Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Gee LP (A) on January 13, 2005 at 14:28:25

In Reply to: Russian film recommendations, excluding Eisenstein? posted by mishmashmusic on January 13, 2005 at 12:16:39:

Since we are excluding Eisenstein, and Victor can help with the contemporary Russian cinema, let's start with this:

By the Law (1926)/Lev Kuleshov
It was Kuleshov who put together the famous editing experiment
of a shot of a man intercut with shots of soup, a dead woman,
and a child. The audience thought the man was in turn hungry,
sad, and happy. It was the same shot of the man used in each
instance. After his film workshop closed, Kuleshov put together
this film about 2 people who are compelled to try a third person
for murder. Very intense.
The Man with a Movie Camera (1929)/Dziga Vertov
Dziga Vertov documents a typical day in Moscow, using every
cinematic trick that he can get ahold of. An exploration of
reality and the camera's ability to remake "reality". A
documentary that is as far from Robert Flaherty (American
filmmaker who made "Nanook of the North") as you can get.
Mother (1926)/Vesvolad Pudovkin
Mother and son together combat tsarist tyranny in this adapta-
tion of Gorky's novel. Montage sequences as sophisticated as
Eisenstein, but with more soul, too. Imagine a film built
around the "Odessa Steps" sequence in "Potemkin", except we
know the names and stories of the people on the steps.
Earth (1930)/Alexander Dovzhenko
Just an incredible film! A kulak's farm is collectivized. That's
the plot, but Dovzhenko does amazing things within it. The most
famous shot is of a man dancing in the middle of the road for
the sheer joy of life. Comparing it to Eisenstein's "Old and
New" (1929), I suspect that THIS is what Soviet officials
expected from Sergei. What's funny about that is, I don't
think this film could have been made 5 years later.
The Cranes are Flying (1957)/Mickhail Kalatozov
Yes, I know, weepy drama about better-than-human Soviets in a
troubled time. But just the existence of this film points to the
fact that Stalin was dead and things were slightly different in
the Soviet Union. Not a bad film at all and one that every
student of Soviet/Russian film knows.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964)/Sergei Parajanov
Just a little story about undying love. Filmed and edited in a
way that deconstructs both the narrative and the representation
of the narrative. I really can't think of a Western director
that I could name and it would explain the style for you. Just
sit back and enjoy a movie ride that will engage your mind far
more than the cinematic roller-coaster equivalents put together
by Spielberg or Bruckheimer.

There are other films by these directors, and other films by directors I have not mentioned, but this is a good start. If you want to read more about Soviet cinema, I recommend Jay Leyda's book "Kino". It is a shame that, except for something like "Solaris" (which I think made cable because it was being remade by George Clooney), that more international films are not easily available to American viewers.