Early Russian Cinema, Vol. 10: The End of an Era

Historians of Soviet cinema have always stressed the difference between traditional Russian cinema and its Tsarist period, implying that this earlier phase was actively hostile to social change. The months between 1917’s February and October revolutions saw a remarkable upsurge of radical sentiment, and The Revolutionary, released in April, actually captured this upheaval in its subject matter. When Russian authorities learn that a wanted rebel known as "Granddad" is living in hiding with his brother, he is arrested and sent to Siberia, returning ten years later when the Tsarist government is finally overthrown. "Granddad" is welcomed home as a hero, but he soon finds that even his own son holds different views than he used to about the future of Russia. The film's writer and star, Ivane Perestiani, went on to direct one of the few early Soviet classics, Red Imps (1923).

For Luck (1917) marked a similar transition, the last short film of director Evgeni Bauer's career, after he died on-location while shooting this film in Crimea. The central premise, seeing a daughter and mother fall for the same man, and the extraordinary intensity of the climactic scenes highlight Bauer at the height of his powers. The future pioneer of Soviet montage, Lev Kuleshov, makes a cameo as a painter.

Lastly, Behind the Screen (1917) remains the last surviving fragment of the major two-part film, A Life Destroyed by Pitiless Fate. Released to cinemas in November 1917, by which time most of the film crew would have left the state, it serves as something of a farewell to traditional Russian cinema. Taking place in a film studio, Ivan Mozzhukhin plays an actor returned from war, wandering the premises in the hopes of procuring a new contract for work.