Description: Yakov Protazanov was the most prolific Russian director of the silent era whose works enjoyed consistent popularity with audiences as he adapted to the Russian Revolution and, later, the transition to sound. This first career-length study in English argues that he pursued a unique artistic vision that reflected his ambivalent position within Soviet culture of the revolutionary era.
Review Quotes: "Protazanov is that rare exception of a filmmaker, who made the transition from pre-Revolutionary to Soviet cinema, and who in-between those phases spent several years abroad, in France and Germany; therefore, he does not fit easily within the temporalities of film history. Moreover, his work across various genres, his popularity, and his unflinching professionalism in the face of diverse political regimes has made him fall from the radar of scholarship focused largely on the Soviet avant-garde. Booth Wilson's book fills this gap with an in-depth study of Protazanov's career and a fine analysis of his films, drawing on a wealth of sources for this portrait of Soviet cinema's maybe most popular filmmaker."
--Birgit Beumers "Professor of film studies at the University of Aberystwyth, Wales, and editor of the journals KinoK"