Sergei Gerasimov Movies

Coming at the end of the silent-film era, Grigori Kozyntsev and Leonid Trauberg's Novj Vavilon became buried in the Western rush to sound. Kozyntsev and Trauberg employ impressionistic cutting and metaphoric compositions to depict the times of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune of 1870-1871. Centered upon a Paris department store and the struggling French army, there is a constant contrast of emphasis between the capitalism functionaries at the department store and the soldiers at the barricades. Pyotr Sobolevsky plays Jean, a French soldier, trying to hold back the Germans and support the Commune. Meanwhile, on the sidelines, portly bourgeoisie sit on their haunches at Versailles, guzzle wine, and scream, "Kill them! Kill them!" whether the victims be German or communist. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Seven Soviet adventurers launch an expedition into the icy northern wastelands to search for valuable mineral deposits in this adventure. During a blizzard, one of them dies. Meanwhile the doctor and the pilot fall in love. Later the government intervenes and ends the mission. The doctor is allowed to remain in the north to take care of the ailing expedition leader. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Original released in 1939 as Uchitel, The New Teacher was the third of Sergei Gerasimov's trilogy of tributes to the "new generation" of working Soviets. Boris Chirkov heads the cast as Stephan Lautin, a country boy who seeks out success in the Big City. Through pluck and luck, Lautin realizes his goal, only to give it all up to return to his home village, there to apply the life lessons he's learned as a provincial schoolteacher. The film's most fascinating character is Lautin's sweetheart Agrafena (Tamara Makarova), a vacillating vixen who changes moods as often as she changes her hairstyle. Not as propagandistic as Gerasimov's previous films, The New Teacher was hailed as the director's most heartfelt project. Unfortunately, he quickly returned to pro-Communist dogma, later dismissing New Teacher as being a slick but unimportant trifle. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Like many another Soviet filmmaker, Sergei Gerasimov devoted his energies to the war effort during the 1940s. The Ural Front is the story of a defense factory that is moved -- lock, stock and barrel -- to the Ural mountains during the first Nazi assault. Characteristically, the film is a tribute to the solidarity and teamwork of Russian workers, most of whom are portrayed con brio by prominent stage and screen actors. The fact that the film was shot under wartime conditions makes Gerasimov's efforts all the more impressive. Completed in 1944, The Ural Front is also known as The Great Land and The Mainland. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Given the anti-Red political climate in the U.S. in 1952, it is astounding that a Russian-produced documentary titled The New China received any American bookings at all! This is especially true when one takes into consideration the rather strident anti-capitalist stance of the English-language narration. Propaganda aside, The New China turned out to be an invaluable source of stock footage for all future documentaries on its subject. One clip, depicting a gigantic blow-up photograph of Mao Tse-Tung, has probably been seen more often on TV than the Hindenburg disaster. Befitting its title, The New China was a "collective" effort, co-produced by the Chinese People's Republic Film Studios and the Central Documentary Film Studios of Moscow: the long list of directorial credits included Sergei Gerasimov, Ivan Dukinsky, Siu Siao-Bin and Su Ho-Chin. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Yuri Aliabiev (Yuri Vasilyev) is a newspaper reporter who has been working in the letter-to-the-editor department for three years. He jumps at the chance to travel to a small town in the Ural region to substantiate the letters from a vitriolic female letter-writer named Anikina (Nadezhda Fedosova). Yuri learns that Anikina is full of hot air. He meets Djura (Galina Polskikh), a pretty and opinionated country girl who is the object of Anikina's scorn, and Yuri falls in love with Djura, but she spurns his amorous advances. Later, he is assigned to Geneva and Paris, where he is befriended by the Yank writer Barton (Anatoli Krishanski). Barton educates Yuri in the finer points of capitalism before he is transferred back to Moscow. He goes back to the small town to find Djura and finds she has been ostracized by the community because of her association with him. French singer (Mireille Mathieu) and actress (Annie Girardot) make appearances in the scenes in Paris. This socially conscious drama was seen by over 27 million people in the Soviet Union alone. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi