Friday, March 29

Water and camera – hand in hand

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⠀⠀Many Soviet and Russian directors have contributed to the naval theme of feature films, and today, November 7th, we remember Vladimir Borisovich Berenstein, on his birthday.

⠀⠀In his action-packed film “Neutral Waters”, filmed in 1968 (scriptwriters V. Solovyov and V. Vendelovsky with the participation of V. Berenstein, composer K. Molchanov, starring K. Lavrov, V. Chetverikov, V. Samoilov, G. Karnovich-Valois), the activities of the Soviet fleet are shown in an adventurous way: against the backdrop of the Cold War, and a Soviet cruiser meets a US warship on the way. The action itself takes place in the neutral waters of the eastern Mediterranean. In the content of the film, sea romance in the face of the sentimental expectation of the lady of her commander from a long and dangerous voyage is bizarrely combined with the then-fashionable theme of fighting enemy espionage. The intensity of the story is also added by the fact that the daily life of the Soviet navy is changing from tense personnel on the water to the “land” life of sailors, filled with their own, “land” tragedies. So, the hero-commander, being drafted into the army, at first begged the military commissar for a delay, because he always dreamed of becoming an artist and studied painting to fulfill his dream, but later he fell in love with his ship more than life, defending the honor of the fleet.

⠀⠀In connection with this topic, it is interesting to see another adventure vision of a similar picture from the Soviet director Vladimir Alexandrovich Brown. His drama The Sailors, filmed in 1939 (script by I. Zeltser, composer Y. Milyutin), is very clearly divided into two parts. The first half of the film is presented by a peaceful picture of the life of the Red Navy and commanders in idyllic ecstasy: the sailors sing to the button accordion on board, and on the shore the commanders celebrate the birthday of one of the heroes. and the “unified enemy fleet”, culminating in a quick victory for the Soviet sailors. It seems curious that the Soviet fleet in “Sailors” appears to be much more powerful than it actually was on the eve of World War II. In support of this, for example, the fictional ships “Kremlin”, “Perekop” and “Stalin’s constitution” are mentioned in the film. Thanks to the brilliant role of the commander of the Soviet submarine, S. Stolyarov then repeatedly starred in films on the naval theme.

⠀⠀The relationship between the Soviet navy and cinematography was also noted by researchers. So, in 1941, literally on the eve of the start of the war, an article by M. Luchansky “Cinema – the debtor of the fleet” appeared. In it, he reviewed Soviet feature films on the maritime theme, created in the 1930s, formulating the tasks of promoting the navy and its history in cinema. First of all, among them he called the propaganda of the submarine fleet: “The submarine fleet of our country rightfully occupies the first place in the naval forces. <...> The combat exploits of the decorated crews of the Red Navy submarines constitute heroic plots for a whole series of remarkable dramatic scenarios.” The next task he saw was the promotion of the ideas of “a large ocean and sea fleet ”, aimed at ensuring that“ millions of people live at sea, requiring dedication , selfless courage and the greatest courage, became dear and close so that millions of young men aspired to follow the path of Russian sailors. Luchansky also added about the need to create films that contribute to “every possible strengthening of military discipline, the growth of interest in the fleet, in the study of maritime affairs among our entire people.”

⠀⠀Today, looking at an extensive film in the naval theme, we can say with confidence that cinematography has fully fulfilled its duty to the Soviet fleet and people. Numerous films, in addition to the “Neutral Waters” and “Sailors” noted here by us, represent a large-scale base not only for improving their historical knowledge, but also for having a good time.

Happy viewing!

Editor: Varvara Kartushina

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