Earth/End of St. Petersburg/Chess Fever

Vsevolod Illarianovich Pudovkin

Overview

Though not his first film, Russian director/cinema theorist V. I. Pudovkin's Chess Fever (Shakhmatanya goryachka) was the first to be released. Essentially a comedy, this 2-reel exercise in montage manages to make the game of chess seem thoroughly cinematic. Illustrating his theory that "The foundation of film art is editing," Pudovkin uses apparently unrelated images to fashion a smooth, well-integrated unified whole. He goes so far as to rabbet in shots of legendary chess master Capablanca so that his film will have a "star." Chess Fever was but a prologue for the Pudovkin masterpieces to come: Mother (1926), The End of St. Petersburg (1927) and Storm Over Asia (1928).

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2003
UPC:	0738329029821
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kino Lorber
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[silent]
Language:	English
Time:	3:06:00
Sales rank:	51,499

Special Features

Closed Caption; [None specified]

Scene Index

Side #1 --
1. Opening Titles [4:09]
2. The Old and the New [7:21]
3. A Source of Grief [7:02]
4. The Arrival [10:09]
5. The Promise of Prosperity [10:24]
6. Dark Is the Night [9:40]
7. "No God!" [7:14]
8. "Our Earth!" [11:36]
9. Harvest Time [3:53]
1. Opening Titles [7:30]
2. Capital of the Tsars [3:36]
3. The Profiteers [4:00]
4. The Immigrants [5:38]
5. Strike! [8:06]
6. Battle Lines [9:14]
7. A Lone Soldier [5:57]
8. "Mother Russia Calls!" [6:36]
9. Combat Zone [8:03]
10. "We Want Bread!" [5:35]
11. The Fugitive [10:48]
12. Poised for Battle [12:15]

Menu

Side #1 --
   Earth: Start Film
   Earth: Scene Selection
   The End of St. Petersburg: Start Film
   The End of St. Petersburg: Scene Selection
   Chess Fever: Start Film