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La caduta della dinastia dei Romanov (1927) Online

La caduta della dinastia dei Romanov (1927) Online
Original Title :
Padenie dinastii Romanovykh
Genre :
Movie / Documentary / History
Year :
1927
Directror :
Esfir Shub
Cast :
Mikhail Alekseyev,Alexei Brusilov,Nikolai Chkheidze
Writer :
V.I. Lenin,Esfir Shub
Type :
Movie
Time :
1h 30min
Rating :
6.7/10
La caduta della dinastia dei Romanov (1927) Online

In May 1913 the Romanov Dynasty celebrates its 300th anniversary at the Russian throne. The last emperor in the long line is czar Nicholas II. He rules over a country with huge social and economic differences. Russia is for the most part still an agrarian society, but capitalism and its industries are growing. In 1914 Russia gets involved in the First World War. Czar Nicholas II declares a general mobilization. A vast number of peasants and workers have to go to the front as soldiers. After three years the country is ruined by the war, and there is a shortage of provisions. In February 1917 workers begin striking in the capital, Petrograd. Their protests are soon joined by soldiers. A complete anarchy is threatening the country, when the parliament, called the duma, reorganizes the power structure by forming a new Provisional Government. At the same time the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies forms another ruling body at the City Hall of Petrograd. In this situation czar ...
Credited cast:
Mikhail Alekseyev Mikhail Alekseyev - Himself (with Tsar Nicholas) (archive footage)
Alexei Brusilov Alexei Brusilov - Himself (consults with another officer) (archive footage)
Nikolai Chkheidze Nikolai Chkheidze - Himself (chairman, 1st session, Petrograd Soviet) (archive footage)
Emperor Franz Josef Emperor Franz Josef - Himself (reviews troops) (archive footage)
Vera Figner Vera Figner - Herself (People's Will Party, in open car) (archive footage)
Aleksandr Guchkov Aleksandr Guchkov - Himself (archive footage)
Iliodor Iliodor - Himself (monk, Rasputin's rival) (archive footage) (as Illiodor)
Aleksandr Izvolsky Aleksandr Izvolsky - Himself (ambassador to France, gets into carriage) (archive footage)
Joseph Joffre Joseph Joffre - Himself (with Millerand) (archive footage)
Kaiser Wilhelm II Kaiser Wilhelm II - Himself (archive footage)
Governor of Kaluga Governor of Kaluga - Himself (governor, Kaluga, with wife, dog, servants) (archive footage)
Aleksandr Kerensky Aleksandr Kerensky - Himself (doffs fur hat, shakes hands of soldiers) (archive footage)
King George V King George V - Himself (in ceremonial carriage, not visible) (archive footage)
Aleksandr Kolchak Aleksandr Kolchak - Himself (aboard ship) (archive footage)
P.V. Krupensky P.V. Krupensky - Himself (archive footage)


User reviews

Painshade

Painshade

Let's get this straight: this is pretty much straight line Marxist history as of 1928, to which I say "So what?" It takes decades to sort out the passions of the events and get a reasonable take on them and even then passions will continue to inflame matters. Consider the discussions of the American Civil War as of 1960. I don't believe that the First World War was started to maximize profits, but as a sort of series of events that would be a comedy of errors if they weren't so horrid.

What we do have here, and what should be applauded, is some great historical clips of Russia from before the First World War -- and most of the pre-War film studios were so devastated that many students of cinema aren't even aware there was an advanced Russian film industry before the Great War -- which are beautifully edited. Esfir Shub was one of the people surrounding Dziga Vertov, who was a practicing and practical director while the Academicians were writing texts to demonstrate to the lumpen-proletariat why they should appreciate their editing. As a result, this becomes a well-illustrated history text which tells its story in a comprehensible and engaging fashion. It is the model for how such documentaries would be done for decades, and still are.
Ghile

Ghile

Fascinating collection of footage from the years 1913-17 focusing on the Russian Revolution. With an introduction by a Russian historian and cultural expert, it exposed a number of myths about the revolution and in particular, the Bolsheviks.

With this gentleman providing a commentary over the footage that's happening and explaining the propaganda behind not only this film, but the three films that I'd seen by Eisentein, presenting them in a completely different light. Filmwise it wasn't anything special, however the informed commentary was riveting and helps you to understand a bit more about what actually happened, even if it only touches the surface.

Watched in conjunction with Eisenstein's October 1917, Strike and Battleship Potemkin, these are essential viewing.
Xangeo

Xangeo

After an initial viewing, Esfir Shub's Fall of the Romanov Dynasty appeared fairly unremarkable in its presentation. Concerning structure, the film chronologically moves towards the fate that is predestined in its title with title cards giving context to the scenes. Without a score to accompany it (the version I watched), it is a fairly dry viewing experience after watching Vertov's 'documentary' Man With a Movie Camera. However, the comparison here isn't very appropriate considering that the aims of the filmmakers were not closely aligned at all. Shub's film compiles archival footage with the intention of forming a coherent historical record. Her objectivity is certainly debatable. The aloofness of the nobility is inter-cut with the toil of laborers in the fields. The full regalia of Russia's leading military men and the white, virginal dresses of noble women are put against the humble shawls of impoverished city dwellers. The individual leaders of the monarchists are featured prominently while crowds of dissidents replace the screen time of the Bolshevik leaders, an attempt by Shub to play on the revolution as populist movement. While the misleading nature of the film is a little off putting (for example capitalists are explicitly blamed for World War I), Shub's patience in the editing room and her ability to showcase tension between estranged classes of people visually redeem the film as a whole.
Danskyleyn

Danskyleyn

The strength of The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty is its collection of significant historical scenes, and that is probably enough to enjoy the movie despite its half-hearted attempts at delivering political and social statements. Despite what the title of the movie would have you believe, this is not about the Romanov Dynasty, or rather it is only incidentally about the Romanov Dynasty. What this movie is about is the tumultuous time of human history in and around the World War, the Great War, the first war of its kind. It's a subject with such weight that it is best expressed through images and motion, making it ideal for a silent film.

An actual documentary of the Romanov Dynasty would need additional context to express its point, but hundreds of soldier marching across a crowd many times that size, or an enormous ship sinking, are both scenes that can be understood without narration. The bulk of the film is a collage of these sorts of scenes, and choosing to watch that is sufficient reason to watch the film, but unfortunately there's more. The film decided it needed a message and motive, and the one it chose is the evils of luxury and capitalism and they're disregard for the common man. For a person that subscribes to the ideology some of the imagery can incite righteous anger, for a person who doesn't some of the phrases used feel a lot like propaganda In either case the effect feels inconsequential when compared to the other subject of the film, similar to how the gravity of the moon is important not nearly as relevant as the gravity of the earth.

TL;DR: The movie has great historical footage of war and some of the important characters involved, but also scenes of workers, capitalists, estates, government officials, etc. that appear unnecessary and maybe even unwanted.
SkroN

SkroN

The fall of the Romanov Dynasty (1927), directed by Esfir Shub, is a documentary narrative constructed entirely of newsreel footage before the revolution. Her use of captions makes the film a lot easier for the audience to fully grasp the various scenes, which are presented to us in a sort of chronological order. At the beginning she provides us with a fairly obvious juxtaposition of the lives of the Imperial family and the poor working class. Depicting the gap between the lower class and the upper class, which only seems to be widening. A scene that seemed to especially show this was when nobles were having a tea party and once they were finished the workers would come in and clean up. There's a hint of bitter satire that can be felt throughout the entire film as an impending revolution is approaching, which seems to be unavoidable. This war that didn't seem to be supported by the general public and only benefited the Imperial family and his loyal subjects, which consisted of senators, civil servants, and the head of press. Had loss all support after the mass destruction leading to a revolt all because of the neglect from the Tsar and his ministers.
GWEZJ

GWEZJ

I knew it was coming shortly… the answer I couldn't bear to see. The Bolsheviks featured in history. To the victors go the glory, even in the face of war and death.

Well that's the ending, which comes slinking in to corrupt what would have been a legitimate effort to provide a synopsis of the preceding 20 years accompanied by both reasonably relevant and appropriate visual material. But don't suppose there was any nuance, oh no, the presentation of events both followed a linear progression and were manufactured to fit a revolutionary mindset - though their depiction under the eye of the camera leaves no room for bias. By the first half of the film it is sickening to watch as ever more of the officer corps and nobility flood the screen in their gilded uniforms of either white or black. While this effect is produced partly by sheer repetition (I could not help but close my eyes at one point and instead focus on Bach's Praeludium I which was playing in the background), all the manicured and clean faces of the gentlemen and ladies are sharply contrasted with the dirty peasants and factory workers working in the fields, plants, mines, and quarries while living in hovels. There is no denying that the divide between the upper classes and the common man is stark. The confidence that inspires in the ability and judgment of the Tsar to order the mass mobilization of the "cannon fodder" is correspondingly poor. The reality of war, through the bitterness of winter, featuring the explosions of artillery, the manufacturing of deadly weaponry, and the consequent death of millions, leads to the obvious conclusion: War must stop, and the Tsar must fall.

And so it was that in about 5 minutes of film the storming of the palace and abdication of Nicholas II was completed, power transferred, and regime undone. The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, title of the film, is complete. We could have ended there, the next months of the story left to another documentary, but Esfir Shub decided to press on just as the war did even after February's revolution. The people are mustered and Lenin is seen, figurehead, all chanting "Bread, Peace, Freedom," the clarion call of the Bolsheviks.
Kalrajas

Kalrajas

This insight into the events leading up to the 1917 revolution wasn't anywhere near as interesting as I thought it was going to be, largely perhaps because it was presumably made under the watchful eye of the Communist dictatorship meaning that what ended up on screen was always going to be one sided. Although it begins by showing the various elements of the Russian political, religious and societal landscape, the film does tend to focus more on the little man and the peasants and the impact the Great War had on the possibility for a revolution to take place. The old order are largely portrayed as malevolently grinning buffoons while the likes of Lenin are barely glimpsed at all. And while we see many shots of large crowds gathered in the streets of St. Petersburg, we see no riots or bloodshed and, essentially, fail to really get a flavour of the times and of how much excitement must have been buzzing around the city streets in those heady days. Those poor mugs must really have believed the days of utopian bliss had arrived…
Kigul

Kigul

Fall of the Romanov Dynasty seems to not know what it wants to be as a film. Presenting a chronological set of not uninteresting documentary footage, Dynasty fails to present historical information in anything but the most barest of terms. On the other hand, the film completely lacks in dramatization or characterization, and so apparently styles itself as a historical narrative. The entire structure of the film is characterized by strange choices. The opening sequences, comparing the lives of the aristocracy and the lower classes in Tsarist Russia, are a fine exposition, but consume a whopping third of the total screen-time without much variation. Dynasty suggests that WWI was some sort of money-making venture among the ruling classes and industrialists of Europe, which leads one to believe one is watching a work of socialist propaganda. However, when the revolution is finally reached, it is depicted almost entirely as a reactionary movement to the horrors of the war and the inabilities of the monarchy rather than an ideological battle. The images of mobilization and war are the most exciting ones, and in that sense, fail to fulfill the apparent goal of denouncing imperial injustices. Perhaps the strangest element is the choice to relegate the Bolshevik revolution to the final three minutes of the film: we see Lenin denouncing the provisional government, and then a cut to credits. It may be the case that film-goers had tired of the revolutionary story by 1927, but this eliminates what is probably the most compelling part of Russia's role in WWI. The film's strengths lie in the candid footage; we see the big names – Nicholas II, Kerensky, Lenin – in living movement, and perhaps the only view that many Russians would have gotten of them. Images of imperial and religious ceremonies are well juxtaposed with shots of toiling peasants and marching protesters in a sort of a slide show of pre- and post-revolutionary norms. On the whole, though, Fall of the Romanov Dynasty is rather directionless, and fails to either present a compelling revolutionary ideology or a historical reflection of any depth.