The Film Factory

The Film Factory: Russian and Soviet Cinema in Documents 1896–1939

Edited and translated by Richard Taylor

Co-edited with an introduction by Ian Christie

In memory of Leonid Zakharovich Trauberg (1902–1990). Eccentric, elder statesman, enfant terrible and enthusiast

First published in 1988 by Routledge

Contents

	Illustrations
	General Editor’s Preface
	Preface
	Preface to the Paperback Edition
	Introduction
	Translator’s Note
	DOCUMENTS
	1896–1921: Introduction
	1896
1	Maxim Gorky: The Lumière Cinematograph (Extracts)
	1911
2	Leonid Andreyev: First Letter on Theatre (Extracts)
	1913
3	Vladimir Mayakovsky: Theatre, Cinema, Futurism
4	Vladimir Mayakovsky: The Destruction of Theatre’ by Cinema as a Sign of the Resurrection of Theatrical Art
5	Vladimir Mayakovsky: The Relationship Between Contemporary Theatre and Cinema and Art
6	Leonid Andreyev: Second Letter on Theatre (Extract)
	1915
7	Vsevolod Meyerhold: On Cinema
	1917
8	Lev Kuleshov: The Tasks of the Artist in Cinema
	1918
9	Lev Kuleshov: The Art of Cinema
	1919
10	Anatoli Lunacharsky: The Tasks of the State Cinema in the RSFSR
	1920
11	Vladimir Lenin: Art Belongs to the People. Conversation with Clara Zetkin
	1922: Introduction
12	Vladimir Lenin: Directive on Cinema Affairs
13	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Conversation with Lenin. I. Of all the Arts …
14	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Conversation with Lenin. II. Newsreel and Fiction Film
15	Grigori Kozintsev, Leonid Trauberg, Sergei Yutkevich and Georgi Kryzhitsky: Eccentrism
16	Alexei Voznesensky: Open Letter to Nemirovich-Danchenko and Stanislavsky
17	Lev Kuleshov: ‘Art’ Cinema
18	Lev Kuleshov: Cinema as the Fixing of Theatrical Action
19	Alexei Gan: The Cinematograph and Cinema
20	Lev Kuleshov: Art, Contemporary Life and Cinema
21	Dziga Vertov: We. A Version of a Manifesto
22	Lev Kuleshov: Americanism
23	Lev Kuleshov: Chamber Cinema
24	Vladimir Mayakovsky: Cinema and Cinema
25	Alexei Gan: The ‘Left Front’ and Cinema
26	Alexei Gan: The Thirteenth Experiment
	1923: Introduction
27	Alexei Gan: Two Paths
28	Dziga Vertov: The Cine-Pravda
29	Proiettano: Quasi-Theses
30	Sergei Eisenstein: The Montage of Attractions
31	Dziga Vertov: The Cine-Eyes. A Revolution
32	Lev Trotsky: Vodka, the Church and the Cinema
33	Russfilm Script Competition
34	Viktor Shklovsky: Literature and Cinema (Extracts)
	1924: Introduction
35	Declaration of the Association of Revolutionary Cinematography
36	Leonid Trauberg: The Red Clown to the Rescue!
37	Alexei Gan: Recognition for the Cine-Eyes
38	Lev Kuleshov: Mr West
39	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Revolutionary Ideology and Cinema – Theses
40	Resolution of Thirteenth Party Congress on Cinema
41	Dziga Vertov: The Cine-Pravda: A Report to the Cine-Eyes
42	Sovnarkom of the RSFSR: Decree on the Establishment of Sovkino
43	Dziga Vertov: Fiction Film Drama and the Cine-Eye
44	Vladimir Blyum: Against the Theatre of Fools’ – For Cinema
	1925: Introduction
45	Anatoli Goldobin: Our Cinema and Its Audience
46	Zhizn iskusstva Editorial: Theatre or Cinema?
47	Abram Room: Cinema and Theatre
48	Dziga Vertov: Cine-Pravda and Radio-Pravda
49	Viktor Shklovsky: The Semantics of Cinema
50	Grigori Boltyansky: Cinema and the Soviet Public
	1926: Introduction
51	Adrian Piotrovsky: The Battleship Potemkin
52	Alexei Gvozdev: A New Triumph for Soviet Cinema (The Battleship Potemkin and the Theatrical October’)
53	Vladimir Kirshon: Literature, Theatre and Cinema (Extract)
54	Béla Balázs: The Future of Film
55	Sergei Eisenstein: Béla Forgets the Scissors
56	Alexander Dubrovsky: The Soviet Cinema in Danger
57	Dziga Vertov: The Factory of Facts
58	Viktor Shklovsky: Where is Dziga Vertov Striding?
59	Esfir Shub: The Manufacture of Facts
60	Viktor Shklovsky: The Cine-Eyes and Intertitles
61	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Cinema – the Greatest of the Arts
	1927: Introduction
62	Vladimir Mayakovsky: Help!
63	Viktor Shklovsky: Sergei Eisenstein and ‘Non-Played’ Film
64	Viktor Shklovsky: The Temperature of Cinema
65	Viktor Pertsov: Literature and Cinema
66	Viktor Shklovsky: The Film Factory (Extracts)
67	Vladimir Mayakovsky: Speech in Debate on The Paths and Policy of Sovkino’
68	Vladimir Mayakovsky: On Cinema
69	Kirill Shutko: Preface to Poetics of Cinema
70	Viktor Shklovsky: Poetry and Prose in Cinema
71	Adrian Piotrovsky: The Cinefication of Theatre – Some General Points
72	Viktor Shklovsky: Mistakes and Inventions
73	Osip Brik: The Fixation of Fact (Extract)
74	Esfir Shub: We Do Not Deny the Element of Mastery
75	Adrian Piotrovsky: Let Us Be Maximalists!
76	Adrian Piotrovsky: ‘Ideology’ and ‘Commerce’
	1928: Introduction
77	Nikolai Yakovlev: The Nihilists from ARK
78	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Speech to Film Workers
79	Vsevolod Pudovkin: S. M. Eisenstein (From Potemkin to October)
80	Dziga Vertov: The Eleventh Year
81	Alexei Popov: The Relationships Between Cinema and Theatre
82	To the Party Conference on Cinema From a Group of Film Directors
83	Party Cinema Conference Resolution: The Results of Cinema Construction in the USSR and the Tasks of Soviet Cinema
84	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Review of October
85	Adrian Piotrovsky: October Must Be Re-Edited!
86	Esfir Shub: This Work Cries Out
87	Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Alexandrov: We Are Waiting!
88	T. Rokotov: Why Is October Difficult?
89	Sergei Eisenstein: For Soviet Cinema
90	The Lef Ring: Comrades! A Clash of Views!
91	Zhizn iskusstva Editorial: October – The Results of the Discussion
92	Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin and Grigori Alexandrov: Statement on Sound
93	Vladimir Messman: Sound Film
94	Viktor Shklovsky: The Soviet School of Acting
95	Adrian Piotrovsky: Is There a Crisis in Soviet Cinema?
96	Sovkino Workers’ Conference Resolution: Sovkino’s New Course (Extract)
97	Sovetskii ekran Editorial: The Rightist Danger in Cinema
	1929: Introduction
98	Leonid Trauberg: An Experiment Intelligible to the Millions
99	Viktor Shklovsky: Beware of Music
100	Party Central Committee Decree: On the Strengthening of Cinema Cadres
101	Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Alexandrov: An Experiment Intelligible to the Millions
102	Yuri Tynyanov: On FEKS
103	Pavel Petrov-Bytov: We Have No Soviet Cinema
104	Adrian Piotrovsky: Petrov-Bytov’s Platform and Soviet Cinema
105	Vsevolod Pudovkin: On the Principle of Sound in Film
106	Adrian Piotrovsky: Westernism in Our Cinema
107	Vsevolod Pudovkin, Leonid Obolensky, Sergei Komarov and Vladimir Fogel: Preface to Kuleshov’s Book The Art of Cinema
108	Esfir Shub: The Advent of Sound in Cinema
109	Vsevolod Meyerhold: The Cinefication of Theatre
110	RAPP Resolution on Cinema
111	Vsevolod Pudovkin: Conversation on Sound Film
	1930: Introduction
112	‘An ARK Member’: ARRK Must Be Reorganised
113	Ippolit Sokolov: The Legend of ‘Left’ Cinema
114	Na literaturnom postu Editorial: For the Reconstruction of Soviet Cinema
115	Nikolai Anoshchenko: Sound Cinema in the Service of the Cultural Revolution
116	Viktor Shklovsky: The Script Laboratory
117	Kino i zhizn Editorial: Film Work and the Mass Audience
118	Dziga Vertov: The Radio-Eye’s March
119	Dziga Vertov: Speech to the First All-Union Conference on Sound Cinema
120	Viktor Shklovsky: Sound as a Semantic Sign
121	Ippolit Sokolov: The Second Sound Film Programme
122	Kino i zhizn Editorial: Is There a Soviet Sound Cinema?
123	Viktor Shklovsky: The Film Language of New Babylon
	1931–4: Introduction
	1931
124	Proletarskoe kino Editorial: What Does ‘Proletarian Cinema’ Mean?
	1932
125	Proletarskoe kino Editorial: We Are Continuing the Struggle
126	Vsevolod Pudovkin, Esfir Shub et al.: To All Creative Workers in Soviet Cinema
127	Party Central Committee Decree: The Reorganisation of Literary and Artistic Organisations
	1933
128	Anatoli Lunacharsky: Synopsis of a Report on the Tasks of Dramaturgy (Extract)
129	Vsevolod Pudovkin: The Role of Sound Cinema
130	Sergei Eisenstein: Cinema and the Classics
	1934
131	First Congress of Soviet Writers (Extracts)
132	Pravda Editorial: The Whole Country is Watching Chapayev
133	Film-Makers’ Letter to Stalin
134	Grigori Kozintsev and Leonid Trauberg: The Youth of Maxim (Extracts)
135	Vsevolod Pudovkin: The Youth of Maxim
136	Dziga Vertov: More on Mayakovsky (Extract)
	1935: Introduction
137	Joseph Stalin: Congratulations to Soviet Cinema on Its Fifteenth Anniversary
138	For a Great Cinema Art: Speeches to the All-Union Creative Conference of Workers in Soviet Cinema (Extracts)
139	Dziga Vertov: My Illness
140	Boris Shumyatsky: A Cinema for the Millions (Extracts)
141	Boris Shumyatsky: The Role of the Producer
	Postscript: 1936–41
	1936
142	Boris Shumyatsky: Perfecting Our Mastery
143	Dziga Vertov: Diary Entry
	1937
144	Boris Shumyatsky: The Film Bezhin Meadow
145	Yuli Raizman: Seminar at VGIK (Extracts)
146	Vsevolod Pudovkin: The Director and the Scriptwriter (Extracts)
147	Vsevolod Pudovkin: Dialogue in Film (Extract)
148	Alexander Dovzhenko: The Artist’s Teacher and Friend
	1938
149	G. Ermolayev: What Is Holding Up the Development of Soviet Cinema?
150	Iskusstvo kino Editorial: The Fascist Cur Eradicated
151	Alexei Stakhanov: My Suggestion to Soviet Cinema
152	Reactions to Stakhanov’s Article (Extracts)
153	Vsevolod Pudovkin: The Internal and the External in an Actor’s Training
	1939
154	Sergei Eisenstein: My Subject Is Patriotism
	Abbreviations
	Notes to Introduction
	Notes to Documents
	Table 1: Cinema Installations and Their Distribution in the Russian Empire and USSR, 1914–41
	Table 2: Film Production, 1918–41
	Appendices
	Appendix 1 Films: Russian and Soviet
	Appendix 2 Films: Foreign
	Appendix 3 People: Russian and Soviet
	Appendix 4 People: Foreign
	Index