Ordinary Fascism (Russian: Обыкновенный фашизм, romanized: Obyknovennyy fashizm), or Triumph Over Violence is a 1965 Soviet film directed by Mikhail Romm. The film is also known as Echo of the Jackboot in the United Kingdom. The film uses archival footage to depict the rise and fall of fascism in Nazi Germany.[1]
| Ordinary Fascism | |
|---|---|
 English theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mikhail Romm |
| Written by |
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| Starring | Mikhail Romm |
| Cinematography | German Lavrov |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Alemdar Karamanov |
Release date |
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Running time |
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| Country | Soviet Union |
| Language | Russian |
Style
editThe film's style was largely influenced by the work of Soviet documentarian Esfir Shub. Shub is regarded as the creator of the compilation film, which uses existing footage to depict historical events. Shub's most famous compilation film, The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, gathered newsreel footage from pre-revolutionary Russia to depict the decline of the Czar and valorize the Russian Revolution. Inspired by Shub's state-approved documentary style, Romm culled material from German archives, archives of post-war antifascist organizations, photo archives and archives seized from the German military to create his documentary.
Romm used novel technologies in the documentary. With reverse playback, Romm was able to repeat sequences like the kiss given by a Nazi party official to industrialist Alfried Krupp, which Romm used to highlight the relationship between the Nazi party and organized capital. Romm also used freeze-frame shots to focus on moments from the archival footage.
Aside from co-writing, co-editing, and directing the film, Romm also provided the film's narration. Initially, had wanted the narration done by someone else, but when his collaborators heard working versions of his voice-over, they encouraged him to do it. Romm's unique vocabulary and intonation became one of the film's main notable features.
Influence
editVadim Abdrashitov in an interview mentions Ordinary Fascism as the film that inspired him to make his own movies.
Soundtrack
editThis section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (July 2010) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 501–502. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
External links
edit- Triumph Over Violence at IMDb
- Triumph Over Violence on YouTube
- Triumph Over Violence is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive