Turksib (film)
Turksib (Russian: Турксиб) is a 1929 Soviet documentary film directed by Viktor Alexandrovitsh Turin documenting the building of the Turkestan–Siberia Railway.[1] The rail line stretched northeast from Tashkent to Almaty and on to Novosibirsk. The film contrasts the open desert and sand, with the order of rails and movement of machines.[2] The Turkic people ride horses and camels and rear sheep. This drama is set against the dry steppe as it is converted into a cotton growing region.
Turksib | |
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Directed by | Viktor Alexandrovitsh Turin |
Written by | Yakov Aron Aleksandr Macheret Viktor Shklovsky Victor A. Turin |
Cinematography | Boris Frantsisson Yevgeni Slavinsky |
Production company | Vostokkino |
Release date | 24 May 1930 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Language | Russian |
"Turksib" was particularly appreciated by the classic British and Canadian documentary filmmaker John Grierson, who prepared the English version of the picture.[3]
The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray by the British Film Institute in 2011 as part of The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Night Mail, with a newly commissioned soundtrack by Guy Bartell of British group Bronnt Industries Kapital.[4][5]
References
- Jay Leyda (1960). Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film. George Allen & Unwin. pp. 260–261.
- H.D. (December 1929). "Turksib". Close Up. Pool Group. pp. 488–492.
- Jack C. Ellis, Betsy A. McLane. (2005). A new history of documentary film. New York, London: Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 37–38. ISBN 0-8264-1751-5.
- "Buy The Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Night Mail (Dual Format Edition) - Soviet Influence: From Turksib to Night Mail". shop.bfi.org.uk.
- "Soviet Influence, The: From Turksib to Nightmail · British Universities Film & Video Council". bufvc.ac.uk.