DESCRIPTION

The New Babylon was recognized as a masterpiece as early as 1929. It was rediscovered at the 1958 Bruxelles Expo but properly presented with the original Shostakovich score only in the eighties. The original Shostakovich score (opus 18) had been synchronized with the film under the personal supervision of its director Leonid Trauberg (1901-1990) and - according to Trauberg - he had never 'seen' his film in that final state before 1981. A valuable estimation of the picture can be found in Jay Leyda's KINO. One should realize that there is only one definite version of the picture: the GOSFILOMOFOND print, running for about 90 minutes at variable speed. There is however an apocryphal print about, a clipping together of the original print and approximately another 33% of out-takes. German film historians are responsible for this horrible mutilation of the original. When this version was shown in Hamburg in 1983 a press bulletin explained that scenes had been added that were once removed by censorship. However, what had been added were only discarded scenes that had been cut because they were too dull; for instance actrice Kuzmina in front of a cupboard of hat boxes or actor Sobolevsky with his wounded arm in a sling as an unlikely cabaret artist in 1871 'Gay Paris'. Director Leonid Trauberg saw this `German' version with the extra footage "that I cut out myself" and has furiously tried to prohibit its screening. A lengthy statement about the original and apocryphal print of The New Babylon was sent to various cinema museums by Trauberg in October 1983.

«Новый Вавилон» — чёрно-белый кинофильм Григория Козинцева и Леонида Трауберга 1929 года. Историко-революционная эпопея.Франция 1870-е годы. Юная продавщица Луиза, стоявшая за прилавком огромного парижского магазина «Новый Вавилон», приходит на баррикады Парижской коммуны, а её возлюбленный, солдат Жан, изменяет себе и становится в ряды карателей…

Фильм напоён любовными реминисценциями из великой французской культуры XIX века — Гюго, Золя, живописи импрессионистов… В его кадрах живут традиции Мане, Ренуара, Дега, Писсаро, острого и язвительного Лотрека, даже «голубого» Пикассо…

Народное восстание — обычная победоносная точка в советских фильмах 20-х годов. Странно и почти одиноко выглядела на этом фоне трагичная лента о… поражении и поругании восстания. Фильм «Новый Вавилон» выразил тревожные раздумья молодых художников о судьбе революции и революционеров и о своём драматическом времени.