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Vsevolod Pudovkin is one of the recognized masters of Soviet cinema, along with Eisenstein and Vertov, and his epic The End of St. Petersburg is the most complex work of his brilliant career. Vance Kepley challenges Pudovkin’s reputation as the ''conservative'' of the Soviet cinema greats, revealing how his unique cinematic innovations – which combine traditional Hollywood continuity editing with Soviet montage techniques – are employed to express political themes. Kepley traces the elaborate network of motifs and the historical references embedded within the film and explores both the production circumstances that shaped the film and its reception. This is a fascinating look at this classic film and its place in both Russian and world cinema.
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The End of St Petersburg
KINOfiles Film Companions General Editor: Richard Taylor Written for cineastes and students alike, KINOfiles are readable, authoritative, illustrated companion handbooks to the most important and interesting films to emerge from Russian cinema from its beginnings to the present. Each KINOfile investigates the production, context and reception of the film and the people who made it, and analyses the film itself and its place in Russian and world cinema. KINOfiles also include films of the other countries that once formed part of the Soviet Union, as well as works by émigré filmmakers working in the Russian tradition. KINOfiles form a part of KINO: The Russian Cinema Series. 1
The Battleship Potemkin Richard Taylor
2
The Man with the Movie Camera Graham Roberts
3
Burnt by the Sun Birgit Beumers
4
Repentance Josephine Woll and Denise J. Youngblood
5
Bed and Sofa Julian Graffy
6
Mirror Natasha Synessios
7
The Cranes are Flying Josephine Woll
8
Little Vera Frank Beardow
9
Ivan the Terrible Joan Neuberger
10 The End of St Petersburg Vance Kepley, Jr
THE END OF ST PETERSBURG VANCE KEPLEY, Jr
KINOfiles Film Companion 10
Published in 2003 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd 6 Salem Road, London W2 4BU 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 www.ibtauris.com In the United States of America and in Canada distributed by St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York NY 10010 Copyright © Vance Kepley, Jr, 2003 The right of Vance Kepley, Jr to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN 1 86064 911 4
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record for this book is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress catalog card: available Set in Monotype Calisto by Ewan Smith, London Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin
Contents
Acknowledgements Note on Transliteration Production Credits
vi vii viii
Introduction
1
1 Narrative
6
2 Background and Context
18
3 Analysis
42
4
After-effects
Further Reading
104 121
Acknowledgements
I am very grateful to Richard Taylor for his wise editorial judgment and advice. I also thank Philippa Brewster and Susan Lawson at I.B.Tauris. Thanks to Matt Rockwell for help in preparing the final manuscript and illustrations. I am indebted to my former student Panayiota Mini, who wrote an excellent PhD dissertation on Pudov