Mikhail YAMPOLSKIY. Оn Kira Muratova. (Тhree chapters from the book.)

As the author says, he unexpectedly has written a book about Kira Muratova. The book is a trying to describe a philosophical side of the director’s creation and to reveal some special features of Muratova fi lm stylistics through this philosophy. The author of the book pays less attention to the «film language» thаn to meaning of motifs because from his point of view the motifs also determine the structure of the «language».

 

 

Lev ROSHAL. Alexander Nevskii as Pscov Regional Part Committee Secretary.

The author traces the circumstances under which the Alexander Nevskii was produced—the period when the director developed his treatment of historical characters and events, in particular the Battle of the Ice.

 

Eisenstein—new materials.

—Thesis on art, 1923.—Letters to Vsevolod Vishnevskiy and Sofia Vishnevetskaya, 1937.— A Letter to the Presidium of the Congress of Filmfotoworkers Union, 1937.—«A Very Fine Touch», 1946. (Text preparation and comments by Vladimir Zabrodin.)

Film studier Vladimir Zabrodin publishes new materials from the Eisenstein heritage he revealed in the archives. The first text is a republication of the Proletcult manifest signed by the young director and art critic Boris Arvatov. Published long ago in the rare journal, it contains information which is very important for the whole art activity of Eisenstein. The correspondence, as the studier argues, helps to imagine Eisenstein’s morale after the Bezhin lug project disaster has occurred. The last text is a draft of а memoir chapter about his best disciplines whom he taught in VGIK and who died before become famous: Hazbi Uruimagov, Oleg Pavlenko, Valentin Kadochnikov. Eisenstein reviews, in his own words, the «great and glorious bygone days of Gik» and the establishment of his «provocative» educational system.

 

«… To speak only about things which are worth to speak about». A Verbatim of Sergei Eisenstein’s lecture in VGIK, May, 1941. (Preface by Svetlana Ishevskaya, text is commented by Svetlana Ishevskaya and Alexander Troshin.)

It is known that the most of the director’s lectures in VGIK were recorded. Basing on this verbatim material Eisenstein intended to create three-volumed study book «The Direction» (the first and only one completed is published in Vol.4 of his selected works). On occasion some lections are published in different readers and collections of documents, some are published in our magazine but they still aren’t ungathered in entire edition. However, this is another one verbatim. Talking to students Eisenstein recalls interesting and sometimes humorous details of his Mexico expedition.

 

 

Julia VASSILIEVA. A Genre Memory: Grotesque and Postmodernism in Ilija Khrzhanovskiy’s Four.

Ilija Khrzhanovskiy debut film based on a screenplay by writer Vladimir Sorokin is one of the contradictory events in the context of post-Soviet Russian film. The author considers what problems of modern Russia this film are concerned and what means were used to reach its penetrative effect.

 

 

Gennadii SHPALIKOV. My Famous Friend (Text preparation and preface by Elena Dolgopyat.)

In this issue the unknown text of Shpalikov is published. This is the draft of a short novel devoted to artist Mikhail Romadin—they were friends in their youth.

 

 

«It was much more diffi cult in life…» From the correspondence of Alexander GLADKOV and Nikolai OTTEN, 1961–1973. (Preface and comments by Elena Dolgopyat.)

Alexander Gladkov, playwriter, Meyerhold assistant, worked in cinema. But he estimated his job himself as just earning. Such attitude didn’t prevent him for creating wonderful screenplays. His most known play is Davnym Davno (as a film Gusarskaya Ballada it appeared in 1962). His letters to his friend, film critic, playwriter Nikolai Otten are valued not only because they contain the fi lm history details but as the Thaw epoch documents.

 

 

Georgii BORODIN. A Castration of Hippopotamus.

A final installment of the chapter from Borodin’s book «Dependent Animation» (another one union of his vast research is published in our issue # 73 and # 80). The subject of this research is the role of censorship in history of Soviet animation. The author defines their goal as to collect the facts of different censorial interferences in process of creating cartoons and to compare an original film with a version after it was censored. In this fragment he traces that animation films which have lost its original idea after censorial interference and editing.

 

Kirill MALYANTOVICH. Animators from Souzmultfilm.

The artist, animator and director recalls people he worked with during his years at the Souzmultfilm studio. In the context of the almost total lack of biographical data of the studio personnel his memoirs partly fill the gap.

 

 

Victoria LEVITOVA. The Poetry of Clothes. On the creative union of Jan Nemec and Ester Krumbachova.

As the author says, Czech artist Ester Krumbachova had a huge influence on Czech film in 1960es. As a production designer Krumbachova participated in the creation of lots of films which one can define as the films that would become the Czech new wave. The motives of the modernistic style of Krumbachova’s stylistics intersected with existential philosophy are considered in the article.

 

Olga RAKHAEVA. Krsysztof Zanussi: between «an ideal» and «reality».

One of a few film study works in Russian about the Polish director. The main motifs of Zanussi’s works are traced film by film in a double context: of Polish film and in their own intertextuality.

 

 

Lidia KANASHOVA. Pictorially Expressive Means of Swedian Classic Silent Film.

The author traces influence of art on Swedish film tracing visual style of Mauritz Stiller and Victor Sjöström feature films.

 

 

Victor VATOLIN. Yakov Zadorozhniy, the founder of Siberian fi lm production. An installment of the book «Landmark-Men of Siberian Cinema».

A detailed biography of a film producer and distributor which looks like adventure story as such. Born in Kiev, Zadorozniy started his career in silent movies epoch, then was exiled to Siberia where in the middle of 1920^es he founded regional film production.

 

Оleg SIROTIN. To Discussion and Doubts about Ivan Mozzhukhin Army Serving.

The author considers thoroughly all of the arguments of the researchers who think that Mozzhukhin military serving is a fiction, and makes the opposite conclusion on the basis of the facts he has revealed in the regional museum.

 

Anastasia VLADIMIROVA. Getting to know Kira Muratova: an experience of a Western

research of Russian director’s creative work.