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Earth

Play trailer Poster for Earth Released Apr 8, 1930 1h 3m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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75% Tomatometer 16 Reviews 71% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
This impressionistic silent Russian film follows the trials and tribulations of farmers on a collective who come into conflict with more affluent "kulak" landowners. Led by Vasili (Semyon Savshenko), the farmers pool their resources to buy a tractor, a triumphant development that soon yields to tragedy. Despite the hardships that they face, the farmers press on, with their connection to the land evident in the film's many moments of scenic rural beauty.

Critics Reviews

View All (16) Critics Reviews
J. Hoberman Village Voice The astonishingly beautiful Earth is unlike anything else in movies. Oct 23, 2007 Full Review Mordaunt Hall New York Times Much of this film is chaotic, especially during the church episode and some of the closing scenes. Jan 28, 2006 Full Review Geoff Andrew Time Out A very great film indeed. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Alexander Bakshy The Nation There is no denying, of course, the extraordinary power of Dovzhenko’s imagination, but it seems rather late in the day to bring out of the symbolist bag such ancient devices as the masklike face and the stylized movement. Mar 1, 2022 Full Review J.N. Thomas Berkeley Barb Dovzhenko was a poet of nature, a radical mystic more akin to Blake than Marx, and in this film this love is dramatized in images of tremendous power. May 12, 2021 Full Review Harry Alan Potamkin The New Masses It extends the message of collectivism farther into the province of the reflective, whither the film the world over must inherently progress. But in moving to the reflective, it becomes too personal a meditation... Jan 14, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (81) audience reviews
Alexander B This film is a terrific look at the life of peasants in Russia. The cinematography is beautiful and holds up well. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/03/23 Full Review Oleg D This great movie is Ukrainian and in no way Russian. The "Earth" was directed and produced by Dovzhenko in Ukraine, a republic of the Soviet Union together with Russia at the time. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 12/07/22 Full Review Audience Member This is an outstanding Ukrainian film, which began the international recognition of Oleksandr Dovzhenko. Andrei Tarkovsky calls "Earth" the key work of world cinema that influenced him. Bernardo Bertolucci believed that only Jean Renoir and Oleksandr Dovzhenko were able to express the full depth of meanings associated with the theme of man and nature. According to P.P.Pasolini, C.Lizzani, F.Mazelli and other masters of Italian cinema, Dovzhenko influenced the development of neorealism. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member "Earth" is not russian, but ukrainian film. It is important. Fix it, please. And so Dovzhenko is ukrainian director, so it should be "Olexandr" instead of "Alexander" ("Alexander" is russian form). Thoughts about Dovzhenko being russian is nothing more, than russian propaganda and you shouldn't promote it. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review William L Controversial in the USSR for depicting a view of communism that wasn't necessarily the simplistic party ideology of "us vs. the capitalists", Earth actually succeeds due in large part to its divergence from propaganda standards, depicting a narrative in which collectivism is presented in accordance with nature and humanitarian principles. There is still a strict adherence to party lines, with technological advances being presented as a champion of dynamic social change, along with the reduced influence of religion, but there is also a very natural element brought to life by the vivid depictions of wheat fields and orchards that was often not considered in a political order that placed most of its focus on change, modernization, and novelty. Often flounting conventional narrative progression and opting for the Soviet montage editing style, Earth creates a unique identity even compared to Eisenstein and the other Soviet avant garde propagandists; it often has a somewhat surreal, dreamlike quality that would only be rediscovered decades later in the works of directors such as Tarkovsky. Makes me want to watch some more Dovzhenko. (4/5) Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/31/21 Full Review s r 1001 movies to see before you die. It was certainly artistic, but the plot was confusing. Powerful visuals. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Earth

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Cast & Crew

Rich and Strange 69% 30% Rich and Strange Watchlist The Crowd 96% 90% The Crowd Watchlist The Blue Angel 96% 86% The Blue Angel Watchlist Street Scene 89% 72% Street Scene Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis This impressionistic silent Russian film follows the trials and tribulations of farmers on a collective who come into conflict with more affluent "kulak" landowners. Led by Vasili (Semyon Savshenko), the farmers pool their resources to buy a tractor, a triumphant development that soon yields to tragedy. Despite the hardships that they face, the farmers press on, with their connection to the land evident in the film's many moments of scenic rural beauty.
Director
Alexander Dovshenko
Genre
Drama
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 8, 1930, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters)
Oct 17, 1930
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 7, 2018
Runtime
1h 3m