SALT OF SVANETIA (DŹIM ŠVANTĖ (SOL' SVANETII) ) / NAIL IN THE BOOT (GVOZD' V SAPOGE)

The Georgian-born filmmaker Michail Kalatozov (1903-1973) is best remembered for directing some of the most innovative and successful Soviet films of the 1950s and 1960s – especially THE CRANES ARE FLYING (1959), LETTER NEVER SENT (1959), and I AM CUBA (1964). Kalatozov’s cinematic career began in 1923, that corresponded to the Soviet regime’s growing vision of cinema as a powerful propaganda tool.  He came to the new Georgian film studio in the capacity of a driver, where he met Lev Kuleshov (BY THE LAW), one of the founders of Soviet cinema. Kuleshov, an avid lover of automobiles, helped him find common ground with the young Kalatozov, whose future work would incorporate motion and speed as key stylistic devices. Kalatozov began directing films after progressing to the positions of film projectionist, cutter, editor, actor, cameraman, and screenplay writer.

This DVD edition presents digitally restored versions of two of his pioneering, silent era works, which were highly controversial in their time but now rank among the finest achievements in Soviet silent cinema. SALT FOR SVANETIA is an austere depiction of peasant life in the inhospitable terrain of the Caucasus Mountains. NAIL IN THE BOOT, a biting parable of wartime irresponsibility, chillingly prefigures the later Stalinist purge trials. Günter Buchwald's and Stephen Horne's prize-winning scores and the experimental accompaniment by Masha Khotimshi underline the poetic and expressive visual style of each of these films.

  Contents

Format: DVD-PAL / Region 0
(No Regional Code); DVD/DSL Bundle

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SALT OF SVANETIA (DŽIM ŠVANTĖ (SOL' SVANETII) )
(USSR, 1930)

Director: Michail Kalatozov
Writer: Sergej Tret'jakov
Cinematography: Michail Kalatozov & Šalva Gegelašvili

• 62 minutes
• B&W

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NAIL IN THE BOOT (GVOZD' V SAPOGE)
(USSR, 1932)

Director: Michail Kalatozov
Writer: Leonid Perel'man
Cinematography: Šalva Apakidze
Cast: Aleksandr Džaliašvili, Siko Palavandišvili, Arkardij Chintibidze & Akakij Chorava

• 64 minutes
• B&W

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Total Running Time: 02:06:00

Language: Russian intertitles, German, Georgian & English subtitles

Musical Score: Günter A. Buchwald, Masha Khotimski & Stephen Horne

Booklet Text: Sergej Kapterev & Alexander Schwarz (Bilingual German & English) 

Published By: Edition Filmmuseum

Institutional Price: $250; $500 DVD/DSL bundle (plus shipping).

To order call: 212.280.8654 or click here for information on ordering by fax, e-mail or post.