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Shorter Reviews 133
is hardly involved or concerned with the outcome, it is definitely one of the important developments of the American screen and any film society, worthy of its name, should sometime in its career show this short film (running time less than one hour). The print is perfect, made from the original negative, and is a distinct visual pleasure.
(Audio Film Classics)
THE SEVENTH SEAL
(Sweden, 1956)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Little has to be said about what is perhaps Bergman's finest film to date. Reflecting brilliantly in its medieval setting the many problems of belief and conduct of modern man, Seventh Seal has the complexity and suggestiveness which makes it not only a great film but a significant artwork of this century. At long last the cinema has gotten in one man both a superb craftsman and an intellectual who has something literate to say.
This short review is included solely as a reminder that some of his films are available on 16mm: Seventh Seal (Contemporary), Naked Night (Brandon), Somjnarlek, Torst (Transworld), and Brink of Life.
(Audio Film Classics)
SHORS
(U.S.S.R., 1939)
Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko
This film tells the story of Shors, the young revolutionary leader, who fights in the Ukraine against the Germans, the White Russians, and the Poles during the years 1918-1919. The picture begins beautifully with a shot of a field of sunflowers. Suddenly there is an explosion as shells fall and through the fertile fields run the troops of the Germans and Russians. The horses turn frightened amidst the shells. This is one of the finest openings of any film but it unfortunately is by far the high point. Quickly the picture descends to vulgar patriotism, loud yelling, long shots of horses and men running about, and endless, endless talk. The film is so episodic, so undramatically shaped, its adjustment of history so patently false, and its propaganda so absurd and offensive that it sometimes backfires and makes the revolutionaries appear the barbarians that many of them no doubt were. The White Russians are all Evil, the Reds all Good and there is no characterization of either side. True, one of the revolutionary leaders, a subordinate to Shors, is supposedly a gruff but otherwise sincere and good hearted fellow, but this does not come off successfully and most audiences will find him a rather repugnant co-hero.
The camera work is undistinguished and frequently the camera remains stationary while the talk — or, more frequently, the loud yelling — continues. Some of the battle shots are well done, but the over-all literary quality is about at the ten or twelve year old level. It is the Russian