Mother (1926)

Posted By: Someonelse
Date: July 4, 2011

Mother / Мать (1926)
DVD5 | ISO | NTSC 4:3 (720x480) | 01:27:00 | 3,39 Gb
Audio: Music only AC3 2.0 @ 192 Kbps | Russian intertitles with English subtitles
Genre: Drama, War, Classics | Soviet Union

Pudovkin's innovative classic about a Russian family shattered by the uprising in 1905. A masterpiece of Russian cinema that established Pudovkin, and rivaled only Eisenstein for supremacy in montage, poetic imagery, and propagandistic ideals. Based on Maxim Gorky's great novel, it's one of cinematic history's seminal works. Striking cinematography, stunning use of montage make this one important.

IMDB

Mother (Mat, Мать) was the first of Russian-filmmaker Vsevold Pudovkin's "personal epics"-films that weave spectacular historical tales while never losing sight of the individual, and individual emotions, that motivate those tales. Based on a Maxim Gorky story, Mother recreates the abortive Russian revolution of 1905. The title character, played by Vera Baranovkskaya, is the unwitting cause of the imprisonment of her political-activist son Nikolai Batalov. When her boy is killed in an escape attempt, she is awakened to the horrors of the Czarist regime, and picks up Batalov's political cudgel. She too, is killed while participating in a worker's protest.


The sweep and scope of the action scenes in Mother never dwarf the human story. What sticks in the mind most vividly is the intimate scene in which Batalov, contemplating his upcoming release from prison, begins dreaming of his mother, while superimposed closeups of her face blend into lyrical shots of the Russian spring thaw. Mother was the first of Pudovkin's trilogy of Revolution-inspired silent masterpieces: the subsequent films were End of St. Petersburg and Storm over Asia.
Hal Erickson, Rovi

This is one of the classic Soviet silent films. The story is about a family torn apart by a worker's strike. At first, the mother wants to protect her family from the troublemakers, but eventually she realizes that her son is right and the workers should strike. The plot is similar to other Soviet films of the era but does focus more on the individual than some of Eisenstein's films. The mother and son do represent the collective but they are also strong characters on their own.


The best part of the film is the editing. It is always sharp and quick. When there is action, the edits are fast and give the viewer a sense of chaos. The Soviets were masters of montage and this film is a prime example. The acting is also better than in most silent films. It is clear that the actors come from the serious stage and not Vaudeville. The cinematography is somewhat average, though, and the film feels a little flat at times. It is not perfect, but it is worth seeing for all and essential viewing for those interested in Russian film or montage.
IMDB Reviewer,
21 out of 23 people found this review useful

Obviously there must have been other Russian silent film directors besides Sergei Eisenstein, but coming by copies of their work has not been easy. Now we have this silent 1926 classic from Vsevolod Pudovkin that tells the story of the abortive 1905 revolt through the eyes of one Russian "Mother," eloquently played by Vera Baranovskaya. Niovna-Vlasova is caught in the middle when her husband (Aleksandr Chistyakov) and son (Nikolai Batalov) are on opposite sides during a worker's strike, although the father has been coerced into opposing the strike. "Mother" features Ivan Koval-Samborsky as the Young Strike Organizer and Anna Zemtsova as the Girl Revolutionary.


Pudovkin dramatizes the injustices of Czarist life, focusing on the problems of this single family. As Niovna sees what is happening around her she comes to take a dramatic stand against the police and the Cossak troops during a fatal demonstration. Pudovkin is certainly as creative in his use of montage as Eisenstein and "Mother" would be an excellent film to screen before the classic "Battleship Potemkin." Certainly Pudovkin details the brutal conditions that set up the Russian Revolution. This might be propaganda, but it has the ring of truth to it, something Eisenstein's cinematic masterpiece cannot claim as well. There are no extras on this DVD, but this is an important piece of cinema history that can stand by itself.
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Pudovkins approach to montage was slightly different than Eisensteins. Pudovkin treated each shot as bricks in a wall, where Eisenstein would emphasise on the collision effect in each cut. This is hailed as Pudovkins masterpiece and it's a beautiful film, with strong performances and highly dramatic scenes; the climax is as impressive as they get… The ultimate motage film must be Eisensteins Potemkin, but "Mother" is also a very good choice. The tranfer is really as good as you can except, but the disc has no extras.
Amazon's Customer Reviews

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