Soviet propaganda films, some over 80 years old, were released in the U.S. for the first time on November 7, 2006, in coordination with the 89th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution. Films by Jove, the major distribution company for Russian animation, has packaged the Soviet propaganda films in a series on DVD which they will distribute with Kino International.
The eight-hour series, issued as a DVD 4-pack, will retail for $89. The series is based on more than four dozen rarely seen anti-American, anti-German, anti-British, anti-Japanese, anti-Capitalist, anti-Imperialist pro-Communist animated shorts produced by the Soviets from 1924-1984.
“This is a groundbreaking collection for both the unique insight it provides into the Soviet propaganda machine that was operating all those years, as well as the opportunity to appreciate truly beautiful, although sometimes disturbing, films by brilliant and creative undiscovered filmmakers,” said Joan Borsten, President of Films by Jove and producer of the series.
The series is divided into four categories:
* American Imperialists
* Fascist Barbarians
* Capitalist Sharks
* Onward to the Shining Soviet Future: Communism
“Lenin considered cinema the most important art for promoting the Bolshevik party line. The stereotypes of capitalists and imperialists, developed by animation collectives in the mid 20s, were still being used in the 70s and 80s,” said Borsten.
Films by Jove acquired worldwide distribution rights to much of the Soyuzmultfilm Studio library in 1992, and since then has digitally restored approximately 50 hours of film. The series include: “Fairy Tales from Far Off Lands: The Animated Classic Showcase,” “Mikhail Baryshnikov’s Stories from My Childhood,” “The Jungle Book,” “Masters of Russian Animation,” “The Adventures of Cheburashka & Friends,” “Mythology of Greece” and “Animated Soviet Propaganda.”
