It stars Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Luis Guzman, John Leguizamo, Jorge Porcel, Joseph Siravo, and...
in 1995, and shortly after Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
, Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West
Once Upon a Time in the West is a 1968 Italian epic spaghetti western film directed by Sergio Leone for Paramount Pictures. It stars Henry Fonda cast against type as the villain, Charles Bronson as his nemesis, Jason Robards as a bandit, and Claudia Cardinale as a newly widowed homesteader with a...
, and Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero
Last Action Hero is a 1993 American action-comedy-fantasy film directed and produced by John McTiernan. It is a satire of the action genre and its clichés, containing several parodies of action films in the form of films within the film....
. All of these translations were made for a small circle of friends and were never publicly released, but since the process of dubbing by means of the VCR was not complicated, the translations became widely known and distributed.
The development of the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
format revived Puchkov's interest in translating movies, and his works became known to a larger public audience. Translated tracks of the movies could be downloaded at no charge as mp3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
files (includes only voice of Goblin, without original sound of the movie) from Puchkov's website. He named his studio Full P (Полный Пэ, Пэ in this context stands for the curse word пиздец, the phrase roughly translates to "complete fuck-up") and designed a logo, which, being stamped on every translation DVD, CD or video cassette, became a recognizable label.
Puchkov is known as a strong advocate of quality translation, and opposes the practice of literal interpretation of movies, which has become commonplace in Russia. His position is that precise translation backed by thorough research and identification of Russian equivalents in cases of lexical gaps should be the product provided to Russian aficionados of foreign films. Puchkov maintains lists of gaffes made by other film translators.
"Alternative approach"
In contrast to the films officially released in Russia, which are in most cases fully dubbed with multiple voices and complete deletion of the original language, all of Puchkov's translations are single-voiced—both female and male voices are read by Puchkov himself and issued as voiceoverVoiceOver
VoiceOver is a screen reader built into Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X, iOS and iPod operating systems. By using VoiceOver, the user can access their Macintosh or iOS device based on spoken descriptions and, in the case of the Mac, the keyboard. The feature is designed to increase accessibility for blind...
, allowing the original soundtrack to be heard. Puchkov contends that this provides a more authentic product, closer to what the director originally intended. Puchkov's works feature an approach in which every line is translated properly and never deleted, and in which the style of language and speech is made as close to an original as possible. Word play
Word play
Word play or wordplay is a literary technique in which the words that are used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement...
and other figures of speech
Figures of Speech
Figures of Speech is a hip hop group consisting of MCs Eve and Jyant. They performed at the Good Life Cafe in the early 1990s and were featured on the Project Blowed compilation....
are translated to appropriate forms found in Russian.
Another important highlight of Puchkov's work is the translation of English expletive
Expletive attributive
Expletive comes from the Latin verb explere, meaning "to fill", via expletivus, "filling out". It was introduced into English in the seventeenth century to refer to various kinds of padding—the padding out of a book with peripheral material, the addition of syllables to a line of poetry for...
s to Russian expletives. Original dialogue containing words and expressions usually censored on American TV, are maintained in Puchkov's translations. This is in contrast to the officially released movies in Russia, which were often much softened, often bearing little similarity to the original movie release in English. In most cases, this avoids distortion of the original production, since censored language from characters who were meant to appear vicious or profane may be changed into attractive, or even funny characters by censored translation.
There are several widely known funny examples of this softened translations, like this dialogue in Commando
Commando (film)
Commando is a 1985 American action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Vernon Wells, Rae Dawn Chong, Alyssa Milano, Bill Duke, Dan Hedaya and James Olson. It was directed by Mark L...
:
— Fuck you! Asshole! — Прощайся с жизнью! (Say "good bye" to your life!)
— Fuck YOU! Asshole! — Это ты прощайся с жизнью! (Say "good bye" to your life yourself!)
Controversy
The usage of obscene words did lead to controversy amongst Russian viewers. Some viewers particularly reject the usage of obscene slang in the translations. Russian matRussian mat
Mat is the term for strong obscene profanity in Russian and some other Slavic language communities.Use of mat is censored in the media and use of mat in public constitutes a form of disorderly conduct, punishable under article 20.1.1 of the Offences Code of Russia, although it is only enforced...
is a patois language, based on the use of specific generally unprintable obscene words. It is not just slang, as thought of in the common sense. It is as an entire "slang" language, composed only of obscene words. Because of this, some Russian-speakers believe that obscenities in the Russian language are much stronger, and more vulgar in comparison to individual obscene words used in other languages.
Puchkov's contention is that people who think that the usage of mat is inappropriate don't understand the differences between the development of Western and Soviet/Post-soviet cinema industries. During the Soviet Union period, the usage of obscene words was strictly banned, while in the Western World, the appearance of vulgar and coarse speech in books and movies gradually became more accepted by the society as freedom of expression. For this reason, Puchkov has called himself a pioneer in his FAQ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...
.
Dmitry Buzadzhi, a Russian language translator, does contend that the quality of Puchkov's own translations is rather mediocre, notwithstanding his supposedly thorough approach. Specifically, he sometimes misses some of the finer nuances of the piece's style. Nevertheless, his translations appeal to audiences for their strong individual style and expression (even when ill-placed).
Favorite movie translation genres
Puchkov's life's experiences influenced his tastes in films, and he largely translated gangster, war, and action films. His experience in the militsya and army make the speech of military men, cops and bandits sound more vivid and true to life in his translations.The list of his translated movies now exceeds 70 and includes: Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
, Blade
Blade
A blade is that portion of a tool, weapon, or machine with a cutting edge and/or a pointed tip that is designed to cut and/or puncture, stab, slash, chop, slice, thrust, or scrape animate or inanimate surfaces or materials...
,
The Boondock Saints, Dead Alive, Dead Man
Dead Man
Dead Man is a 1995 American Western film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch. It stars Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Billy Bob Thornton, Iggy Pop, Crispin Glover, John Hurt, Michael Wincott, Lance Henriksen, and Robert Mitchum . The film, dubbed an "Acid Western" by its director, includes twisted...
, From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
, Kill Bill. volume 1
Kill Bill
Kill Bill Volume 1 is a 2003 action thriller film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It is the first of two volumes that were theatrically released several months apart, the second volume being Kill Bill Volume 2....
, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Platoon
Platoon (film)
Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and stars Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July and 1993's Heaven & Earth....
, Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
, Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction (film)
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 American crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who co-wrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
, Snatch
Snatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
and many more.
Puchkov also translates cartoons and thinks his best work was his translation of South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut is a 1999 animated musical comedy film based on the animated television series South Park, created by Matt Stone and Trey Parker. The film was directed by Parker, who also stars along with the rest of the regular voice cast from the series, including Stone, Mary...
. Other cartoon translations are: Shrek
Shrek
Shrek is a 2001 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow. Loosely based on William Steig's 1990 fairy tale picture book Shrek!...
, Shrek 2
Shrek 2
Shrek 2 is a 2004 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film, produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon. It is the second installment in the Shrek film series and the sequel to 2001's Shrek...
, The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
, Ice Age
Ice Age (film)
Ice Age is a 2002 American computer-animated film created by Blue Sky Studios and released by 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Carlos Saldanha and Chris Wedge from a story by Michael J. Wilson. The story follows three Paleolithical mammals attempting to return a lost human baby to its parents...
, Chicken Run
Chicken Run
Chicken Run is a 2000 British stop-motion animation film made by the Aardman Animations studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films...
.
Commercial translations
Since film translation is a hobby for Puchkov, he translates only those films that he is interested in and does not receive any money for his translations. However, due to his popularity, he receives commercial offers from licensed foreign movie distributors in Russia to translate movies that are screened in theatres and aired on TV. The list of his commercial translations includes: Team America: World PoliceTeam America: World Police
Team America: World Police, often referred to as simply Team America, is a 2004 action comedy film written by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Pam Brady and directed by Parker, all of whom are also known for the popular animated television series South Park...
, South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
, The Sopranos
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, the funny translation of Bumer produced in cooperation with the makers of the original, and others.
The latest work in this field is Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie
Guy Stuart Ritchie is an English screenwriter and film maker who directed Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, Revolver, RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.-Early life:...
's RocknRolla
RocknRolla
RocknRolla is a 2008 British crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, Toby Kebbell, Tom Hardy, Idris Elba, Karel Roden, and Thandie Newton...
. This time, distributors contracted Puchkov to do a translation for the dub, with himself voice-acting the narrator, Archy. At the premiere Puchkov himself read a non-censored, voiceover translation; in theaters, a somewhat milder version was shown.
In addition to his film translation, he also made several commercial translations of computer games, including Odium
Gorky 17
Gorky 17 is a turn-based tactics computer game developed by Polish developer Metropolis Software and published by Monolith Productions for Windows in 1999. The game was later ported to Linux by Hyperion Entertainment and published by Linux Game Publishing in 2006...
, Serious Sam
Serious Sam
Serious Sam is the first game in the Serious Sam series. It is a first-person shooter created by the Croatian development house Croteam...
, Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project
Duke Nukem: Manhattan Project is a platform game developed by Sunstorm Interactive, produced by 3D Realms, and published by Arush Entertainment. It was released on Microsoft Windows on May 14, 2002 in North America and on June 14, 2002 in Europe...
, and Bumer: Sorvannye bashni (Bumer: Blown Away Towers).
Humorous translations
Another important facet of his translation works are his so-called "funny translations", which are parodies of awkward translations presented at the Russian movie market, where characters apparently speak quite differently from how they spoke in the original films. The discrepancy between "funny-translated" and original film creates a strong comic effect. Moreover, changing the names of characters, music, and adding new video and sound effects can turn a serious movie into a true slapstick comedy. "Funny-translated" films often skewer prominent world and Russian events (including social and political life) and contain references to well-known American, Soviet and current Russian films. Puchkov's "funny-translations" come with the logo of another of Puchkov's studios, Bozhya Iskra (God's Spark). All funny translations are made with the help of Puchkov's site visitors and their names appear at the end of the movie in a cast section.| Original title | Name in Russian | English translation |
|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | ВК: Братва и Кольцо | LotR: The Fellas (Mob) and the Ring (the word "Fellas" is a common idiom for the Russian mob, and mobsters specifically - roughly equivalent to the use of "the boys" in an old American mob film) |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | ВК: Две сорванные башни | LotR: the Two Blown Away (Stolen) Towers ("tower blown away" is a common Russian idiom meaning "off the kilter", "crazy and dangerous", "tower" standing for head or brain). |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a 2003 epic fantasy-drama film directed by Peter Jackson that is based on the second and third volumes of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings... |
ВК: Возвращение Бомжа | LotR: The Return of the Hobo (the Hobo as a title for Aragorn character is taken from the earlier humorous translations, taking into account Aragorn's wandering nature). |
| The Matrix The Matrix The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving... |
Шматрица | The Shmatrix (after a trans-language Yiddish practice of jokingly rhyming the source word with a «sh-» equivalent; in Soviet practice it was commonly associated not with Jews, but with strong-accented Caucasus natives). |
| Bumer | Антибумер | Antibumer |
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | Звёздные войны: Буря в Стакане | Star Wars: Storm in the Glass Star Wars: Storm in the Glass Star Wars: Storm in the Glass , sometimes translated as Star Wars: Tempest in a Teapot, is a humorous 2004 English-to-Russian movie spoof of the 1999 science fantasy film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace by popular Russian movie translator Dmitry "Goblin" Puchkov... (Idiomatically: Star Wars: Tempest in a Teapot) |
The Lord of the Rings translations were adapted by Goblin into two books containing much of the humor of the translated films. A Computer game The Fellas and the Ring has also been developed by Gaijin Entertainment
Gaijin Entertainment
-Overview:Origins of the company were established in 2002. Gaijin team specializes in creation of games for various platforms . It also pays attention to technology-related research work. Gaijin team is represented by six departments and over sixty employees...
and published in Russia by 1C. The game allows the player to choose one of seven characters and play through 12 levels slashing through enemies equipped with weapons ranging from knives to flamethrowers.
Projects
On 15 February 2008, The Truth About 9th CompanyThe Truth About 9th Company
The Truth About 9th Company is the first Russian documentary computer game which was officially launched on 18 February 2008. This war game simulates the historical battle for Hill 3234 taken place on 7-8 January 1988 in southern Afghanistan between Soviet paratroop units of the 345th Independent...
documentary computer game was officially launched. Puchkov has proved himself as the ideological leader and inspirer of the development of this project, which was announced as the response to "the intentional destruction of historical memory of the people".
Personal life
Puchkov was brought up in the family of an army officer who traveled a great deal around the country. He studied at six different schools, including a boarding school, and finished his 10th grade in the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. He served in the army, where he was employed as a military driver and operated a truck; he also received basic tank driver training. He retired from his work in the Militsiya
Militsiya
Militsiya or militia is used as an official name of the civilian police in several former communist states, despite its original military connotation...
in 1998 after working there for 6 years.
He has also worked as a librarian, truck driver, air compressor
Gas compressor
A gas compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume.Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can transport the fluid through a pipe. As gases are compressible, the compressor also reduces the volume of a gas...
operator, automobile mechanic, plumber
Plumber
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
, driller assistant, electrician, polisher, turner, metal smith, cab driver, masseur, police canine
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
handler, criminal investigator, sperm donor
Sperm donation
Sperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....
and sales manager.
He is married and has an adult son, though he avoids speaking of his family in public in order to "keep business to business and personal to personal". His son, a successful businessman, avoids saying that his father is the famous Goblin for the same reason. He currently lives in Saint Petersburg and is working as a freelance translator, participating in projects he is interested in.
Puchkov is an avid reader and maintains a large personal library.