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[BANNED STUDY OF RUSSIAN/SOVIET SILENT FILMS] Ocherk istorii kino SSSR. I: Nemoe kino [i.e. Essays on the History of Cinema in the USSR. I: Silent Cinema]

Lebedev, N.

Item #2537

Moscow: Goskinoizdat, 1947. 302, [2] pp.: ill. 29,4x23,2 cm. In original publisher’s full-cloth binding. Binding’s worn, tear of the spine, several minor oil stains throughout, but otherwise very good.

First edition. 1 of 5,000 copies. Text in Russian. Edited by N. Garvei. With numerous black-and-white photographs, showing early advertising posters, film stills, portraits of Russian and Soviet film directors, actors, operators, etc.
Extremely rare and the earliest comprehensive study of Soviet silent cinema, compiled in 1947 by the prominent film historian and VGIK professor Nikolai Lebedev (1897–1978). Shortly after its publication, the book faced harsh criticism for emphasizing formalism and celebrating the achievements of innovative directors over traditionalists. Consequently, it was withdrawn from libraries and actively destroyed, with only a few copies surviving the purge.
Nikolai Lebedev was a prominent Soviet film historian, critic, and educator, honored as an Art Worker of the RSFSR in 1969. He began his career in journalism during the Russian Civil War and soon entered the film industry, working as a screenwriter, director, and editor for major Soviet film publications. From 1947 to 1948, he served as editor-in-chief of the journal Iskusstvo Kino, signing issues 2 and 3 of 1947 as acting editor and issue 4 as the official editor. In 1948, largely due to his book Essays on the History of Cinema in the USSR. Silent Cinema, Lebedev was removed from this post and expelled from VGIK amid the campaign against cosmopolitanism.
The edition consists of six chapters devoted to the first stage in the development of Soviet cinema - the silent era up to 1930. As follows from the introduction, Lebedev addresses not only film professionals but also students of cultural institutions, humanities departments, and the wider intelligentsia. He traces the origins of Russian cinematography, its transformation into an art form and educational tool, and the ideological role of the Communist Party in shaping production. The study moves chronologically through prerevolutionary cinema, the war and Civil War years, and NEP-era output, noting that “for many years, cinema had been a purveyor of bad taste, vulgarity, and even pornography.”
Especially interesting is Lebedev’s controversial chapter on “traditionalists” and “innovators,” in which he discusses “formalist” and “cosmopolitan” filmmakers, including Dziga Vertov, Lev Kuleshov, Kozintsev & Trauberg, and Ermler. Surprisingly, he openly states: “Despite the confusion and contradictions in LEF’s aesthetic positions, the overall direction of the theory and practice of its best members must be recognized as progressive…” The book goes further, offering dedicated chapters on the aforementioned filmmakers, igniting intense scrutiny and disapproval from Soviet censors and critics of the time. Film historian Marat Vlasov recalled that in every copy of Lebedev’s book in the institute library, a multi-page typescript was carefully inserted, condemning the author for dividing 1920s filmmakers into “traditionalists” and “innovators.”
The book also provides valuable insights into the repertoire of early Russian and Soviet cinema, documenting numerous films that have not survived to the present day. Among these are Ignat Podkova (1911), Anfisa (1912), Crime and Punishment (1913), Dyadya Pud – Enemy of the Wet Nurses (1913), Gde Matilda? (1913), The Broken Vase (1913), and The Conquest of the Caucasus (1913). Importantly, the edition includes extremely rare photographs from the last four of these lost films.
The rest of the book explores the development of national cinemas within the USSR, including Ukrainian, Georgian, and Armenian productions. It features scripts of early Russian and Soviet films, statistics on film production, the number of movie theaters, film lengths across different years, and descriptions of early cinematic techniques. The edition also provides key filmographic information on Russian-produced films from 1907 to 1930, excluding short films, newsreels, and educational or scientific works.
Overall, a rare and banned comprehensive study of Soviet silent cinema.

Price: $350.00