Arsenal (1928)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Aleksandr Dovzhenko

Writer:

Aleksandr Dovzhenko (writer)

Release Date:

9 November 1929 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

The Great War (World War I) has brought devastation, heartache, and hardship to the Ukrainian people...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Train Wreck | WWI | Laughing Gas | Ukraine

Cast

Semyon Svashenko	...	Timosh, the Ukrainian
Amvrosi Buchma	...	Laughing-Gassed Soldier
Georgi Khorkov	...	A Red Army Soldier (as G. Khorkov)
Dmitri Erdman	...	A German Officer
Sergei Petrov	...	A German Soldier
M. Mikhajlovsky	...	A Nationalist
A. Yevdakov	...	Tsar Nikolas II
Nikolai Kuchinsky	...	Petliura
O. Merlatti	...	Sadovsky (as F. Merlatti)
Nikolai Nademsky	...	Official
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Luciano Albertini	...	Raffaele
Pyotr Masokha
T. Wagner
B. Zagorsky

Also Known As:

Арсенал (Soviet Union: Russian title)
January Uprising in Kiev in 1918 (UK)

Runtime:

USA:70 min | Belgium:90 min (Copy with French subtitles at Brussels Musée du Cinéma) | Argentina:75 min

Country:

Soviet Union | Ukraine

Language:

Russian | Ukrainian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Brazil:18 | Argentina:Atp | USA:Not Rated

Company:

VUFKU

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In a scene early in the film, a soldier lies dead, covered with sand, but the sand can be seen to rise and fall with the actor's breathing.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Archangel (1990)

way too "artsy" for its own good

While I have seen and enjoyed similar movies to this one that were silent films about the Russian Revolution, such as POTEMKIN and TEN DAYS THAT SHOOK THE WORLD, I did not particularly enjoy this one. This was mostly due to the annoying and "artsy" way that the director chose to shoot the film. While POTEMKIN excelled in its editing style, this movie used similar techniques with a lot less finesse--in some places, the editing seemed very choppy and amateurish. Plus, and this was truly annoying, the use of zombies throughout the beginning of the film and late in the film really was over-the-top. What I mean by "zombies" is that to illustrate just how depressed and oppressed the Ukranian peasants were, the people stand like mannequins in many scenes. And, they stand like this, unmoving, for a VERY long period of time, while the "evil" Capitalists and exploiters of the masses walk by. Gimme a break! This movie is a wonderful example of style over substance--and it's only a movie for those who enjoy or can overlook the overindulgent direction.

By the way, the DVD for this film is improved, somewhat, if you leave the audio commentary on. This makes the movie easier to follow and gives a few interesting insights.