Show Notes:
This week, Cameron dives into the final entry into Ukrainian director Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s Silent Trilogy, “Earth” (1930). The film’s deceptively simple plot—of a tractor delivery to a collectivizing village in Ukraine is followed by the murder of a local Bolshevik organizer—doesn’t hinder its avant-garde stylings, employing a montage of loose logical associations better described as dream logic, moving from people to fruit to threshing in a way that demands your attention.
Yeah, that’s right — I’m arguing that a socialist realist work about tractors is super interesting. A novel concept for the podcast, I know.
You can watch Earth (1930) in excellent quality here: “Earth” (1930) x biju
Offscreen Dreams and Collective Synthesis in Dovzhenko’s Earth by Elizabeth A. Papazian
All in the Foreground: A Study of Dovzhenko’s Earth by Gilberto Perez
Dovzhenko: Folk Tale and Revolution by Gilberto Perez
Death and life on Alexander Dovzhenko by Jonathan Rosenbaum
The Dovzhenko Papers by Marco Carynnyk
Who is Hidden behind the Figure of a Genius? The Context of Dovzhenko’s Work by Anna Tsymbal
Subversions in Dovzhenko’s Earth by Romana M. Bahry
“Ukranian masterpieces: Earth (1930) - Dovzhenko”
Earth: Analysis of Film Form, Auteur Characteristics and Context
The music used in this episode was “Старое Кино / Staroye Kino,” by Перемотка / Peremotka. You can find more of their work on Bandcamp and Youtube.
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