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76 mins 
Russian 
Nudity
Earth
Земля
Bibliography
Programme Note
Widely regarded as Dovzhenko’s masterpiece and one of the finest silent films ever made, Earth is fiercely poetic and politically radical. Narrating the collectivisation of agriculture in the Ukrainian countryside, Dovzhenko employs avant-garde and folkloric motifs in his search for a unique cinematic language. The source of great controversy – from the initial reaction of angered Soviet censors to contemporary debates about its position on Stalinism – the film retains its ability to both shock and awe. Presented with a new score from Stephen Horne that draws out the rare power of Dovzhenko’s images.
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Alistair Pitts
Lived Up to its Reputation!
Initially, I had a hard time understanding why this is thought of as one of the greatest films of the silent era.
Sure, the cast give passionate performances and its juxtaposition of organic and industrial images is striking, but I found the propaganda-iness extremely tough to get past. Knowing anything about the brutality of the collectivisation of agriculture in the USSR made that even tougher, naturally.
Until just past the halfway mark, that is. From there, I really felt like it had kicked up a gear and that everything before had just been building up to a thunderous crescendo without me even realising it. I won’t go into any more detail as I don’t want to ruin what surprised me so much, but I doubt you’ll regret checking this one out.
Sure, the cast give passionate performances and its juxtaposition of organic and industrial images is striking, but I found the propaganda-iness extremely tough to get past. Knowing anything about the brutality of the collectivisation of agriculture in the USSR made that even tougher, naturally.
Until just past the halfway mark, that is. From there, I really felt like it had kicked up a gear and that everything before had just been building up to a thunderous crescendo without me even realising it. I won’t go into any more detail as I don’t want to ruin what surprised me so much, but I doubt you’ll regret checking this one out.
