An analytical assessment of the audio-visual structure in Eisenstein's "Alexander Nevsky" which utilizes both primary and secondary sources. I focus on the functional and conceptual aspects of the film's score by contextualizing it within the framework of Eisenstein's theory of sound-film and the nature of Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration.

Summary:

Seroff’s book is another biography of Sergei Prokofiev. Chapter 26 of his book opens up with Prokofiev’s journey to the US in early 1938 and ends a year later when Prokofiev himself conducted the first performance of the cantata Alexander Nevsky, which he adapted from his score for the movie. The chapter is heavily based on primary sources - Prokofiev’s and Eisenstein’s statements about each other, their quotes and letters about their collaboration on Nevsky, but it also includes an article that Prokofiev wrote later on about his journey to the US, which includes his opinions on contemporary American music. Seroff gives a full picture of the character of Prokofiev’s composition, ranging from the “upside-down” means of orchestration, to placement of the microphones and mixing experiments in the studios. He also examines the “exceptionally harmonious relationship that stemmed from Eisenstein’s understanding and knowledge of Prokofiev’s works, and of Prokofiev the man” (217), but also asserts that “the two collaborators, however, did not always agree” (219). Seroff also talks about Prokofiev’s “nationalistic” music, but agrees with Eisenstein that through his “true originality in the Hegelian sense, Prokofiev was both national and international” (218).

Evaluation & Analysis:

    Seroff’s discourse on the nature of collaboration between Eisenstein and Prokofiev is exceptional, although Seroff mistakenly dates Prokofiev’s visit to United States to 1939, instead of 1938. Unlike Robinson, Seroff acknowledges the fact that Prokofiev bought home with him some technical knowledge in sound-film production, which he had acquired while visiting film studios in Hollywood. Although they both explore Prokofiev’s guiding principle in using Russian folk music of the 13th century by recomposing it with the instrumental possibilities of the 20th century orchestra, Seroff adds another dimension to his music by convincingly presenting Prokofiev’s score not only as profoundly nationalistic, but also as very international, due to the variety of his musical language that incorporates not only purely national, historical or patriotic themes, but themes of Renaissance Italy and Shakespearean England. This logically implicates that there was also a temporal juxtaposition in Prokofiev’s score on various levels – using contemporary orchestra to recreate the Russian folksongs of the 13th century but also drawing the inspiration from the past, from the heroic deeds of Russia in 19th century (defeating Napoleon), while simultaneously subtly integrating into the score the elements from the Byzantine and European cultures of medieval times. Based on this, the affinity between Eisenstein and Prokofiev has a common ground; one that might be labeled paradoxical synchronization. For Eisenstein, it would be the non-synchronization of sound to visual images (music not as mere accompaniment) and his endorsement of the contrapuntal use of sound, while for Prokofiev it would be a two-layered paradoxical synchronization of a huge variety of musical themes (old & new, national & international).

Summary:

In this chapter, temporally bound to years 1938 and 1939 and thus coinciding with Eisenstein’s production of Alexander Nevsky, Robinson offers a close look on Prokofiev’s life in the harsh climate of Soviet reality and describes his professional relationship with Eisenstein before and during the shooting of the movie. He notes that both of them had actually a great deal of common, particularly the suspicion shadow casting over them for their international connections, travel abroad and supposed “cosmopolitanism”, but affirms that Alexander Nevsky “would open an important new stage in the careers of both director and composer” (350), since it re-instigated Eisenstein’s reputation as a director and inspire Prokofiev’s first successful “nationalistic” music. Robinson echoes Prokofiev’s enthusiasm about the possibilities of music in cinema and Eisenstein’s inclusion of Prokofiev in all aspects of the production of Nevsky. The chapter also provides a short description of the film score, ranging from themes, choice of instruments, folk motifs and elaborates on Prokofiev’s discovery of the enormous potential of recorded sound (mixing, distortion, etc.)

Evaluation & Analysis:

    This chapter in Prokofiev’s biography does not pretend to offer any deep analytical assessment of Eisenstein-Prokofiev collaboration; as any other biography it only describes the facts that happened in someone’s life at certain point (naturally, some sort of cause-effect relationship between the events has to be outlined or logically discernible). Yet, even in this respect, Robinson could have done a little more. For example, he mentions that in early 1938 (prior to the beginning of Nevsky shooting), Prokofiev went to visit Hollywood, where he took a firsthand look at the latest advances in filmmaking technology. Taking into account the undisputable fact that the Hollywood cinema at the time was technologically (sound and camera equipment, studios, etc.) far ahead of the Soviet film industry, it seems peculiar that Robinson mentions it in only one sentence and then swiftly moves to the discussion of Nevsky. Robinson seems to ignore the well-documented fact that Prokofiev’s encounter with Hollywood enabled him to study - in-depth and around the most prominent Hollywood filmmakers of that era - the use sound and music in the cinema. Robinson is either unaware or indifferent to the fact that the enormous knowledge Prokofiev gained in the US, and especially from Walt Disney, was subsequently applied at the shooting sessions of Nevsky and in the composition of musical score for the movie.
On the other hand, Robinson makes a very wise observation that the foundation for a successful collaboration between Eisenstein and Prokofiev is to be found in their similar understanding of the active (not just accompanying) role the music could and should play in film – indeed, a radically different position from Hollywood. Yet overall, Robinson fails to connect the important dots – he completely disregards Hollywood’s influence on Prokofiev in terms of sound technology and experimentation; and he also falls short to explain that despite this influence, Prokofiev believed the film music has more than an accompanying function to images presented on the screen. Eisenstein and Prokofiev shared this philosophical platform and could therefore establish a very beneficial working relationship, but Robinson’s cause-effect explanation for that is simply inadequate and insufficient.

This article, published a few years after the US release of “Zéro de Conduite,” provides a valuable historical account of Vigo as a person and director, written by a close friend and colleague. It quickly mentions that Vigo, like all geniuses, was shunned by mainstream society before being (posthumously) lauded for his brilliance. Zilzer argues that Vigo’s life of hardship influences his films by creating a “poetry of realism” on the screen, thus taking a much less political and more aesthetic analysis of his work. He mentions how Vigo’s work was never technically perfect, but never suffered from that fact either. He then summarizes Vigo’s political heritage, all the way back to his anti-war grandfather, who was assassinated under similar circumstances as his father was. He describes Vigo’s character as a blend of the energy of his lineage with the “carefreeness” of his Basque relatives in Pyrenees. After discussing the start of his film career, Zilzer makes an insightful observation that, while filming a documentary of Nice, Vigo shot the “boredom of the rich and the enthusiasm of the poor.” Zilzer then describes the public reception of “Zéro de Conduite,” which was controversial to say the least. In fact, during the screening the lights were turned on several times and a few open fights broke out. Most interestingly, the author points out that although parts of the film could be “called surrealistic…Vigo was never considered a surrealist-his search for realism was too deep.” The article ends with a lengthy description of the production of Vigo’s final film, “L’Atalante.”
    Much of this article is useful for my thesis, particularly the personal recollection and historical accuracy it presents. By giving a more detailed description of his heritage, he solidifies the notion that Vigo’s works are strongly motivated by his anti-authoritarian upbringing. However, his description of the film as poetic realism (as opposed to surrealism) challenges my thesis. I would argue, however, that poetic realism was a tendency rather than a movement, as many others have said, and that as such, his surrealistic touches simply add to the poetry of the realism that he is portraying, by focusing on school administration from children’s eyes. I believe that “Zéro de Conduite” achieved Vigo’s search for realism by portraying more than simply superficial aspects of the oppression in school; his use of the surreal allows the audience to empathize with the children in a way that enhances their reality, ultimately creating an absolutely-realistic film, by opening up new perspectives on a recognizable institution.

full citation: Zilzer, Gyula. "Remembrances of Jean Vigo." Hollywood Quarterly. Vol. 3, No. 2  (Winter, 1947-1948). 125-128. University of California Press. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/1209357>.

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This book takes a more biographical slant to Woody Allen’s work, going through his life and the filming of his movies rather than studying the movies to deduce Allen’s characteristics and real life references.

The prologue to the book describes the scandal with Mia Farrow and Soon-Yi. However, this aspect of the prologue is only useful in its juxtaposition with the description of the overall appeal and greatness of Woody Allen. Meade briefly goes over the benchmarks in Woody Allen’s career, such as his change from stand-up comedy to film, but more importantly, Meade expresses the popularity and the special attributes that make Woody Allen a household name. The biographer discusses the recognizable appearance, the Chaplin references, and the breadth of his film career. Meade lists Allen’s praises as an artist and writer for his originality, independence from the Hollywood establishment, and his intelligence. The writer sees Allen as an auteur, who breathes himself into life in his films through his control over the many stages of filmmaking. In this prologue, Meade stresses that Woody Allen has survived several controversies in his public personal life, and his fans remain with him because of the love of his films and his persona.

The seventh chapter of the book “A Picture about Me” focuses on the Woody Allen’s life during the making of Annie Hall. Allen is quoted as saying that the film was about him in its ideas, thoughts, and background, and despite the title, Meade points out that Annie is not the main character. The film was originally titled “Anhedonia” – the inability to experience pleasure – focusing on Allen’s own perception of life in his forties. In vivid passages, Meade describes the relationship between Allen and Keaton, the writing process, and the input of other film executives, who were particularly against the depressing original title. The chapter describes the postproduction process, the public reaction to the film, the increased focus and building of the Woody Allen persona that resulted from the success, and Allen’s reactions to the attention. This section of the article is particularly different from the other sources, because the depiction of Woody Allen at the time of Annie Hall’s success stands out when compared to the image that the public was painting of Allen at the time.

This introduction is useful for this project, because it describes Allen as a film auteur, who also went beyond his films and became a household name. The chapter establishes how “onscreen Woody” was a creation of the public imagination, dramatizing the differences between the image and Allen's actual feelings and actions.

It wasn't until Willy Wyler, who in the war, returned that the idea of making a film based on Glory for Me was revisited.  Wyler wanted to make a film about the war, and he and writer Bob Sherwood adapted the novel to a screenplay.  Goldwyn was never an ardent supporter of the film, and was ready to halt its production at many points.  It was not until he consulted the Audience Research Institute (ARI), which gauged the American theatergoer's interest in a film, and received very positive results that he threw his support behind the film.  The result was a wildly successful film which enjoyed great success.

This story gives insight to the studio-based methods of production of 1946, before the Paramount Decision, and to the postwar movie-making atmosphere.  Goldwyn's doubts initally plagued the production of this film, as he was unsure if a serious, socially critical film was what American audiences really wanted to see after the war.  The response he received from the ARI raises the ever-present issue of the divide between what audiences want to see and what Hollywood thinks they want to see.  This response represents the readiness of American society to address the problems that postwar life created in 1946.  The ability of Goldwyn, Wyler and Sherwood to capture the clearly struck a chord with the American public that wanted to confront the social issues of the day rather than sweep them under a rug.

This book contains several essays about Woody Allen and his work. The second chapter – entitled “Will the Real Little Man Please Stand Up?” – discusses the question of the real Woody Allen versus the onscreen Woody Allen. Pogel argues that more and more critics are treating Woody Allen separately from his creation. Allen even argues that point, and in interviews, he does not appear as the man from the movies. Thus, Pogel pursues that any understanding of Woody Allen based on his films would be incomplete and unconvincing.

Pogel runs through Allen’s private, rigid daily routine, juxtaposing it to the scatter-brained characters that he writes and portrays in his films. The author paints him in the most normal actions and emphasizes the simplicity rather than the exaggerated character associated with Woody Allen. Pogel comments on Woody Allen as a writer, a comedian, a filmmaker, and a businessman drifting away from the everyday man that she initially depicts.

Still, as the chapter continues, Pogel begins to draw similarities between Allen and his “little-man” characters. The discussion at the end of the first section of this chapter comments on Allen’s feelings about politics, being Jewish, and romance, using small references to their infusion into his films. However, Pogel continues to resist the temptation to equate Woody Allen with his onscreen persona. Quotes of Allen’s comments on those subjects are taken from interviews rather than films, although his films do bring up the same opinions to some degree.

The second part of the chapter draws a line between Allen and his characters citing the ambiguities that surround Woody Allen’s personal life, particularly his childhood. The author ponders why Allen would withhold private details, suggesting that Allen may want the audience to consider the broader implications of the film rather than focus on the film as a personal introspection. The chapter goes on to detail Allen’s childhood and written and stand-up comedy career, never mentioning the similarities to his film persona.

This source opposes the idea that the filmmaker Woody Allen is the Woody Allen character in his films, and despite its sound arguments, the essay can also be seen as the extent to which one must avoid the connections between Allen and his onscreen persona to uphold this perspective in this debate.

This article presents a biased point of view of Woody Allen’s real life, depicting him as a contradiction, mystery, and possibly even a hypocrite. After succinctly delineating the persona that Woody Allen carries as an intellectual, shy, funny, and neurotic New Yorker, the article gives a detailed account of Woody Allen’s personal everyday life, removed from all of the personality that has stuck to the distinctive image of Woody Allen.

The title of the article, “The Conflicting Life and Art of Woody Allen,” establishes the point of the article: The writer attempts to list and question the many contradictions within Woody Allen’s life. Most of the contradictions come from what Woody Allen says versus what he actually does, such as a purported “disinterest for material wealth” versus the Rolls Royce that Woody Allen uses to go around New York City. The writer bases many impressions of Woody Allen on the film roles, and in some instances, the writer undoes this cinematic persona of Woody Allen with descriptions of his real life. In other instances, the image of Woody Allen says one thing, such as that he chases many women, while Allen makes comments that contradict this idea. However, in the case of women-chasing, Allen’s friend Tony Roberts laughs at Allen’s contradiction of the promiscuous Woody Allen persona. The line between reality and film becomes complicated as the line becomes an intersection between reality, film, AND self-image.

The article oscillates between Allen’s perception, the writer’s perception, and the perception of close friends. The article does not answer the questions about the contradictions in Allen’s life, but rather raises these questions through this new and thorough information and the confusion through the varying opinions and images of Woody Allen. The final statement of the article is made by Tony Roberts, personally describing the enigma of Woody Allen and his ambivalence toward fame and the way that Allen chooses to live. The article simply concludes with the idea that outsiders will never truly know Woody Allen, because he is ultimately the one in control of what people know. This statement harkens back to the ideas that Woody Allen has molded the image and that his life may not actually reflect the onscreen Woody Allen, and that is exactly how he meant it to be. Perhaps, Woody Allen should simply be viewed as a shrewd self-advertisement and manipulator.

This perspective on the issue of fact versus fiction in Woody Allen's life adds to the considerations of the autobiographical quality of Annie Hall, while allowing one to view Annie Hall, as a vehicle for an image through exaggeration and the direct contact with the audience.

An ongoing, 50-plus-volume compendium of article-length biographies of popular music artists. Includes helpful lists for further reading.

Pulished in 1998, a biography of Butch Cassidy's life that focuses around the ambiguity of his death.

"Provides brief biographical data and complete filmographies for 'the most important and active directors who have been involved in feature, documentary and animation film production in 29 countries and states from the whole of the African continent over the last 60 years.'--Introd. Country, film title, and general indexes." (Balay, Guide to reference books, 11th ed, 1996)

"This important work compiles a significant amount of otherwise difficult-to-find information on women filmmakers working in all countries and all contexts, whether mainstream, independent, or experimental/avante-garde. The introduction, which gives generous consideration to a wide range of scholarly contributions, is an excellent synthesis of writing in English on women directors. Following are alphabetical entries of over 200 bibliographic references to interviews and filmographies that would have been more useful with the inclusion of running time, place, and production company. The considerable amount of critical commentary that Foster (English, Univ. of Nebraska) includes is an amalgam of secondary-source opinion and Foster's own viewing of a wide sampling of the films. The only other reference work in this area is The Women's Companion to International Film (LJ 10/1/94), which contains shorter entries on a wider range of subjects. Public and academic libraries with any interest in film will want to acquire both titles, as they will appeal to all types of readers." (Library Journal, 10/15/95, Vol. 120 Issue 17, p54)

An extensive biographical listing with critical/analytic commentary. "A welcome addition to the growing number of reference works on women in the film industry, this book is more general in scope than works confined to cinematic contributions by women during a particular era (e.g., Anthony Slide's The Silent Feminists: America's First Women Directors, CH, Jan'97) or their occupations in the industry (e.g., Women Writers: From Page to Screen, by Jill Rubinson Fenton et al., CH, Feb'91). Its breadth of scope and inclusion of essays about outstanding women filmmakers complement Ally Acker's Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema from 1896 to the Present (CH, Nov'91) and Gwendolyn Audrey Foster's Women Film Directors: An International Bio-critical Dictionary (CH, Apr'96). Entries include filmographies and literature by (and sometimes about) the women profiled. A list of films in which women filmmakers have had a major role has several entries and gives credits and references for further reading. Illustrations enliven the text. A chronology of women filmmakers and indexes by nationality, occupation, awards, distributors, and film titles add greatly to the value of the work. General and academic libraries." (Choice, November 1998)

(Balay)