Earth (1930) directed by Oleksandr Dovzhenko

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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