World Film History II

Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe after the II World War • Rigorous control by socialist governments in line with

Stalinist cultural policy toward the end of 1940s. • Period of liberalization as a part of de-Stalinization in

the latter half of 1950s• New restrictions implemented at different times in

different countries• Political control and fear of taking risks on all levels

of production• Many artist pay dearly for their boldness• Gradual liberalization in the 1980s• The fall of Socialism in 1989

Evasive strategies (Hendrykowski)• Historicism: national history as irreversible catastrophe

sometimes treated allegorically or with irony and black humour

• Documentation: Fiction film as a tool for social diagnosis• Literary affinities: Adaptations of classical and

contemporary literal works• Aesopic film language: ”Subtle use of metaphors,

symbols, allusions, subtexts …”• Artistic values: Notion of authorial film as an art form

with a mission

Poland after the war• Production nationalized and organized under

Film Polski• Łódz Film School 1948• Reorganization of Film Polski in 1954

• WANDA JAKUBOWASKA: Ostatni etap (1948)• ALEXANDER FORD: Ulica Graniczna (1948)• JERZY ZARZYCKI: Miasto nieujarzmione(1950)

Thaw in Poland• ”Polish School” 1954-1963: Kawalerowitcz,

Wajda, Munk • Disillusionment about Socialism• Even official history of the war could be

challenged – the role of the home army, anti-heroes

• Zbiegniew Cybulski as Poland’s James Dean

… and its end• In the 1960s the new wave becomes a target

of ideological criticism• In the 1964 party meeting certain films are

accused of depicting Poland in negative light• Also Łódzin Film School which has trained 4/5 of

Polish directors is critisized• Many directors who have just made their first

films move into the West

New wave Filmmakers in Poland• JERZY KAWALEROWICZ: Pociag (1959), Matka Joanna od

aniołów (1961)• ANDRZEJ MUNK: Eroica (1957), Pasażerka (1962) • ANDRZEJ WAJDA: Pokolenie (1955), Kanal (1957), Popiół i

diament (1958) Wszystko na sprzedaż (1968), Człowiek z marmuru (1977), Bez znieczulenia (1978)

• ROMAN POLANSKI: Nóz w wodzie (1962) • JERZY SKOLIMOWSKI: Rysopis (1964), Walkover (1965),

Bariera (1966)

Filmmakers strike back• ”Cinema of Moral anxiety at the beginning of1 970s• Emphasis on subjective experience rather than social

analysis• Depicting the anxieties of morally sensitive people in a

corrupt society – what could they possibly hope for?• Despising conformists and cynical opportunists –

although opposing those in power does not appear like a workable option

The end of socialism• Filmmakers respond with enthusiasm to the

possibility of changes• Martial law imposed on 13.12.1981• Many filmmakers join the Solidarity movement →

worldwide attention and gradually also freedom of expression

• After 1984 many previously banned films are distributed

• Film industry on the verge of bankruptcy

The third Polish cinema• KRZYSZTOF ZANUSSI: Struktura krysztalu (1969), Barwy

ochronne (1977) Rok spokójnego słonca (1984)• KRZYSZTOF KIÉSLOWSKI: Amator (1979) Przypadek (1979)

Decalog I-X (1989)

• RYSZARD BUGAJSKI: Przesłuchanie (1982) • AGNIESZKA HOLLAND: Aktorzy prowincjonalni (1980),

Bittere Ernte (1985), Europa, Europa (1991)• WALERIAN BOROWCZYK: Goto, I’le d’amour (1967),

Contes immoraux (1974), Dzieje grzechu (1975)

Czechoslovakia before and after the War• Europe’s technically most advanced studios

were in Prague• Nazi takeover during the war• Nationalization and reorganization of film

industry in 1945 → state controlled socialist realism

• Film Faculty of the Academic Dramatic Arts (FAMU) – with facilities for puppet and animation film production

• A separate Slovak production system in 1947

CzechFilmmakers

• GUSTAV MACHATÝ: Kreuzersonata (1926) Erotikon (1929), Ecstase (1932)

• JIŘI TRNKA: Špalíček (1947), Sen noci svatojanské (1958)

Towards the Prague Spring• Constant deterioration of the economy forced the

socialist regime to renovate the administration → hope of more democracy

• New wave inspired by the French, British and above all Polish developments

• Satirical and stylized social criticism• The influence of cinema on increasing consciousness and

creating a liberal atmosphere was considered to be strong

• Dubček’s ”socialism with a human face” ends in Warsaw Pact intervention

• Many new wave films are banned and film industry is reorganized

• ŠTEFAN UHER: Slnko v sieti (1962) • VERA CHYTILOVA: Strop, Pytel blech (1962),

Sedmikrásky (1966), Ovoce stromů rajských jíme (1967)

• MILOS FORMAN: Cerný Petr (1963), Lásky jedné plavovlásky (1965), Hoří, má panenko! (1967)

• JIRÍ MENZEL: Ostre sledované vlaky (1966)• JAROMIL JIREŠ: Zert (1968) • JASNY, VOJTECH: Všichni dobři rodáci (1968)• KACHYNA, KAREL: Ucho (1970)

Hungary before and after the war• First major director: Mihály Kertész• After a brief period of nationalization the film

industry is taken over by right wing forces which collaborates with the Germans during the war

• Nationalized again after the war• Thaw ends in the quenching of the 1956 popular

revolt → imprisonments• After 1962 amnesty film industry rises again• International success gives the directors more

freedom and films give rise to debates

HungaryAfter the war• GÉZA RADVANY: Valahol Európában (1947) • ZOLTÁN FABRI: Körhinta (1955)New Wave• ANDRÁS KOVÁCS: Nehéz emberek (1964),

Hideg napok (1966)• MIKLOS JANCSÓ: Szegénylegények (1965),

Csillagosok, katonák (1967), Csend és kiáltás (1968), Fényes szelek (1969), Még kér a nép (1972), Szerelmem, Elektra (1974)

Yugoslavia• Film industry established only after the war• By 1951 each of the six states had its own central

studios• Because of Tito’s independent line in respect of the

Soviet Union, filmmakers enjoy relative liberty• The 1960s novi film movement links with the

democracy process: film production is free from bureaucracy and becomes innovative and critical

• DUŠAN MAKAVEJEV: Čovek nije tica (1966), WR - Misterije organizma (1967)

• EMIR KUSTURICA: Otac na sluzbenom putu (1985), Dom za vesanje (1988), Underground (1995)

Soviet Union - Russia• During the war film industry is moved into Alma-Ata in

Kazhastan• More realistic war films that in the 1930s• After the war the secretary of the Central Committee

and Stalin’s trusted Andrei Zhdanov imposes strict control over all arts

• Films were to depict the influence of the Communist Party on all activities in the Soviet Union and Stalin’s personal influence on all decision making

• Film industry is to produce only masterpieces directed exclusively byt ”acknowledged masters”

• After Stalin’s death in 1953 ideological criteria are relaxed, but Zhdanov’s is still above criticism and socialist realism remains the guiding line

• Artists call for truth and authenticity, insisting on focusing on individuals rather than collectives

• In 1962 Chrustschev announces that liberalism had gone too far in arts

• Creative directors do still have some scope, but they encounter many hindrances

• ELDAR RYAZANOV: Carnival Night (1956)• GRIGORI KOZINTSEV: Hamlet (1964) ja King Lear (1972)• SERGEI BONDARTSHUK: War and Piece (1965-67)• MIHAIL KALATOZOV: Cranes are flying (1957) • GEORGI DANELIYA: Walking the Streets of Moscow (1963)• MARLEN KHUTSIYEV: July Rain (1966)• KIRA MURATOVA: Brief encounters (1968),The Long Farewells

(1971) • ANDREI MIHALKOV-KONTSHALOVSKI: The First Teacher (1965),

Asya’s Happiness (1966)• ALEXANDER ASKOLDOV: The Commissar (1967) • ANDREI TARKOVSKI: Ivan’s Childhood (1959), Andrei Rubljov (1969),

Solaris (1966), The Mirror (1974) Stalker (1979)• VASILY SHUKSHIN: The Red Snowball Bush (1974)• LARISSA SHEPITKO: The Ascent (1977)• ELEM KLIMOV: Agony (1975), Go and See (1985)

Soviet Union - other states• Film industry in other Soviet states only gets started

during the thaw period • Freedom from “Stalinistic academism”• At their best the films were inspired by folk culture – but

generally within the bounds of teh official ideology• Studios specialized on certain genres: Georgia on

comedy, Azerbaidzan on detective stories, Central Asian states on westerns, oriental epics and melodramas

• Filmmakers trained in Moscow, young Russians directing in Central Asia

• SERGEI PARADZANOV: Shadows of Forgotten

Ancestors (1964), The Colour of Pomegranates (1969), The Legend of the Suram Fortress (1986)

• TENGIS ABULADZE: The Plea (1967), Repentence (1984)

• OTAR JOSELIAN: April (1961), The Falling Leaves (1968)

Sergei Paradzanov: The Colour of Pomegranates (1968)

• Based on the biography of the Armenian poet and musician Sayat Nova

• Inspired by Armenian illuminated manuscripts How can this be seen in the visual style?

• Actress Sofico Chiaureli plays six roles, both male and female: try to figure out which ones and why

• First refused an export license and withdrawn after a two months circulation