1919: REVOLUTION!

1919 was one of the most revolutionary years in the 20th century. In this year there was revolutionary activity in many different countries of Europe, as well as in Egypt. The chaos after the First World War, the fall of empires and the formation of several new nations led to long-winded struggles for political power. In many countries, communists and anarchists understood that it was the ideal moment to realise the ‘world revolution’. The events of 1917 in Russia had shown the working class that it was possible to overturn capitalism completely and the Soviets supported revolutionary groups across Europe. In Germany, Austria, Hungary and Italy political struggles had already started during 1918. The fighting continued in earnest in 1919, incurring many deaths and achieving measure of victory the revolutionaries. However, in the long run all revolutionary activities from the far left in 1919 would fail. In Hungary and Italy the losses led to the fascists taking power just a short time later.
In film archives we find a large variety of artefacts from these political incidents. For example, there are short propaganda movies such as Waarschuwing Tegen de Revolutie, which warn the people of the evil of communism. In Hungary, where communists led by Béla Kun proclaimed the Hungarian Soviet Republic, we have a poetic pro-communist short film by Mihály Kertész (later to be famous under his own name and as Michael Curtiz). From Germany we have newsreels that document the bloody fights in Berlin between revolutionaries and the government as well as a short report on the fu­neral of the important revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg. Meanwhile Soviet-Russia conquered Kiev and an anti-communist propaganda film from the Bundesarchiv shows the crucial role played by the bolshevists. Beyond doubt the film shows a bitter truth, but it also forgets that no party in Europe during revolutionary struggles was above criticism. There is certainly a reason for the famous quote: “Only the truth is revolutionary!”.

Karl Wratschko

A FLECK ON THE FLAG: JEAN VIVIÉ, GERD CONRADT AND PETER HUTTON

Jean Vivié’s participation in the 2nd Amateur Film Congress during the summer of 1936, in Berlin, provided him with an opportunity to film that effervescent city just before the opening of that year’s Olympic Games. Vivié uses this event as an angle of approach capturing scenes in Berlin that reveal the truth about what was going on in Germany. A Nazi flag embodies this truth as it gradually unfurls. From mere prop at the start, the flag loses its frills and fills the frame at the end.
Jean Vivié (1904-1972) was a member of France’s elite Corps of Mining Engineers. He loved new technology and soon became an acknowledged expert on developments in photography, sound-recording and television broadcasting.
He contributed to or at least tried out successive cinematic innovations and improvements and eventually came to run the Service des archives du film at Bois d’Arcy, outside Paris, established as a part of the CNC in 1969 and renamed Archives françaises du film in 2003. There, he was able to introduce new film conservation techniques and to acquire numerous machines and posters.
The Jean Vivié Prize at Cannes is awarded to the best image and sound technicians.
In 2004, Eric Vivié left his father’s 16mm films to Lobster Films. Magnificent unedited Kodachrome footage recording a trip on the Normandie liner in 1939 formed the backbone of 2005 documentary film entitled A bord du Normandie by Eric Lange and Claude Villers.

Nathalie Fisbach