There is a mysterious place in the midst of the Ukrainian steppes, the Zvenyhora, or the Ringing Mountain. According to folk legends it harbors invaluable treasures of the Scythians. The entire chain of historic events that left their trace on the face of Ukraine – the Varangians, the nomad invaders, the struggle against the Polish gentry, the Haidamaka uprising, the First World War and the Bolshevik Revolution – are connected by one image of a Ukrainian old man, ageless, ingenuous, enterprising, cunning and indestructible – Dovzhenko’s personification of Ukrainian identity itself. The old man’s entire life is devoted to hunting for the illusive hidden treasures, which, as the film unfolds increasingly appear as a metaphor of Ukraine’s national soul and its – yet unlocked – spiritual potential. In the process, the old man is torn between his grandson Pavlo, epitome of the Ukrainian nationalist cause, and Tymishko, forward-looking, proletariat-oriented Bolshevik. The old man, instigated by Pavlo attempts to derail the Bolshevik train of progress. He is captured by Tymish’s comrades-in-arms, forgiven and taken on board the train speeding away towards the bright new day.

1.08GB | 1h 10m | 720×576 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/EBEADF828FB4ABA/Zvenigora.1928._1928.Cut_.DVDRIP.x264.AC3.KJNU.mkv

Language:Ukrainian Intertitles
Subtitles:English

The post Aleksandr Dovzhenko – Zvenigora AKA Zvenyhora [1928 Cut] (1927) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Set in the bleak aftermath and devastation of the World War I, a recently demobbed soldier, Timosh, returns to his hometown Kiev, after having survived a train wreck. His arrival coincides with a national celebration of Ukrainian freedom, but the festivities are not to last as a disenchanted.

Stephen L. Hanson wrote:
The film’s central theme obviously revolves around the idea of the sheer horror of war and is most fundamentally incarnate in the physical symbol of an arsenal in the midst of Russia’s civil war. Yet, this theme is fragmented throughout the film within three distinct visual contexts. First, Dovzhenko exploits the inherent metaphorical potential of the individual shot as it is brilliantly exemplified in an opening image of a barbed wire trench barrier suddenly and unexpectedly exploding after a prolonged period of stasis. The contrast thus established between the transfixed image and the force of the off-camera shell explosion sets the stage for an interaction of fixed and moving images that runs the course of the film and establishes a semblance of poetic meter.

1.77GB | 1h 28m | 704×576 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/6FD759D85FE8101/Arsenal_-_O._Dovzhenko_(1928)__1972_version_.mkv

Language:Russian intertitles
Subtitles:English,French

The post Aleksandr Dovzhenko – Arsenal [1972 Edit] (1929) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
Dovzhenko’s “film poem” style brings to life the collective experience of life for the Ukranian proles, examining natural cycles through his epic montage. He explores life, death, violence, sex, and other issues as they relate to the collective farms. An idealistic vision of the possibilities of Communism made just before Stalinism set in and the Kulack class was liquidated, “Earth” was viewed negatively by many Soviets because of its exploration of death and other dark issues that come with revolution.—Jeff Walker

2.85GB | 1h 23m | 1920×1080 | mkv

https://nitro.download/view/71FEFA1B1446D70/Zemlya.1930.1080p.Web-DL.KG.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/E25DEC8E3DA9084/Zemlya.1930.1080p.Web-DL.KG.eng.srt
https://nitro.download/view/2103B0033779434/Zemlya.1930.1080p.Web-DL.KG.vtt

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:French,English

The post Aleksandr Dovzhenko – Zemlya AKA Earth [84 min.] (1930) first appeared on Cinema of the World.