Mon

27/06

Cinema Lumiere - Sala Officinema/Mastroianni > 16:45

ŠËLKOVAJA PAUTINA

Jurij Jur’evskij
Introduced by

Céline Ruivo (Cinémathèque française)

Piano accompaniment by

Maud Nelissen and Elizabeth-Jane Baldry at the harp

Projection
Info

Monday 27/06/2016
16:45

Subtitle

Original version with simultaneous translation through headphones

ŠËLKOVAJA PAUTINA

Film Notes

Two cans of nitrate, terribly dry, fragile, sticky, with almost no perforation, were regularly and proudly demonstrated to colleagues who visited Gosfilmofond as The Worst Two Reels in the collection. It was a matter of principle to do the best we can. The technical work was conducted in 2015 by Haghefilm Digitaal who stood up to their reputation: almost 500 meters of the existing 600 have been preserved. The film is still very incomplete, but the plotline is clear and evident. It’s a story of a woman who is tricked into signing a contract with officers of the German intelligence and has to spy on a Russian engineer whom – naturally – she falls in love with.
We know little about those who made Šëlkovaja Pautina. There are no records of the cameraman’s name – which is a pity since today the most attractive aspect of this film are views of old St. Petersburg. The capital of Russia was by no means the capital of Russian filmmaking: until the mid-1920s Moscow was miles ahead both in experimental and commercial cinema. With only a dozen surviving films from St. Petersburg this one is an important rediscovery.
Practically all the names connected with Šëlkovaja Pautina have a dubious reputation. Aleksandr Drankov, a producer-adventurer, is responsible not only for the very first Russian fiction film Sten’ka Razin (1907), but also for the very first Russian serial, the highly criticized and immensely popular Son’ka Zolotaja Ručka (Sonka, the Golden Hand (1914-15). The Russian audience was not as keen on meditative, static and psychologically pervert melodramas as it may seem today. There was a strong interest in action, particularly among the ‘democratic’ circles. And that was exactly what Drankov offered along with his leading director Juri Jur’evskij: pure action, no time for psychology. Nikolaj Breško-Breškovskij was a perfect match for such a team: his spy stories were despised in ‘good society’ and kept beneath the pillow.
Protazanov and Bauer were to remain in the annals. But it was such films like Šëlkovaja Pautina that kept the industry running. Whether we like it or not.

Peter Bagrov

Cast and Credits

Sog.: dal romanzo V kogtiach germanskogo špionazha (Nelle grinfie dello spionaggio tedesco) di Nikolai Breško-Breškovskij. Int.: Oginskaja (Vanda Livinskaja), Boris Pronskij (Von Gumberg, spia tedesca). Prod.: Aleksandr Drankov. 35mm. L.: 492 m [incompleto]. D.: 27’ a 16 f/s. Bn and tinted.

[FILM LITHOGRAPHIQUE] Da Une séance de prestidigitation di Georges Méliès

Country: [Germania]
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

UNE SÉANCE DE PRESTIDIGITATION

International Title
Conjuring
Director: Georges Méliès
Year: 1896
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[BAGARRE AUTOUR D'UN MARCHAND DE FLEURS]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[VUE COMIQUE MILITAIRE]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[SCÈNE DE THÉÂTRE POUR EFFETS DE SONORISATION]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[MANÈGE DEVANT LE CIRQUE DES CHAMPS-ÉLYSÉES, PARIS]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[BANQUET DE MARIAGE, SCÈNE COMIQUE]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[CIRQUE MINIATURE]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[CHAPEAU DE TABARIN]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[PIERROT DISTRIBUANT DES JOUETS À DES ENFANTS]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[LE MARCHAND DE MARRONS, II]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016

[FÊTE EN L'HONNEUR DU CENTENAIRE DE JULES MICHELET ET COURONNEMENT DE LA MUSE DE PARIS, PLACE DE L'HÔTEL DE VILLE, 24 JUILLET 1898]

Year: 1897-1900
Country: Francia
Running time: 1'
Sound
Mute
Edition
2016