Tuesday, February 14, 2006

So Anyway

While doing my morning net-surf I found this in a cinematography forum:

My father used to shoot Marxist Chinese propaganga, and I was shocked to see Farenheit 9/11 packed with the most basic techniques of Eisenstein and Griffith.

Being a Marxist for 25 years, I developed quite an appreciation for Soviet cinema. Tarkovsky is probably the best of the non-propaganda auters. Eisenstein was the best Marxist propagandist, while, all the way over in the U.S, D.W Griffith did a hell of a job for the anti-black, anti-semitic Klansmen propaganda with Birth of a Nation.

Propaganda probably alienates people, so i'll knock that off, but, short of going to Yale University, I have yet to see a good Propaganda course taught. I mention the science of propaganda because it is practically inseperable from Soviet film.


It's the second post in a discussion thread on Soviet and Russian films.


Personal note:

During the bi-weekly performance of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Riverview Theatre someone will raise the question, "how long does it take to read five fucking words?"

The normal callback for this question is, "five fucking minutes!"

I've taken to saying, "five fucking hours in the Soviet version!"
_

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