Tsar to Lenin(희귀 동영상)

Tsar to Lenin

About the film

Tsar to Lenin, first released in 1937, ranks
among the twentieth century’s greatest film documentaries. It presents an
extraordinary cinematic account of the Russian Revolution—from the mass uprising
which overthrew the centuries-old Tsarist regime in February 1917, to the
Bolshevik-led insurrection eight months later that established the first
socialist workers’ state, and the final victory in 1921 of the new Soviet regime
over counter-revolutionary forces after a three-year-long civil war. Based on
archival footage assembled over more than a decade by the legendary Herman
Axelbank (1900-1979), Tsar to Lenin provides an unparalleled film record of a
revolutionary movement, embracing millions, which “shook the world” and changed
the course of history.

The narration by Max Eastman (1883-1969), the
pioneer American radical, conveys with emotion and humanity the drama and pathos
of the revolution. Hailed by film critics as a masterpiece upon its premier,
Tsar to Lenin aroused fierce opposition from those who feared the consequences
of its truthful portrayal of events. First, the Stalinist organizations—which
could not abide the documentary’s depiction of the leading role played by Leon
Trotsky in the revolution and civil war—threatened a boycott of theaters that
showed the film. Later, during the McCarthyite era and the Cold War, public
showings of Tsar to Lenin were all but impossible. Seventy-five years after its
premier, the importance of Tsar to Lenin remains undiminished. Indeed, the fresh
wave of historical falsification provoked by the dissolution of the Soviet Union
in 1991 lends to this film exceptional relevance. In a new period of global
capitalist crisis, Tsar to Lenin bears witness to a moment in history when
socialist ideals inspired the greatest revolutionary movement in world history.