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[WHAT TO WATCH IN THE SOVIET UNION] Nauchnyye fil'my: Opisaniye fonda nauchnykh fil'mov [i.e. Scientific Films: Description of the Scientific Film Collection]

Item #2534

Moscow: Kino-Izd-vo RSFSR Kinopechat', 1927 [date on the front wrapper: 1926]. 96 pp. 18x13 cm. In original publisher’s illustrated wrappers. Partly uncut. Loss of the pieces of the spine, small oil stains throughout the first six pages, but otherwise very good.

Scarce. First edition. 1 of 3,500 copies. Text in Russian.
The earliest Soviet bibliography of scientific films, offering a rare insight into the 1920s cinematic offerings available to Soviet audiences.
After the Civil War, scientific films emerged as a prominent genre in Soviet cinema. By 1926, 746 titles were in circulation (118 Soviet and 628 foreign) covering topics from disease prevention and electrification to human physiology and textile production. Some were simple records of experiments and processes, while others were staged productions with professional actors. Serving both educational and propaganda aims, these films were a key tool for the state in delivering essential messages to the Soviet public.
The edition opens with an article by M. Kristol, assessing the state of scientific cinema in 1927 and arguing that, despite flaws, it far surpassed pre-revolutionary and foreign films. The bibliography lists 745 Soviet and foreign films in seven sections—Medicine and Social Hygiene, Technology and Industry, Agriculture, Fishing and Hunting, Geography, Natural Sciences, and Physical Culture—providing titles, lengths, and, in some cases, brief annotations.
No copies found in Worldcat.

Price: $750.00