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Set in 1930s Soviet Russia, Earth depicts the challenges faced by peasants in a rural setting. It explores class struggle, modernization, and the impact of collective farming on the countryside. The story revolves around a farmer and his family as they navigate through difficult circumstances such as scarcity of food, political propaganda, and the loss of loved ones. The film delves into themes of religion, ideology, and the harsh realities of life under the Soviet regime.
A 1943 Soviet documentary war film by Ukrainian director Alexander Dovzhenko and Yuliya Solntseva. It is Dovzhenko's second World War II documentary, and dealt with the Battle of Kharkov. The film incorporates German footage of the invasion of Ukraine, which was later captured by the Soviets.
Arsenal is a silent film that tells the story of the events during the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I. It follows a group of Ukrainian soldiers who revolt against the Russian Army and fight for Ukrainian independence. The film explores themes of war, revolution, and the hardships faced by soldiers returning home.
The film's plot is based on the real murder of the Soviet diplomatic courier Theodor Nette abroad. The pouch of the Soviet diplomat, which is stolen by British spies, is taken away by the sailors of a ship sailing to Leningrad who deliver it to the authorities. The intelligence agents make every effort to retrieve the bag.
A Soviet dam project means that many old Ukrainian villages will end up under water. There are conflicts between the dam engineers and villagers who don't want to move.
Once again, director Yulia Solnsteva directs a movie that her late husband Alexandre Dovchenko scripted but did not live long enough to shoot. In this wartime drama, the emphasis is on the heroics of both the civilians and the soldiers during times of severe stress in World War II. At the core of the action is one man in particular, whose sacrifices and heroics speak for a much larger group.
Aerograd is a 1935 Soviet film by Ukrainian director Olexander Dovzhenko, Mosfilm-VUFKU coproduction. It is a futuristic adventure story set in the Soviet Far East. Considered one of two sound masterpieces by Dovzhenko, the other being "Ivan".
An unfinished film by Aleksandr Dovzhenko, the film is a political lampoon based on the book entitled The Truth about US Diplomats, written in 1949 by the American writer Annabel Bukar. It exposes the underhanded actions of US Embassy personnel in Moscow at the onset of the Cold War. Dovzhenko managed to shoot only a half of the film, mainly the scenes that take place in the American Embassy.
About the life of the Russian biologist Ivan Michurin. 1912 year. Having rejected American offers to work abroad, Michurin continues his research in the Russian Empire, despite the fact that his ideas are not perceived by the tsarist government, the church and idealistic science. Michurin is supported by prominent scientists of the country and he continues to work hard. After the October Revolution, a small Michurin garden in the city of Kozlov (the biologist's homeland) becomes a large state nursery.
After the critical lambasting of his masterpiece Earth, Dovzhenko returned with a more popular iteration of its main motifs. Much like Earth, Ivan concerns itself with the natural rhythms of country life, disrupted by the beat of looming industrialisation.
Jean, the hairdresser, is flabbergasted: what is that baby his girlfriend Lisa has put in his arms out of the blue? The fruit of love? Out of the question. From that moment on, the reluctant father has but one thought in his head: he must get rid of the cumbersome 'article'. And, take his word for it, all the ways are good.
About hardships of the first years of War, which fell to the lot of ordinary people in Ukraine, who got under the yoke of fascist occupation, and heroic struggle against the invaders. A young Russian woman asks a Red Army soldier to spend the night with her in the wake of the Nazi invasion. Fearing she may soon perish, the woman hopes for one night of romance before what could be a horrible demise.
Zvenygora is a 1928 comedy drama film directed by Oleksandr Dovzhenko. It tells the story of a man who arrives in a mythical village in search of hidden treasure. The film explores themes of tradition, family relationships, and urban development. As the man delves deeper into the village's history, he uncovers the secrets of its metal industry and the buried treasure that is said to lie within. Along the way, he encounters vikings, horsemen, and the firing squad of a revolution.
The year is 1919. German troops retreat from Ukraine. The Directory, the Ukrainian national government lead by Symon Petliura, takes control of Kyiv. Meanwhile, the Bolshevik division commanded by Mykola Shchors is marching on the capital. The Bolsheviks capture the cities of Vinnytsia, Zhmerynka, and others one by one, but lose Berdychiv to Petliura’s forces. They are demoralized by the defeat. By his personal example of courage and military skill, Shchors inspires the retreating Red troops and leads them to victory over the enemy.
While watching Dovzhenko's Earth a young man imagines himself a painter in a Ukrainian village in the 1930s. All is pastoral idyll until the authorities arrive with Soviet wrath for tradition and religion.
An outstanding poet, student of Oleksandr Dovzhenko, Mykola Vinhranovsky reads excerpts from his teacher's diary, comments on it - thereby emphasizing the tragic fate of the great artist. The film uses a chronicle of the war and post-war years.
The film-remembrance of the creative fate of the Ukrainian Soviet film director Alexander Dovzhenko, shot on his diaries. It has his statements about his work, about the role of the artist in society, his plans and sources of inspiration, his artistic style and the peculiarities of his worldview. Used excerpts from his films and documentary footage taken during the director's life, as well as filmed fragments of the unfinished scripts " The Death of the Gods” and “Tsar”.
Lost film directed by Oleksandr Dovzhenko (his first film) and Favst Lopatynskyi. It is a satire of the NEP period. Vasia, the son of a factory’s worker, is attracted by the romance of adventures. And he goes to look for them. He saves a drowning drunkard who tries to beat him. Vasia escapes from him in a vehicle parked on the shore. However, the vehicle belongs to a superintendent who, when he does not find it, stages its theft. Meanwhile, Vasia exposes priests in the church. As a result, the church is turned into a cinema, and the priest becomes a cinema technician. And finally, Vasia’s last deed is catching a criminal at home and denouncing him to the militia.
Ukrainian Night of the 33rd is series of documentaries about the Holodomor, which includes the “Fear”, “Horror”, “Guillotine”, “Case of Hrushevsky.” Each part is full of horror, and the viewer is constantly in tension.
Dovzhenko and Solntseva's documentary about the Bukovina region.
Oleksandr Dovzhenko
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Oleksandr Petrovych Dovzhenko was a Ukrainian Soviet screenwriter, film producer and director. He is often cited as one of the most important early Soviet filmmakers, alongside Sergei Eisenstein, Dziga Vertov, and Vsevolod Pudovkin, as well as being a pioneer of Soviet montage theory. Although Oleksandr Dovzhenko's parents were uneducated, his semi-literate grandfather encouraged him to study, leading him to become a teacher at the age of 19. Dovzhenko turned to film in 1926 when he landed in Odesa. His ambitious drive led to the production of his second-ever screenplay, Vasya the Reformer (which he also co-directed). He gained greater success with Zvenyhora in 1928 which established him as a major filmmaker of his era. His following "Ukraine Trilogy" (Zvenyhora, Arsenal, and Earth), although underappreciated by some contemporary Soviet critics (who found some of its realism counter-revolutionary), is his most well-known work in the West. For his film Shchors, Dovzhenko was awarded the Stalin Prize (1941); eight years later, in 1949, he was awarded another Stalin Prize for his film Michurin. After spending several years writing, co-writing and producing films at Mosfilm Studios in Moscow, he turned to writing novels. Over a 20-year career, Dovzhenko personally directed only 7 films. He was a mentor to the young Ukrainian Soviet filmmakers Larysa Shepitko and Sergei Parajanov. Dovzhenko died of a heart attack on November 25, 1956 in his dacha in Peredelkino. His wife, Yulia Solntseva, continued his legacy by producing films of her own and completing projects Dovzhenko was not able to create. The Dovzhenko Film Studios in Kyiv were named after him in his honour following his death.
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