The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Nightmail ( Turksib / Workers' Topical News No. 1 / Australian Wine / Shadow on the Mountain: An Experiment on the Welsh Hills / The Country Comes to Town / The Face of Britain / Night Mail ) ( Turk sib / Workers' Topical News No. One )

The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Nightmail (Blu-Ray) (*)

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Original Title: Turksib / Workers' Topical News No. 1 / Australian Wine / Shadow on the Mountain: An Experiment on the Welsh Hills / The Country Comes to Town / The Face of Britain / Night Mail
Alternate Title: Turk sib / Workers' Topical News No. One
Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Silent ( Dolby Linear PCM )
Silent ( Mono )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
78 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White
Booklet
Remastered

Movie filmed in 1929 - 1936 and produced in:
Soviet Union ( Russia, Eastern Europe )
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Victor A. Turin
Paul Rotha
Arthur Elton
Basil Wright
Harry Watt

Written By:
Yakov Aron
Viktor Shklovsky

Paul Rotha
Arthur Elton
Basil Wright
W.H. Auden

Actors:
Victor A. Turin
Paul Rotha
Arthur Elton
Basil Wright
A.J. Cummings ..... Himself - Narrator
Arthur Clark ..... Engineer
John Grierson ..... Commentary
Stuart Legg ..... Commentary
Robert Rae ..... Senior Driver - LMS Railway

Synopsis:

In the early 1930s, a small number of Soviet propaganda films were shown in Britain that excited local filmmakers who were then developing their ideas of film as an art form. The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Nightmail, a new BFI Dual Format Edition strand, explores the impact that these films had on British directors by presenting key Soviet works, along with the British films which they inspired, in specially curated editions. The first release in this occasional series, entitled From Turksib to Night Mail, explores the profound effect that the classic, yet little-seen silent Soviet documentary Turksib (Viktor Turin, 1929) had on British documentary films, including the celebrated Night Mail. Turksib is a bold and exhilarating film which brilliantly illustrates the problems faced by regional farmers and trades people, and highlights the need for the Turkestan-Siberian railway. Dazzling, arresting, and yet curiously overlooked, this fine example of Soviet montage cinema was presented to British audiences in 1930 in a version prepared by documentary pioneer John Grierson. That same version is included here, newly remastered to High Definition and with a newly commissioned score by Guy Bartell from celebrated electronic outfit Bronnt Industries Kapital. It is accompanied by a collection of archival British documentary shorts, all of which were made in the wake of Turksib by filmmakers whose debt to the film is very much in evidence.

The small number of Russian films which were shown in Britain in the late 1920s and early 1930s excited the attention of British filmmakers and writers, and played a central role in developing ideas about film as an art-form. In particular this influence was felt in the British documentary film work of such key figures as John Grierson and Paul Rotha. This unique and fascinating release explores this influence through the formal and thematic relationships between Viktor Turin's extraordinary, yet little-seen, silent documentary Turksib (1929), and a number of British documentary films, including the celebrated Night Mail (1936).
Turksib (1929)
Workers' Topical News No. 1 (1930)
Australian Wine (1931)
Shadow on the Mountain: An Experiment on the Welsh Hills (1931)
The Country Comes to Town (1933)
The Face of Britain (1935)
Night Mail (1936)

The British films are:
1. Turksib (Viktor Turin, 1929): The story of the building of the Turkestan-Siberian Railway
2. The Workers' Topical News No 1 (1930): the newsreel shown at Turksib's British premiere
3. Australian Wine (Paul Rotha, 1931): charming and lively promotional film employing Soviet-style montage techniques
4. The Country Comes to Town (Basil Wright, 1931): a celebration of the importance of the British countryside
5. Shadow on the Mountains (Arthur Elton, 1932): expressive titles and cinematography are deployed in this lyrical film about farming
6. The Face of Britain (Paul Rotha, 1935): a passionate and ambitious appeal for socialist planning
7. Night Mail (Harry Watt, Basil Wright, 1936): this seminal film applies the aesthetic lessons of Soviet cinema to a very British tale
An 36-page booklet which draws on the writings of John Grierson, Basil Wright, Paul Rotha and others to chart the Soviet influence in the development of British documentary filmmaking is included.

This product was added to our catalog on Sunday 30 October, 2011.

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