The End of St. Petersburg

Three very different classic Soviet silents
This special edition by Kino Video presents some excellent examples of Soviet Avant-Garde cinema, and therefore this is a good place to start if unfamiliar with this genre. Along with the visual impact and statements these films make, the musical score - especially for "End of St Petersburg" - is quite appropriate, being orchestral and very well suited to the scenes and feelings expressed in the film. I was most impressed by Pudovkin's "The End of St Petersburg", mainly for its dramatic and expressive images and the fierce passion and tempo overall. This film depicts people's struggle and the social upheavals of the revolutionary period and World War I, and it takes a bit of serious attention to appreciate the information, imagery and emotions packed into this film. As a complete contrast, "Earth", directed by Dovzhenko, has an overall slower pace, a simple storyline and different feel, yet it also expresses the plight of ordinary people, in this case farmers facing the challenge...

A Great Russian Drama
One of the early Russian film directors, Pudovkin, presents an excellent depiction of a peasants life during the time leading up to and during the October revolution, or more accurately, the events leading to the fall of the Czar, the Capitalist takeover, and the subsequent workers revolution. The Russian films of this period were considered to be the height of film art, and this silent film presents one directors vision of how great editing can make a film. This work is a good contrast to the style of another great Russian director of the period, Eisenstien, in that it works to gain the viewers sympathy and understanding of the main characters through emotion rather than Eisentsteins method of the use of intellect and heavy symbolism. The film pits the working class against capitalism and the ruling class in a struggle for survival. It has all the elements of classical Hollywood screenwriting with a main plot of the peasant struggle against the rulers and a subplot of tensions...

The golden age of the Russian silent cinema
I am not the greatest expert on Russian silent cinema, but still have a Masters degree from USC Cinema in History-Criticism. The three great filmmakers of Russian silents were Eisenstein, Podovkin, and Dovzhenko. They could not be more different. Eisenstein told a story cinematically in masterpieces like STRIKE (1924) and BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925); note the poetry in his powerful editing and dynamic visual compositions. Podovkin loved film technique, especially dynamic cutting, to tell a story. But in a classic, like THE END OF ST. PETERSBURG (1927), he does not forget to tell a gripping factory management vs. labor story. In complete contrast, Dovzhenko was Ukranian and ignored the story in favor of showing beautiful Ukraine landscapes, wheat fields and rivers, and especially the haunting faces of peasants working on their farms. His greatest film may be the silent EARTH (1930).

Which one Russian silent to recommend if you only have time for one? I am saving...

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