The History of Russian Literature on Film

by Marina Korneeva, Greg M. Colón Semenza (Editor), David Gillespie, Bob Hasenfratz (Editor)

Overview

Unlike most previous studies of literature and film, which tend to privilege particular authors, texts, or literary periods, David Gillespie and Marina Korneeva consider the multiple functions of filmed Russian literature as a cinematic subject in its own right-one reflecting the specific political and aesthetic priorities of different national and historical cinemas. In this first and only comprehensive study of cinema's various engagements of Russian literature focusing on the large period 1895-2015, The History of Russian Literature on Film highlights the ways these adaptations emerged from and continue to shape the social, artistic, and commercial aspects of film history.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501316883
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/25/2024
Series:	The History of World Literatures on Film
Pages:	424
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.93(d)

About the Author

Marina Korneeva is Associate Professor at Moscow City Pedagogical University, Russia, having gained her PhD from Tomsk State University, Russia, in 2018 and is the author of over 30 peer-reviewed publications. Along with David Gillespie and Svetlana Gural, she is the co-editor of the fourth edition of Terence Wade's A Comprehensive Russian Grammar, published in 2020.

Greg M. Colón Semenza is Professor of English at the University of Connecticut, USA. He is currently the editor of Bloomsbury's History of World Literatures on Film book series, and the author-with Bob Hasenfratz-of The History of British Literature on Film (2015). His other books include How to Build a Life in the Humanities (2015), The English Renaissance in Popular Culture (2010), Graduate Study for the 21st Century: How to Build an Academic Career in the Humanities (2005; 2nd ed. 2010), Milton in Popular Culture (2006), and Sport, Politics, and Literature in the English Renaissance (2004). He has published numerous essays on film and adaptation.

David Gillespie is Professor of Russian at the University of Bath, UK, where he has taught since 1985. His books include Iurii Trifonov: Unity through Time (1993), The Twentieth Century Russian Novel: An Introduction (1996), Early Soviet Cinema: Innovation, Ideology and Propaganda (2000), and Russian Cinema (2003). He has published almost 70 journal articles and book chapters on modern Russian film and literature, and is a regular traveller to Russia to teach at universities in European Russia, the Urals and Siberia, and speak at conferences.

Bob Hasenfratz is Professor of English and Department Head at the University of Connecticut, USA. His books include Reading Old English (2005/11), Ancrene Wisse (2001), and Beowulf Scholarship: An Annotated Bibliography 1979-1990 (1993). He has written articles on medieval literature and culture and edits the Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures.

Table of Contents

List of Images
Preface

Introduction: Russian Literature and Film
Chapter One: The Early Years of Russian Film and Literary Adaptation, 1908-1919
Chapter Two: Writers in 'the Golden Age' of Soviet Cinema, 1920-1929
Chapter Three: Socialist Realism and Classics for the Masses, 1930-1953
Chapter Four: Adaptation and the Thaw, 1953-1964
Chapter Five: The Long Nineteenth Century, 1964-1991
Chapter Six: The Twentieth Century in the 'Stagnation,' 1964-1991
Chapter Seven: A New Beginning? The Post-Soviet Period, 1991-2020
Chapter Eight: Foreign Adaptations of Russian Literature, 1909-2020
Conclusion: Transferring Word to Screen

Filmography
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

The sheer number of films referenced in The History of Russian Literature on Film provides evidence both of the central role such adaptations have played in the history of Russian and Soviet cinema and of the volume's ambition. This book follows the evolution of cinematic readings of the nineteenth-century classics, from Pushkin to Chekhov, and a large number of Soviet writers, providing a useful source of information for further research.” —Julian Graffy, Professor Emeritus of Russian Literature and Film, University College London, UK

“This book is the first comprehensive exploration of the adaptation of Russian literature into film, offering a detailed survey of Russian films from 1908 to 2020, as well as a brief consideration of select foreign films. The History of Russian Literature on Film will be the point of departure for untold journeys that explore the transfer of the Russian written word to the visual vocabulary of film.” —Frederick H. White, Professor of Russian and Integrated Studies, Utah Valley University, USA

“The History of Russian Literature on Film provides a highly readable and fully comprehensive overview of film adaptations of Russian literature from over a century of cinema, to the present day, in Russia, the former Soviet Union and beyond. It is the most in-depth and extensive account of its kind.” —Jeremy Hicks, Professor of Russian Culture and Film, Queen Mary University of London, UK

From the Publisher