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Lenin in October

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Lenin in October
Directed byMikhail Romm
Dmitri Vasilyev
Written byAleksei Kapler
StarringBoris Shchukin
Nikolay Okhlopkov
Vasili Vanin
Music byAnatoly Alexandrov
Production
company
Release date
  • 7 November 1937 (1937-11-07)
Running time
105 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageRussian
Film "Lenin in October" (in Russian), 1937

Lenin in October (Russian: Ленин в Октябре, romanizedLenin v oktyabre) is a 1937 Soviet biographical drama film directed by Mikhail Romm and Dmitri Vasilyev and starring Boris Shchukin, Nikolay Okhlopkov and Vasili Vanin.[1] Made as a Soviet-realist propaganda work by the GOSKINO at the Mosfilm studio, it portrays the activities of Lenin at the time of the October Revolution. All Stalin scenes were expunged from the film for its reissue in 1958.

The movie was followed by Lenin in 1918, which was made two years later.

Cast

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Production

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Stalin wanted a film that showed the October Revolution and the men responsible for it, just in time for its twentieth anniversary. As soon as Alexei Kapler's scenario was approved by the highest authorities, Lenin in October was put into production on August 10, already late in the year. The only director available was Mikhail Romm. Lenin in October was ready for release on November 7, only three months after the shooting commenced.[2]

International influence

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During China's Cultural Revolution, Lenin in October (along with Lenin in 1918) were the only Soviet feature films repeatedly screened to the public.[3]: 196 

In 2011, Chinese performing artist Guo Degang created a xiangsheng (comedic crosstalk) titled Lenin in 1918.[3]: 199  The xiangsheng depicts the plight of traditional opera performers who could no longer perform their repertoire during the Cultural Revolution and resort to mixing highlights from Lenin in October and Lenin in 1918 into an aria.[3]: 199 

References

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  1. ^ Rollberg p.499
  2. ^ Jay Leyda (1960). Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film. George Allen and Unwin. p. 339.
  3. ^ a b c Li, Jie (2023). Cinematic Guerillas: Propaganda, Projectionists, and Audiences in Socialist China. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231206273.

Bibliography

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  • Rollberg, Peter. Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2008.
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