The Alexander Medvedkin Reader

The University of Chicago Press

The Alexander Medvedkin ReaderAuthor(s): Alexander Medvedkin, Nikita Lary, Jay Leyda\nFormat: Hardback\nPublisher: The University of Chicago Press, United States\nImprint: University of Chicago Press\nISBN-13: 9780226296135, 978-0226296135\nSynopsis\nFilmmaker Alexander Medvedkin [tel], a contemporary of Sergei Eisenstein and Alexander Dovzhenko, is celebrated today for his unique form of \""total\"" documentary cinema, which aimed to bridge the distance between film and life, and for his use of satire during a period when the Soviet authorities preferred that laughter be confined to narrowly prescribed channels. This collection of selected writings by Medvedkin is the first of its kind and reveals how his work is a crucial link in the history of documentary film. Although he was a dedicated communist, Medvedkin's satirical approach and social critiques ultimately led to his suppression by the Soviet regime. State institutions held back or marginalized his work, and for many years, his.