DVD: Arsenal & Zvenigora | reviews, news & interviews
DVD: Arsenal & Zvenigora
DVD: Arsenal & Zvenigora
Two silent Soviet classics from the 1920s
Saturday, 19 February 2011
'Arsenal': Its iconic imagery resembles the photographic style of Rodchenko
What a time of ferment of artistic revolution the 1920s were in the Soviet Union. Pioneering arts techniques overlapped for an all-too-brief period with the progressive ideology of communism. Alexander Dovzhenko’s Arsenal and Zvenigora were at the forefront of such trends, but as a Ukrainian his feelings about Moscow’s new leaps forward were ambiguous. Dovzhenko had a deep visual love for the old order, even while he celebrated the dynamism of the new.
What a time of ferment of artistic revolution the 1920s were in the Soviet Union. Pioneering arts techniques overlapped for an all-too-brief period with the progressive ideology of communism. Alexander Dovzhenko’s Arsenal and Zvenigora were at the forefront of such trends, but as a Ukrainian his feelings about Moscow’s new leaps forward were ambiguous. Dovzhenko had a deep visual love for the old order, even while he celebrated the dynamism of the new.
Explore topics
Share this article
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Film
Blu-ray: Juggernaut
Witty and exciting British thriller, brilliantly cast
Electric Dreams: Art and Technology Before the Internet, Tate Modern review - an exhaustive and exhausting show
Flashing lights, beeps and buzzes are diverting, but quickly pall
Blu-ray: Black Tuesday
Edward G. Robinson excels as a psychopathic gang boss who escapes Death Row
Conclave review - secrets and lies in the Vatican's inner sanctum
Superb adaptation of Robert Harris's novel
All We Imagine as Light review - tender portrait of three women struggling to survive in modern Mumbai
Payal Kapadia's debut feature is delicate, beautifully acted and visually striking
Witches review - beyond the broomstick, the cat, and the pointy hat
A documentary probes the links between stigmatised women and postpartum depression
Wicked review - overly busy if beautifully sung cliffhanger
Musical theatre behemoth becomes an outsized film - and this is just part one
Snow Leopard review - clunky visual effects mar a director's swansong
Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden bows out with a confusing tale of a beautiful predator
Mediha review - a brutalised Yazidi teen comes of age with a camera
A documentary frames the video diary of a Yazidi girl who suffered horrific abuse
Blu-ray: Pharaoh
Dazzling historical epic from the Polish New Wave
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat review - jazz-themed documentary on the 1960s Congo Crisis
Musicians played different roles in the struggles of the newly independent African country
Gladiator II review - can lightning strike twice?
Sir Ridley Scott makes a big, bold return to the Roman Empire
Add comment