Designing Russian Cinema: The Production Artist and the Material Environment in Silent Era Film

This book explores the significant role of production artists in Russian cinema during its infancy, highlighting their connections with other art forms and their contributions to the development of the medium. It reveals how less-canonical films were remarkable from a design perspective and provides new readings of well-known films. It also highlights the involvement of understudied figures and the continuities between the late-Imperial and early-Soviet periods of cinema, challenging traditional historical periodizations.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 12 January 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

This captivating book delves into the profound impact of production artists on the fledgling Russian cinema scene during its infancy. It unveils the intricate connections between Russian cinema and other artistic mediums, exploring how production artists drew upon both aesthetic traditions and modernist experiments in architecture, painting, and theater to shape the emerging medium of cinema. Through meticulous research, including set design sketches, archival documents, and film-makers' memoirs, Eleanor Rees unveils the remarkable design aspects of less-canonical films such as "Behind the Screen" (Kulisy ekrana, 1919) and "Palace and Fortress" (Dvorets i krepost ´, 1923). She also offers fresh interpretations of well-known films like "Children of the Age" (Deti veka, 1915) and "Strike" (Stachka, 1925). Rees sheds light on significant but understudied figures, such as Vladimir Egorov and Sergei Kozlovskii, while also highlighting the involvement of renowned figures like Lev Kuleshov and Aleksandr Rodchenko. What sets this book apart is its exploration of the enduring practices of early-Russian production artists who continued to work in cinema during the Soviet era, drawing upon the skills and techniques developed before the 1917 Revolution. By spanning the entire silent era, this book challenges traditional historical periodizations and highlights the often overlooked continuities between the late-Imperial and early-Soviet periods of cinema. It is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the rich and evolving artistic landscape of early Russian cinema.

Dimension: 216 x 138 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781350246362