Glasnost—Soviet Cinema Responds
With the coming of glasnost to the Soviet Union, filmmakers began to explore previously forbidden themes, and distributors released films that were suppressed by pre-glasnost-era censors. Soviet cinema underwent a revolution, one that mirrors and helps interpret the social revolution that took place throughout the USSR. Glasnost—Soviet Cinema Responds is the first overall survey of the effects of this revolution on the work of Soviet filmmakers and their films.
The book is structured as a series of three essays and a filmography of the directors of glasnost cinema. The first essay, "The Age of Perestroika," describes the changes that occurred in Soviet cinema as it freed itself from the legacy of Stalinism and socialist realism. It also considers the influence of film educator and director Mikhail Romm. "Youth in Turmoil" takes a sociological look at films about youth, the most dynamic and socially revealing of glasnost-era productions. "Odysseys in Inner Space" charts a new direction in Soviet cinema as it focuses on the inner world of individuals.
The filmography includes thirty-three of the most significant glasnost-era directors, including Tengiz Abuladze, Karen Shakhnazarov, and Sergei Soloviev, with a comprehensive list of their films. Discussions of many individual films, such as Repentance, The Messenger Boy, and The Wild Pigeon, and interviews with the directors reveal the effects that glasnost and perestroika have had on the directors' lives and art.
A solid survey of the films of the first phase of glasnost up to 1989.... Richly illustrated with photographs from films and film posters.
A first assessment of the liberating effect of the new Russian revolution on the work of Soviet directors. Included is an informative filmography of the most significant directors with a comprehensive list of their films.
Nicholas Galichenko is Professor Emeritus of Germanic and Russian Studies at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.
Robert Allington is a writer and editor who helped establish the Creative Writing Co-operative Education Program at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.
- Preface: Recent Soviet Film—One Critic’s Choice
- Chapter 1. The Age of Perestroika
- Purging Stalin’s Ghost from the Film Industry
- The Romm Connection
- Beyond the Year of the Rabbit
- Chapter 2. Youth in Turmoil
- The New Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky Revisted
- What Do You Want to Do with Your Life, Ivan Miroshnikov?
- Looking Back: The Orphans (1977), Ivan Brovkin (1955, 1959)
- Directors with Commitment
- Chapter 3. Odysseys in Inner Space
- Gherman’s Time Machine
- Soloviev’s Parable of Hope
- The Imperfect Hero
- Chapter 4. The Directors of Glasnost: A Filmography
- Vadim Abdrashitov
- Tengiz Abuladze
- Alexander Askoldov
- Rolan Bykov
- Grigori Chukhrai
- Georgi Danelia
- Nana Djordjadze
- Alexei Gherman
- Lana Gogoberidze
- Nikolai Gubenko
- Yuri Kara
- Elem Klimov
- Andrei Konchalovsky
- Vyacheslav Kristofovich
- Irakli Kvirikadze
- Leida Laius
- Konstantin Lopushansky
- Nikita Mikhalkov
- Kira Muratova
- Valeri Ogorodnikov
- Tolomush Okeyev
- Gleb Panfilov
- Sergei Paradjanov
- Vasili Pichul
- Yuri Podnieks
- Eldar Ryazanov
- Karen Shakhnazarov
- Eldar Shengelaya
- Georgi Shengelaya
- Larisa Shepitko
- Andrei Smirnov
- Alexander Sokurov
- Sergei Soloviev
- Endnotes
- Index