The End of St. Petersburg

The End of St. Petersburg
Directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin
Mikhail Doller
Written by Nathan Zarkhi
Starring Aleksandr Chistiakov
Vera Baranovskaia
Ivan Chuvelev
V. Obolenskii
Cinematography Anatoli Golovnya
Distributed by Mezhrabpom
Release date
  • December 14, 1927 (1927-12-14)
Running time
 87 min. (Kino DVD edition)
Country Soviet Union
Language Silent film
Russian intertitles

The End of St. Petersburg (Russian: Конец Санкт-Петербурга, translit. Konets Sankt-Peterburga) is a 1927 silent film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin and produced by Mezhrabpom.[1][2] Commissioned to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the October Revolution, The End of St Petersburg was to be one of Pudovkin's most famous films and secured his place as one of the foremost Soviet montage film directors.

The film forms part of Pudovkin's 'revolutionary trilogy', alongside Mother (1926) and Storm Over Asia (aka The Heir to Genghis Khan) (1928).

The End of St. Petersburg is a political film, explaining why and how the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917. The film covers the period from about 1913 to 1917. The film does not show the political figures of the time; the emphasis is on the struggle of ordinary people for their rights and for peace against the power of capital and the autocracy.

The film inspired the composer Vernon Duke to write his eponymous oratorio (completed in 1937).

Plot

A simple peasant boy arrives in St. Petersburg to obtain employment. Fate leads him to a factory where there are severe, almost slave-like working conditions. He unwittingly helps in the arrest of an old village friend who is now a labor leader. He attempts to fix his wrongdoing but ends up in a fight and then arrested. His punishment is being sent to fight in World War I. After three years, he returns ready for revolution.

Cast

  • Alexander Chistyakov - Bolshevik worker
  • Vera Baranovskaya - his wife
  • Ivan Chuvelev - peasant boy
  • Sergey Komarov - bailiff
  • Nikolai Khmelyov - speculator
  • Alexander Gromov - bald Bolshevik
  • Vladimir Obolensky - Lebedev, manufacturer
  • Mikhail Tereshkovich - journalist
  • Mark Cybulski - speculator
  • Vladimir Chuvelev - scab
  • Vsevolod Pudovkin - soldier (uncredited)
  • Vladimir Fogel - German officer (uncredited)
  • Serafim Birman - lady with a fan (uncredited)
  • Victor Tsoppi - anti-German "patriot" in a top hat (uncredited)
Ivan Chuvelev in film

References

  1. ↑ E. Hellmund-Waldow (April 1928). "The End of St. Petersburg". Close Up. Pool Group. pp. 30–35.
  2. ↑ "Конец Санкт-Петербурга". VokrugTV.


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