Western Cinematography on the Pages of the Soviet Screen Magazine of 1925-1927

The subject of Western cinema on the pages of the Soviet Screen magazine in 1925-1927 was extensive and varied. Due to rather significant creative freedoms in the Soviet Screen in 1925-1927, photographs of Western movie stars (including photos on the covers of magazines), rather neutral or even positive biographies of Hollywood and European actors and directors, notes on filming and film distribution, reviews of Western films, etc. were widely published in 1925-1927. Although, of course, there were also ideologically biased materials on the pages of this magazine. Based on the analysis (in the context of the historical, socio-cultural and political situation, etc.) of the first years of the existence of the Soviet Screen magazine (1925-1927), the authors came to the conclusion that materials on Western cinema during this period can be divided into the following types: -ideologized articles emphasizing criticism of bourgeois cinema and its harmful influence on the audience (this included materials on censorship and perception of Western films by the Soviet public); -biographies and creative portraits of Western actors and directors (often neutrally or positively evaluating these filmmakers); -reviews of Western films (often positive); -reviews of Western national cinematographies (here, as a rule, criticism of bourgeois cinematography was combined with a positive assessment of works and trends ideologically acceptable to the USSR); -articles about Western newsreels (with approaches similar to reviews of national cinemas); -articles about foreign film technology, studios and cinemas (as a rule, ideologically neutral, containing calls to adopt technically advanced Western experience, in particular, sound film technology); -short informational materials about events in foreign cinema, about everyday details of the life of movie stars.