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[A GEORGIAN SILENT FILM] Janq’i [i.e. Uprising]

Item #2003

Tbilisi: Tipo-litografiya KKA, [1928-1929]. 12 pp.: ill. 26x17.4 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Fine condition.
Scarce. First edition. Front wrapper with a photomontage showing the movie’s cast, Vasily Balanchavidze, Tamara Bolkvadze, etc. Text in Russian and Georgian.

An extremely rare bilingual brochure dedicated to the Soviet black-and-white silent film “Janq’I” [i.e. Uprising]. Adapted from Egnate Ingorokva’s “Janq’I guriashi” [i.e. Mutiny in Guria], the movie marked the final directorial work of the renowned Georgian filmmaker Alexander Tsutsunava (1881–1955). The film starred Vasily Balanchivadze, Tamara Bolkvadze, Sandro Kandelaki, Sepe Lortkipanidze, Alexander Mesnyaev, etc. Premiering on January 7, 1929, in Tbilisi, the movie, despite its high production costs, failed to achieve success and led to the director’s dismissal due to overspending.
The brochure features the article “For the Production of ‘Janq’i’” by the director Alexander Tsutsunava, a list of film crew & cast, as well as a summary of the movie. The edition is rich with black-and-white illustrations and a remarkable photomontage from movie scenes. Set against the backdrop of the 1841 uprising in the former
Georgian Principality of Guria (then part of the Georgian-Imeretian Governorate of the Russian Empire), the narrative unfolds in response to government-imposed duties and taxes on Georgian peasants. The rebels demand overthrowing a government that has restricted the privileges of the noble class. Hasan-bek, the leader of the aristocratic community, sympathizes with the peasants but grapples with a tough decision: whether to concede to the government’s terms or face a fatal outcome amid a violent rebellion.
Alexander Tsutsunava, a celebrated Soviet Georgian director, gained fame for helming the pioneering Georgian feature film “Christine” (1919). He began his artistic journey at the Tiflis Teacher’s Institute before transitioning to acting and directing at the Kutaisi and Tiflis Theaters. Tsutsunava’s directorial talents earned him recognition as a People’s Artist of the Georgian SSR in 1934 and the Stalin Prize, second degree, in 1947. His most famous works include “Christine” and “Vin aris damnashave?” [i.e. Who is the Guilty?] (1925).

No copies found in Worldcat.

Status: On Hold