Dostoevsky And Soviet Film: Visions Of Demonic Realism

Dostoevsky and Soviet Film By the same author Dostoevsky and Dickens: A Study o f Literary Influence Dostoevsky and Soviet Film VISIONS OF DEMONIC REALISM N. M. Lary Cornell University Press I T H A C A AND L O N D O N Copyright © 1986 by Cornell University All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithaca, New York 14850. First published 1986 by Cornell University Press. International Standard Book Number 0-8014-1882-8 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 86-47645 Printed in the United States of America Librarians: Library o f Congress cataloging information appears on the last page o f the book. The paper in this book is acid-free and meets the guidelines fo r permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines fo r Book Longevity o f the Council on Library Resources. In memory of M. N. Boborykina and E. N. Heiden (Dostoevsky knew that their grandmother, also named E. N. Heiden, understood the urgency o f his quest for the all-connecting idea.) Contents Preface 9 Part I 1 Demons behind the Screen Prehistorical Shklovsky and Dostoevsky as Demons o f Darkness House o f the Dead: A Dossier 2 3 17 22 39 Roshal’s Socialist Realist Myth Shklovsky and Eisenstein on the N ew Myths 47 57 Erm ler’s Pure Art o f the Party Line Shklovsky and Eisenstein on Ermler 59 77 Subhistorical Part II 79 Pow er and the Exorcism of Genius 4 Ideological Eisenstein’s Cinema o f Cruelty 5 Ivan Pyriev: Struggles o f a Journeyman Part III 83 85 111 Restrained Polyphony 6 Voices Gambles with(in) Socialist Realism 7 Kulidzhanov’s Urbane Dangers Kozintzev on the Inadequacies of the Ruling M odel 153 155 176 178 7 Contents Part IV 8 The Space of Tragedy Kozintsev: The Retrospective View Dem onological Conclusion Appendix A 233 The Tragic Universe o f Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible Appendix B 193 230 237 Eisenstein’s Notes fo r a "Chapter on Dostoevsky” 255 Bibliographical Note Film ography 265 268 Index 273 Illustrations Photos and Stills 8 131-150 Preface Lenin said, “For us film is the most important of all arts,” and so So­ viet film was made with a mission. The filmmakers quickly discovered the pow er o f their art. For the revolutionary transformation o f their country they found dynamic images, while they gave the classical Rus­ sian authors new life on the screen. By the time sound film was devel­ oped, they were ready to measure their pow er against Dostoevsky, whose art was dangerous because he argued against certain old ideas that were now articles o f faith for Marxist-Leninist ideology, in particu­ lar, the belief that man could be perfected and the denial that God was a necessary underpinning o f morality. As the leading art of the new age, film faced a dual challenge in regard to Dostoevsky— not only ar­ tistic but also political. The film artists knew there was a multiplicity of visions to explore within Dostoevsky’s work. Whatever Dostoevsky’s later ideological stance, he had been a revolutionary in his youth and he was always a critic of his society. A place had to be found for some of his visions in Soviet culture. The controversy around the first Dostoevsky film, House o f the Dead, in 1932 showed that the possibilities for imaginative e