The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-11-06
WORLD Of the
MOVIES


pOmfilm, directed by DZiga Yer
tov, at the Cameo Theatre. A
world premier released on the oc-
casion of the 18th Anniversary of
the Russian Revolution.
Reviewed by
SAMUEL BRODY
1T WOULD be presumptuos to at
1 tempt an exhaustive estimate of
Three Songs About Lenin" after
single viewing. 1t is not merely
question Of looking into the
structure and Analysing the con-
tents Of a great" film. In Three
Songs you are confronted with
something so completely new in the
realm of artistic experience that you
are compelled to struggle to free
yourself from the overpowering
emotional upheaval that grips you
before you can attempt an objec-
tive dissection.
predict that this film is destined
to become one Of the most talked
of since "Potemkins and if this
piece is to be the opening gun, let
it roar to some $4,000 readers of
the Daily Worker that it is their
duty as claSs-conscious American
citizens to see it and popularize it
among all those with whom they
come in contact.
In the current issue of New
Theatre magazine, Jay Leyda, its
Moscow correspondent, has the fol-
lowing to say about Three Songs;
THE great convincing tradition
that reached the peaks of 'Po-
temkin,' Mother and Soil is
carried forward gIoriousIy in
Dziga Vertovs new Aim Three
Songs About Lenin."
And when a film utilizing ex-
cluSively material recorded in
reality can reach the emotional and
lyrical heights of Three Songs, "
then indeed we are dealing with
a real revolution in the artistic form
Of the revolutionary cinema. With
Three Songs" the Soviet fllm has
reached its Great October and a
most complete and satisfying revo-
luton it is!
How inescapably convincing, these
factual pieces put together by the
hands of a master who knows cine
matte construction better than any
one in the world How completely
overwhelming the orchestration of
sound and sight, where even the
brief words from the mouth of a
shock-brigader become such moving
music! In one sequence about the
death Of Lenin, there is long
series Of perfectly still shots ac-
companied by the mournful blow
ing of siren. Well, see Three
Songs" and ask yourself when a
passage in any acted film has so
affected you. This sequence oc-
ours in the second song about
which jay Leyda says: THE deep
sincerity and tragedy of the second
Song, about the death Of Lenin,
achieves an emotional impact that
one seldom realizes to be within the
capacity Of the medium of the
cinema. Only afterwards does
one ask how such profundity of
suffering was conveyed"
And almost all of the second
Song is composed of old library
material taken around the life and
death of the genius Of the prole-
tartan revolution, v. I. Lenin! Are
not the Songs themselves documents
heard in the first and last sections
Of the film from the mouths of
the Tadjiks themselves?
Vertov is the new giant of the
Soviet cinema and infinitely more
important than any other single
director, inasmuch as his work has
influenced and will continue to in
fluence the whole course of Soviet
production. I will have occasion
to expand on this question in the
near future and to discuss the sig
nificance of Vertov's work in rela-
ton to revolutionary film produc-
ton in America. For the moment
I want to confine myself to the
task of shouting from the house.
tops; See Three Songs About
Lenin'! 1t is the most inspiring,
the most glorious product of Soviet
cinematography! 1t is a heroic
symphony Of Lenin and Leninisml"
I'VE loved him :" they sing in
the darkest corners of that vast
land, the Soviet Union. 1--WE
never looked upon his face, we
never heard his voice, but he loved
us like a father. No, more than
that-for no father ever did for
his children what Ilyich did for
us. 3. And if Lenin could see this
country today" Vertov has trans
ferred the voice Of Ilyich, whom
they loved, to this film from an old
dictaphone record. "Lenins Voice!"
The voice Of the great iberator!
IF he could see our country to-
day. :" The final Song evolves
into the whirlwind tempo of a mil
lion throated chant to Socialism, to
freedom from oppression, to the
true pursuit of happiness, to Vladi-
mir Ilyich Lenin! Hail Three
Songs About Lenin," the Soviet Gin
ema's greatest contribution TO the
great treasures of revolutionary