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SOVIET CINEMA IN THE 1920s ● The USSR from 1925-33 saw government control of the film industry. The Soviets helped expand the industry, and sparked the Montage Movement, until the Five Year Plan choked it out The Hardships of War Communism 1918-1920 ● There was a shortage of equipment and stock because it was not produced in Russia and because a lot of filmmakers took their tools and equipment with them ● In 1919, 63 films were made but most were propaganda or newsreels ● Instead of nationalizing film industry, Soviets assigned the industry oversight to the Narkompros (Commissariat of Education) ● 1918 rule about registering film hampered film production greatly Recovery under the New Economic Policy 1921-1924 ● 1922 Lenin Proportion - balance of education and entertainment ● Central distribution company called Goskino meant to create a monopoly for the state ● NEP saw slow growth Increased State Control and the Montage Movement 1925-1930 ● Goskino failed so a new company, Sovkino was founded Growth and Export in the Film Industry ● Mezhrabpom-Russ was a company privately held by a German communist group

● Film companies had to invest in Sovkino stock ● Through Montage films, Sovkino found a Western audience ● Montage films were successful financially and critically The Influence of Constructivism ● Constructivism was linked to the earlier Montage Movement ● Cubo-Futurism was a mix of French Cubist influences and Italian Futurism influence ● Suprematism was an abstract form that focused on geometric shapes ● Lunacharsky allowed many avant-garde artists to freely experiment and express themselves if they were supportive of the Bolsheviks A New Generation: The Montage Filmmakers ● Eisenstein made the first film of the Montage Movement: Strike. It was filmed and set in a factory ● Most Montage Films were more popular in other countries than the USSR ● Kuleshov, Pudovkin, Vertav were other important filmmakers of the Montage Movement The Theoretical Writings of Montage Filmmakers ● Montage Directors placed a lot of importance on theory ● All of the directors disliked traditional films ● Vertov’s film theory was radical. He though fiction numbed and dumbed down its viewer. Believed “life caught unawares” meaning that you should capture people when they're surprised at or even perturbed by a camera

● Eisenstein created intense rules for Montage film production Soviet Montage Form and Style ● Most were topical comedies or literary adaptations ● Social forces are the source of cause and effect, not individuals and psychology, as was in Hollywood ● On average these films had more shots than other films of this era ● Used intercutting and nondiegetic insert Other Soviet Films ● There were a lot of more conventional films that only borrowed bits from Montage ● There were Non-montage films of most genres, including comedy ● The Montage directors thought poorly of the non-montage films The Five-Year Plan and the End of the Montage Movement ● Formalism was a charge faced by many Montage filmmakers. It's the idea that the filmmaker maks the film too complicated and cares more about form and style than the message ● In March 1928 the Communist Party came together and formulated a plan to centralize the film industry ● Planned goals were to increase number of films made and become self sufficient in terms of film equipment production ● Soviet Montage style influence leftist filmmakers in other countries even after the Communists implemented new controls ● All Montage filmmakers in USSR switched their styles in response to government

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Film Industry and Governmental Policy: A Tangled History The Kuleshov Effect ● Implemented Socialist Realism Policy

INTERNATIONAL TRENDS OF THE 1920s ● Soviet Montage, French Impressionism and German Expressionism were all reactions to the power and influence of Hollywood ● Other countries combated Hollywood’s dominance by making more films regularly "Film Europe" ● After WW1 the european countries had a hard time of regaining a foothold in their own film industries because of the dominance of an untouched Hollywood ● At first, the countries who had just fought wars against each other implemented bans of their wartime enemies’ films. These bands did not last long however ● An idea to and together to compete with American films became known as “Film Europe” Concrete Steps toward Cooperation ● Ufa-Aubert deal opened the door for large scale mutual distribution of films between countries ● There was a push to create “European Films” rather than films characteristic of one particular country. A European Style was sought. ● To create more “European” films the companies would collaborate with companies from neighboring countries on singular films and also hire crew and cast from other countries to give their films an “international” feeling Success Cut Short

● Quotas directed against hollywood films helped the success of the pan-European film movement ● Sound ended all of the cooperation because there was a demand for films in the home language of a country. Individual industries now had home field advantages The "International Style" ● In the mid 1920s there was an avant-garde style which was the result of a blending of Soviet Montage, German Expressionism, and French Impressionism ● The avant-garde style influences reached as far as Japan Carl Dreyer: European Director ● Dreyers films not only had mixed nationality casts, but they also blended French, German, and Soviet styles into a unique, new style ● He made Vampyr, which was so weird that his international stardom came to a halt and he had to go back to his day jon Film Experiments Outside the Mainstream Industry ● Filmmakers began making experimental films that undercut traditional commercial film production conventions ● These experimental films were funded by either rich people or by part time work in the mainstream ● Abstract animation came and then fell out of vogue ● Dada branched out into film. Dadaism is art based on an absurdist view of the world

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● Surrealism was similar to Dadaism except that it was more serious, dreamlike, and cohesive, even if it was also unrealistic ● Cinema pur sought to focus on visual qualities and wanted to reduce film to basic elements ● City Symphony was focused on poetic shots of city landscapes ● Experimental Narratives sought to question conventions in filmmaking Documentary Features Gain Prominence ● Documentaries were very important in USSR ● Three main types: exotic film, attempt at catching real life, compilation documentary Commercial Filmmaking Internationally ● Some countries’ industries emulated Hollywood while some had their own style Japan ● Japan had its own style and the Japanese populace preferred Japanese films Great Britain ● Imitated american methods of Hollywood Italy ● After the war they tried to get back to prominence by returning to prewar filmmaking methods, but it did not work

Some Small Producing Countries ● Small producing countries used local scenery for settings and local cultural literary adaptations for stories