Gogol's famous story has been filmed at least five times, but never more imaginatively than in this silent version, which also incorporates elements from a second Gogol story, "The Nevsky Prospect," in its grotesque evocation of nineteenth-century St. Petersburg. The script was written by the critic Yuri Tinyanov of Leningrad's Formalist school, who subtitled The Overcoat "a comedy in the Gogol manner." The key eccentric element lay in the relation between the protagonist-a small man, Akaki Akakievitch-and the oversized decor, enormous bronze monuments, etc. Presenting "objects" was the best way for Kozintsev and Trauberg to give free rein to their fantasy. The eccentricity of The Overcoat was oriented towards expressionism, and more specifically, towards the Caligari end of the expressionist spectrum with its grotesque, elongated lighting, the weird ghostly style of acting, the juxtaposition of reality and dream and the fabulous sets.-Tom Luddy and Yvette Biro