This reader is intended to accompany undergraduate courses in the history of Russian cinema or Russian culture through film. It consists of excerpts from English language criticism and translations of excerpts of Russian-language criticism, as well as commissioned essays on thirty subtitled films widely taught in American and British courses on Russian film and culture. The arrangement will be chronological with a general introduction to each period outlining its filmic and historical significance for a general audience. Essays will be accompanied by suggestions for further reading. This reader will be useful both for film studies specialists and for Slavists who wish to broaden their Russian studies curriculum by including film courses or cinematic material in culture courses.
This two-volume reader is intended to accompany undergraduate courses in the history of Russian cinema and Russian culture through film. Each volume consists of newly commissioned essays, excerpts from English language criticism and translations of Russian language essays on subtitled films which are widely taught in American and British courses on Russian film and culture. The arrangement is chronological: Volume one covers twelve films from the beginning of Russian film through the Stalin era; volume two covers twenty films from the Thaw era to the present. General introductions to each period of film history (Early Russian Cinema, Soviet Silent Cinema, Stalinist Cinema, Cinema of the Thaw, Cinema of Stagnation, Perestroika and Post-Soviet Cinema) outline its cinematic significance and provide historical context for the non-specialist reader. Essays are accompanied by suggestions for further reading. The reader will be useful both for film studies specialists and for Slavists who wish to broaden their Russian Studies curriculum by incorporating film courses or culture courses with cinematic material. Volumes one and two may be ordered separately to accommodate the timeframe and contents of courses. Volume one films: Sten’ka Razin, The Cameraman’s Revenge, The Merchant Bashkirov’s Daughter, Child of the Big City, The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks, Battleship Potemkin, Bed and Sofa, Man with a Movie Camera, Earth, Chapaev, Circus, Ivan the Terrible, Parts I and II. Volume two films: The Cranes are Flying, Ballad of a Soldier, Lenin’s Guard, Wings, Commissar, The Diamond Arm, White Sun of the Desert, Solaris, Stalker, Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, Repentance, Little Vera, Burnt by the Sun, Brother, Russian Ark, The Return, Night Watch, The Tuner, Ninth Company, How I Ended This Summer. Authors: Birgit Beumers, Robert Bird, David Bordwell, Mikhail Brashinsky, Oksana Bulgakova, Gregory Carlson, Nancy Condee, Julian Graffy, Jeremy Hicks, Andrew Horton, Steven Hutchings, Vida Johnson, Lilya Kaganovsky, Vance Kepley, Jr., Susan Larsen, Mark Lipovetsky, Tatiana Mikhailova, Elena Monastireva-Ansdell, Joan Neuberger, Vlada Petrić, Graham Petrie, Alexander Prokhorov, Elena Prokhorova, Rimgaila Salys, Elena Stishova, Vlad Strukov, Yuri Tsivian, Meghan Vicks, Josephine Woll, Denise J. Youngblood
Film emerged in pre-Revolutionary Russia to become the 'most important of all arts' for the new Bolshevik regime and its propaganda machine. This text is a complete history from the beginning of film onwards and presents an engaging narrative of both the industry and its key films in the context of Russia's social and political history.
Russian Cinema provides a lively and informative exploration of the film genres that developed during Russia's tumultuous history, with discussion of the work of Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Mikhalkov, Paradzhanov, Sokurov and others. The background section assesses the contribution of visual art and music, especially the work of the composers Shostakovich and Prokofev, to Russian cinema. Subsequent chapters explore a variety of topics: The literary space - the cinematic rendering of the literary text, from 'Sovietized' versions to bolder and more innovative interpretations, as well as adaptations of foreign classics The Russian film comedy looks at this perennially popular genre over the decades, from the 'domestication' of laughter under Stalin to the emergence of satire The historical film - how history has been used in film to affirm prevailing ideological norms, from October to Taurus Women and Russian film discusses some of the female stars of the Soviet screen (Liubov Orlova, Vera Alentova, Liudmila Gurchenko), as well as films made by male and female directors, such as Askoldov and Kira Muratova Film and ideology shows why ideology was an essential component of Soviet films such as The Maxim Trilogy, and how it was later definitively rejected The Russian war film looks at Civil War and Second World War films, and the post-Soviet treatment of recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya Private life and public morality explores the evolution of melodramas about youth angst, town and village life, personal relationships, and the emergence of the dominant sub-genre of the 1990s, the gangster thriller Autobiography, memory and identity offers a close reading of the work of Andrei Tarkovskii, Russia's greatest post-war director, whose films, including Andrei Rublev and Mirror, place him among the foremost European auteur film-makers Russian Cinema offers a close analysis of over 300 films illustrated with representative stills throughout. As with other titles in the Inside Film series it includes comprehensive filmographies, a thorough bibliography and an annotated further reading list. The book is a jargon-free, accessible study that will be of interest to undergraduates of film studies, modern languages, Russian language and literature, as well as cineastes, film teachers and researchers.
This comprehensive introduction to national cinemas in Europe brings together classic writings by key filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, Luis Buñuel and John Grierson, and critics from Andre Bazin to Peter Wollen.
In this updated edition of his classic text, Kenez covers the roots of Soviet cinema in the film heritage of pre-Revolutionary Russia, tracing the changes generated by the Revolution of 1917.
The first collection of essays devoted to the rich tradition of Russian science fiction on the page and the screen from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. A resource for classroom instruction as well as research, it provides a comprehensive overview of science fiction's important role in Russian society, politics, technology, and culture.
A panoramic survey of nearly a century of Russian films on wars and wartime from World War I to more recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Chechnya, with heavy emphasis on films pertaining to World War II.
This text examines the aesthetics of Soviet cinema during its golden age of the 1920s, against a background of cultural ferment and the construction of a new socialist society.
