book on Glasnost-era films

[John Bartle]

>Dear Colleagues,
>Can anyone recommend a textbook or history on Glasnost-era films for an
>upper-level Russian/Soviet cinema class? The last time I taught the course,
>I tried _Zero Hour_, but I was dissatisfied with it as a textbook for
>undergraduates. I've poked through Harvard's and the LOC's library sites,
>but didn't see anything that seemed appropriate.
>
>This request seems broad enough to merit on on-list response...
>
>Thanks,
>mad

Dear Michael et al.:

I regularly teach a lower-level course on the history of
Russian/Soviet film, and I always use packets of articles, excerpts,
reviews, etc... instead of a single textbook.  I am not aware of a
single textbook that can cover the glasnost period, but maybe others
do?  A few of my favorite books to draw from:

--Another publication by Horton/Brashinsky is Russian Critics on the
Cinema of Glasnost, (1994).

--Several imprints by IB Tauris, including their relatively new
"Kinofile Film Companion" series.  These volumes, one to a film
(Repentance is the focus of one of them), include a great deal of
information, including a scene-by-scene summary/analysis of the movie.

--IB Tauris also published Russia on Reels : The Russian Idea in
Post-Soviet Cinema by Birgit Beumers (1999).

--Richard Stites's book, Russian Popular Culture, includes a section
on film in each historical period he analyzes.  If this book covered
just the glasnost period, it would be perfect for both discussing and
contextualizing film.

--I also make use of sections of Galichenko/Allington:
Glasnost--Soviet Cinema Responds (Austin : University of Texas Press,
1991).

--Finally, there is a relatively new volume, Russian Cinema, by David
C Gillespie (Harlow, England; New York: Longman, 2003), I believe out
in paperback.

Hope that helps.

John Bartle

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