- 23 Sep 2016 14:34
#14720582
@ all
Excellent question. Films, especially the native ones, give an impression about the concerning society. For the moment, let us stick to the Leninist ones. First of all, western films about Leninism are left out, because these are always judgmental, and thus give a distorted picture. This is obvious in for instance Goodbye Lenin, or in Children of the revolution, but also true for Reds. I prefer to make my own judgments. Moreover, I will concentrate on films with an ideological message, and ignore for instance war movies. I will also omit movies about historical persons (Bebel, Liebknecht, Luxemburg, Thaelmann). Let me know if some of those interest you. I will confine my list to European titles. The films are subtitled, except for the German ones. English-speaking people will understand roughly a third of the German text, which may be sufficient.
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German Democratic Republic
Since I am German-speaking, I have seen tens of them. The national film company was DEFA Studios, which has a good reputation.
Dolles Familienalbum (1969): This is a television series. It is an Aufbau story, which describes the development of the Leninist society in the first decades. So it includes the socialization of enterprises, local politics, education, city renovation etcetera. It gives a realistic impression of the Leninist view on an ideal society. The series is filmed in black-and-white, which fits well.
Beschreibung eines Sommers (1963): This is again an Aufbau film. A brigade of the Young Leninist Pioneers helps in the building of a chemical plant. The main character is played by Manfred Krug, a German version of Marlon Brando. A nice love story is included. Black-and-white.
Sonnensucher (1972): Another Aufbau film. This time a uranium mine is built up. Subversive workers with capitalist sympathies try to sabotage the project. Black-and-white.
Die lange Strasse (1979): This TV series is again a family story, but now the head of the family is the owner of an enterprise. The story starts at the end of WWII, and so it classifies as Aufbau. It includes the uprising in 1953, and the building of the Berlin wall in 1960. It is intriguing to see the Leninist perspective on these events. In colour.
Wege uebers Land (1968): This is again an Aufbau TV series (they continue to fascinate me). It tells the story about the land reforms and socialization in the countryside. A special feature is that the story starts at the beginning of WWII, and thus illustrates the Leninist view on nazism. The land reforms were a hot topic in the GDR, because the farmers tried to resist them. Manfred Krug plays the role of a sincere Leninist. In black-and-white.
Daniel Druskat (1976): This Aufbau TV series describes the land reforms in the country side. It is made in 1975. The GDR elite had already abandoned the ideological rhetoric, which is still clearly present in "Wege uebers land" and "Dolles Familienalbum". Now Manfred Krug is a gentleman-farmer. He has fraternized with the Leninist regime, but does not adhere to the ideology, and tries to circumvent the central plan. True Leninists try to correct him. In colour.
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Russia
The Eistenstein films have already been mentioned.
Three songs for (about) Lenin (1934): I am surprised that this one is not yet mentioned. It contains three documentaries about the foundation of the Soviet Union and about Lenin. The first documentary shows the modernization of the republics in Middle-Asia (women throw off their veils and start to study the works of Lenin). The second documentary shows the burial of Lenin, and the grief of the people. The third documentary shows the industrialization. The film was made in 1934 by Vertov. Black-and-white, with subtitles.
Mat (1990): This is a film based on the book The mother by Maxim Gorki. It describes the class struggle before the Leninist revolution. A young worker in a steel mill becomes an active member of the Leninist party. At first his mother objects, but soon she embraces the proletarian spirit. In colour.
Sibiriada (1979):This is an Aufbau film about the development of the oil industry in Siberia. The story follows the lives of three generations of peasants, starting in the Tsarist period, and ending after WWII. In colour.
Nine hours of a year (9 dney od nogo goda, 1962): In a nuclear laboratory scientists try to make a break-through in the generation of energy. The protection against radiation slows down their efforts. In the end they sacrifice their lives in order to obtain results. Individual interests are subordinate to the common good. Black-and-white.
----
Poland
Man of marble (Czlowiek z marmuru, 1977): This is an impressive film, again of the Aufbau type. A bricklayer excels in his profession, and is persuaded by the party to make a propaganda tour for increased productivity. However, his colleagues despise him, because they interpret it as exploitation. Gradually the bricklayer distances himself from the party officials. In colour.
----
Hungary
Red psalm (Meg ker a nep, 1972): This film is actually a surreal theatrical play about the uprise of peasants against feudalism. In colour.
----
Czechoslovakia
Das Haus mit den tausend Gesichtern (My vsichni skolou povinni, 1984): The title is in German, because I watched a version, which was dubbed in the GDR. It is a TV series about the life in a primary school. It plays during the final years of Leninism, so that the ideological rhetoric has almost disappeared. What remains is the call for devotion to duty and to the collective. The isolated individual withers. I suppose that especially Americans will experience this film as a culture shock. Also typical is the importance of the young pioneers. In colour.
----
Roumania
I have tried to find Roumanian films from the Leninist period. Unfortunately English subtitles are absent, and so these are not an option. However, there is a nice one from after the fall of Leninism.
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006): This film describes the way in which people have experienced the fall of the regime in 1989. It is fairly humorous, not in a stupid way, and gives insights into their lives. In colour.
Justin534 wrote:I was wondering if anyone knew of any good political or communist/socialist related movies?
Excellent question. Films, especially the native ones, give an impression about the concerning society. For the moment, let us stick to the Leninist ones. First of all, western films about Leninism are left out, because these are always judgmental, and thus give a distorted picture. This is obvious in for instance Goodbye Lenin, or in Children of the revolution, but also true for Reds. I prefer to make my own judgments. Moreover, I will concentrate on films with an ideological message, and ignore for instance war movies. I will also omit movies about historical persons (Bebel, Liebknecht, Luxemburg, Thaelmann). Let me know if some of those interest you. I will confine my list to European titles. The films are subtitled, except for the German ones. English-speaking people will understand roughly a third of the German text, which may be sufficient.
----
German Democratic Republic
Since I am German-speaking, I have seen tens of them. The national film company was DEFA Studios, which has a good reputation.
Dolles Familienalbum (1969): This is a television series. It is an Aufbau story, which describes the development of the Leninist society in the first decades. So it includes the socialization of enterprises, local politics, education, city renovation etcetera. It gives a realistic impression of the Leninist view on an ideal society. The series is filmed in black-and-white, which fits well.
Beschreibung eines Sommers (1963): This is again an Aufbau film. A brigade of the Young Leninist Pioneers helps in the building of a chemical plant. The main character is played by Manfred Krug, a German version of Marlon Brando. A nice love story is included. Black-and-white.
Sonnensucher (1972): Another Aufbau film. This time a uranium mine is built up. Subversive workers with capitalist sympathies try to sabotage the project. Black-and-white.
Die lange Strasse (1979): This TV series is again a family story, but now the head of the family is the owner of an enterprise. The story starts at the end of WWII, and so it classifies as Aufbau. It includes the uprising in 1953, and the building of the Berlin wall in 1960. It is intriguing to see the Leninist perspective on these events. In colour.
Wege uebers Land (1968): This is again an Aufbau TV series (they continue to fascinate me). It tells the story about the land reforms and socialization in the countryside. A special feature is that the story starts at the beginning of WWII, and thus illustrates the Leninist view on nazism. The land reforms were a hot topic in the GDR, because the farmers tried to resist them. Manfred Krug plays the role of a sincere Leninist. In black-and-white.
Daniel Druskat (1976): This Aufbau TV series describes the land reforms in the country side. It is made in 1975. The GDR elite had already abandoned the ideological rhetoric, which is still clearly present in "Wege uebers land" and "Dolles Familienalbum". Now Manfred Krug is a gentleman-farmer. He has fraternized with the Leninist regime, but does not adhere to the ideology, and tries to circumvent the central plan. True Leninists try to correct him. In colour.
----
Russia
The Eistenstein films have already been mentioned.
Three songs for (about) Lenin (1934): I am surprised that this one is not yet mentioned. It contains three documentaries about the foundation of the Soviet Union and about Lenin. The first documentary shows the modernization of the republics in Middle-Asia (women throw off their veils and start to study the works of Lenin). The second documentary shows the burial of Lenin, and the grief of the people. The third documentary shows the industrialization. The film was made in 1934 by Vertov. Black-and-white, with subtitles.
Mat (1990): This is a film based on the book The mother by Maxim Gorki. It describes the class struggle before the Leninist revolution. A young worker in a steel mill becomes an active member of the Leninist party. At first his mother objects, but soon she embraces the proletarian spirit. In colour.
Sibiriada (1979):This is an Aufbau film about the development of the oil industry in Siberia. The story follows the lives of three generations of peasants, starting in the Tsarist period, and ending after WWII. In colour.
Nine hours of a year (9 dney od nogo goda, 1962): In a nuclear laboratory scientists try to make a break-through in the generation of energy. The protection against radiation slows down their efforts. In the end they sacrifice their lives in order to obtain results. Individual interests are subordinate to the common good. Black-and-white.
----
Poland
Man of marble (Czlowiek z marmuru, 1977): This is an impressive film, again of the Aufbau type. A bricklayer excels in his profession, and is persuaded by the party to make a propaganda tour for increased productivity. However, his colleagues despise him, because they interpret it as exploitation. Gradually the bricklayer distances himself from the party officials. In colour.
----
Hungary
Red psalm (Meg ker a nep, 1972): This film is actually a surreal theatrical play about the uprise of peasants against feudalism. In colour.
----
Czechoslovakia
Das Haus mit den tausend Gesichtern (My vsichni skolou povinni, 1984): The title is in German, because I watched a version, which was dubbed in the GDR. It is a TV series about the life in a primary school. It plays during the final years of Leninism, so that the ideological rhetoric has almost disappeared. What remains is the call for devotion to duty and to the collective. The isolated individual withers. I suppose that especially Americans will experience this film as a culture shock. Also typical is the importance of the young pioneers. In colour.
----
Roumania
I have tried to find Roumanian films from the Leninist period. Unfortunately English subtitles are absent, and so these are not an option. However, there is a nice one from after the fall of Leninism.
12:08 East of Bucharest (2006): This film describes the way in which people have experienced the fall of the regime in 1989. It is fairly humorous, not in a stupid way, and gives insights into their lives. In colour.
Snoopy: Here's the WWI flying ace posing beside his sopwith camel. My mission is to seek out the Red Baron, and to bring him down! Contact!
- By FiveofSwords
- By wat0n