Zvenigora
| Zvenigora | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Alexander Dovzhenko |
| Written by |
Maike "Mike" Johansen Yurtyk (Yuri Tiutiunnyk) Alexander Dovzhenko |
| Starring |
Semyon Svashenko Nikolai Nademsky Georgi Astafyev Les Podorozhnij |
| Cinematography | Boris Zavelev |
| Editing by | Alexander Dovzhenko |
| Distributed by | Mosfilm |
| Release dates |
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| Running time | 91 min. |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language |
silent film Russian intertitles |
Zvenigora (Russian: Звeнигopа) is a 1928 Soviet silent film by Ukrainian director Alexander Dovzhenko, first shown on April 13, 1928.[1] This was the fourth film by Dovzhenko, but the first one which was widely noticed and discussed in the media. This was also the last film by Dovzhenko where he was not the sole scriptwriter. The script was originally written by Maike "Mike" Johansen and Yurtyk (Yuri Tiutiunnyk), however, eventually, Dovzhenko strongly modified the script himself and took the names of Johansen and Tyutyunnyk off the film.[1]
Regarded as a silent revolutionary epic, Dovzhenko's initial film in his "Ukraine Trilogy" (along with Arsenal and Earth) is almost religious in its tone, relating a millennium of Ukrainian history through the story of an old man who tells his grandson about a treasure buried in a mountain. The film mixes fiction and reality. Although Dovzhenko referred to Zvenigora as his "party membership card".[1] Relationship between an individual and the nature is the main theme of the film, which is highly atypical of the Soviet cinema of the end of the 1920s, mostly influenced by the avantguarde. Dovzhenko states that full submission made the humankind forceless in front of the nature, and understanding of the nature is required to make progress. For him, the October Revolution carries such understanding.[2]
At the time of release, the film was noticed by the media, but generally regarded as not conforming with the Soviet style esthetics. In 1927, even before the release, the Kino newspaper sharply criticized the screenplay calling it "bourgeoise" and "nationalistic".[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Маевская, Тереза (April 13, 2011). "Звенигора, ставшая Голгофой для Александра Довженко". Комментарии. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- ↑ "Довженко Александр Петрович" (in Russian). Кирилл и Мефодий. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
External links
- Zvenigora at the Internet Movie Database
- Zvenigora is available for free download at the Internet Archive [more]
- Zvenigora at allmovie
- Ray Uzwyshyn Zvenyhora: Ethnographic Modernism
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