Tag Archives: Boris Zavelev

Karalli & Bauer: Счастье вечной ночи | The Happiness of Eternal Night (RU 1915)

Posted on 10 March 2015 by silentsplease

This week, a return to the Yevgeni Bauer hour of power! The Happiness of Eternal Night sees Bauer working with actress and ballerina Vera Karalli, actor Vitold Polonsky, and cameraman Boris Zavelev; the same core of After Death, which was released just six … Continue reading →

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Грёзы | Daydreams (RU 1915)

Posted on 14 September 2014 by silentsplease

Daydreams is a story about love, grief, and the blindness that can result from these states. As the story opens, Sergei Nedelin (Aleksandr Vyrubov) is mourning his wife Elena, whom he had loved passionately. Out walking one day, he sees a … Continue reading →

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The flowers of romance? Хризантемы | Chrysanthemums (RU 1914)

Posted on 4 August 2014 by silentsplease

Today it’s back to pre-revolutionary Russia, where indeed I’ve been spending a lot of my reading + watching time lately. Chrysanthemums (translit. Khrizantemy; 1914) is the story of Vera Alekseevna Nevolina, played by the radiant Vera Karalli in her first film role (her … Continue reading →

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После смерти | After Death (RU 1915)

Posted on 12 July 2014 by silentsplease

For me, Yevgeni Bauer is one of the cinematic greats of the teens, and indeed of silent cinema in general.  In a word, his films are elegant. Always beautifully composed in terms of framing, editing, and mise-en-scène, most of his … Continue reading →

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Звенигора | Zvenyhora (UkrSSR 1927)

Posted on 6 June 2014 by silentsplease

Earlier this year, I managed to get hold of the DVD boxset Ukrainian Re-Vision (Укрїнське Німе), published by the State Film Agency of Ukraine in collaboration with the Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre in Kyiv.  It’s a wonderful publication: six restored … Continue reading →

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