DOVZHENKO'S GREAT FILM 'EARTH'..90!

On current farmers issues here, I rememberd Soviet/Ukrainian master filmmaker & screenwriter Alexander Dovzhenko's 'Earth' (1930) which is in its 90th anniversary year!

Soviet/Ukrainian filmmaker Alexander Dovzhenko shooting 'Earth' (1930)

This film shows.. clashes between rich landlords and poor farmers who are in process of collective farming! Dovzhenko wrote the scenario of this film keeping in mind the newfound collectivisation of villages in Ukraine and described as.. 'Period of economic transformation'!

This was Dovzhenko's first film with historic 'Kiev Studio'. He himself edited this film which was realistically cinematographed by Danylo Demutsky. For this film Levko Revutsky composed the music. Artists Stepan Shkurat, Semyon Svashenko, Yelena Maksimova, Nikolai Nademsky & famous Yuliya Maksimova naturally portrayed their characters in this film.

'Earth' (original name 'Zemlya') is the third part (after 'Zvenigora' and 'Arsenal') of Dovzhenko's 'Ukraine Trilogy'. Agricultural developments of his home country and socio-political scenes of this film became hot topic that time!

Tribute to this masterpiece of great Dovzhenko!!

- Manoj Kulkarni