Yuriy Vasilyevich Kuzmin,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Baikal State University, Irkutsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
“Descendant of Genghis Khan”: Book, Script, Movie
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2022-5-10
The article continues the author's series of publications devoted to the history of creation and fate of the film “Descendant of Genghis Khan”, based on the book of the same name by the Siberian writer I.M. Novokshonov. The director was V.I. Pudovkin, and the main role was played by V.I. Inkizhinov. The article provides biographical information about Novokshonov, Pudovkin, Inkizhinov, whose creative union allowed to create a world-class masterpiece. The process of filming is discussed, the persons involved in the film’s creation, the directing and camerawork techniques used are characterized. The historical and ethnographic scenes of the Buddhist Tsam, participation in the filming of the former Siberian partisans and Trans-Baikal Semeyskys gave special value to the film, which made it possible to preserve unique sketches of traditional Siberian society for science. Special attention is paid to the fate of the film after its release, the reaction of the Western European audience to it. In particular, they talk about the reasons for the negative attitude of the British authorities to the picture, who even tried to acquire exclusive rights to show it and thereby deprive the mass Western European viewer of the opportunity to get acquainted with this outstanding work of Soviet cinema of 1920s. As for the perception of the film in Russia, the emigration of the actor who played the main role to France, as well as the repression against the writer, made it banned for a long time for the domestic audience. Currently, the film has been restored and is popular not only among film and art historians, but also among the broad strata of Russian society. It is also known in the history of world cinema, especially thanks to famous bright names of V. Pudovkin and V. Inkizhinov.
Publishing: 28/10/2022
The article has been received by the editor on 29/04/2022
How to cite: Kuzmin Yu.V. “Descendant of Genghis Khan”: Book, Script, Movie // Historical Courier, 2022, No. 5 (25), pp. 130–137. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2022/ISTKURIER-2022-5-10.pdf]
RFBR Grant 20-59-44008 Mong_a “World and Russian Mongolian Studies: National Schools, Concepts, Personalities”.
Links: Issue 5 2022
Keywords: movie “Descendant of Genghis Khan”; script; shooting; audience reaction; subsequent fate; writer I.M. Novokshenov; director V.I. Pudovkin; screenwriter O.M. Brick; actor V.I. Inkizhinov