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The diverse group of attendants got a fascinating overview of the Russian film heritage, looking at the greats like Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, but also at lesser known artists and films that so far have been largely overlooked. Beginning with the first Russian film from 1908, “Stenka Razin”, the seminar then moved into the fascinating period of pre-Soviet Russia, looking at the avant-garde movement during the 1920s, which was the first generation of Russian filmmakers to develop their own unique film language. With excerpts from Eisenstein`s “Battleship Potemkin” and “October”, the seminar delved into film theory and Eisenstein`s montage, as well as showcasing the ground-breaking techniques and use of film language that set these movies apart from commercial cinema of its time. Unlike today, film-practice and –theory weren`t seen as separate fields and the creative minds of its time were pioneers when it came to experimental cinema. Where Eisenstein explored the image, Dziga Vertov explored the possibilities of sound. Dr Schlegel showed fascinating excerpts from Vertov`s works like “The Man With the Movie Camera”, which explore the musicality of film through rhythmic editing and show the close relation of film to music. This soon led to the first talkies, exploring the possibilities of sound, which are largely overlooked today, though their influence can be seen and heard in contemporary films. One only needs to consider the soundtrack to last year`s “There Will Be Blood”, which relies on sparse, industrial sounds that are more than reminiscent of Vertov`s “Enthusiasm” from 1931. With Stalin`s rise to power, film as a mass medium was quickly discovered as a useful means for propaganda – interestingly enough using Hollywood as an example for production and film technique, turning away from the avant-garde of the 20s. The grand musicals and varieté films like Grigori Aleksandrov`s 1936 musical comedy “Circus” are at once a triumph in filmmaking as well as an open celebration of Stalinism. Films turned into weapons of mass persuasion and self-delusion. Somewhat ironically it was the beginning of WW II that afforded the filmmakers more freedom. Unprepared for the war, the propaganda machine was unable to react quickly enough and thus gave directors an opportunity to turn out more critical films. Looking back at popular Russian fairy tales and legends, filmmakers like Eisenstein (“Alexander Nevsky”) or Aleksandr Rou (“Kashchey Bessmertnyy“ – “Koschei the Immortal”) used these texts to create anti-war films. They would prove influential all the way into the 1970s, when Larisa Shepitko`s “The Ascent” won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 1979.
Animated films would find their triumph in Yuriy Norshteyn`s “Skazka Skazok” – “The Tale of Tales” from 1979. The screening of this animated short was one of the highlights of the seminar and one can easily see why film festivals over the world, from Zagreb to Los Angeles declared it to be the best animated film of all times. This level of creativity was lost for some years in the turmoil after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Russian film market was flooded with western movies that found an eager audience and made the creation of own movies difficult. A development that has since given way to a new generation of filmmakers who, today, are working on finding their own filmic language just like their famous predecessors like Eisenstein or Pudovkin. At the end of the two days it seemed like Dr Schlegel as well as the participants would have gladly gone on and delved deeper into many of the themes and subjects that were explored in the seminar. Russian science fiction, the role of religion – the list of interesting and thought-provoking subjects was endless. One can only hope for more seminars of its kind at the Russian House and more opportunities to listen to and ask Dr Schlegel about a fascinating area of film history which, at this point, is sadly underappreciated still. Photo: © Dr. Alan Taylor, used with kind permission. |
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