Viktor Alexandrovich Turin

Viktor Alexandrowitsch Turin (mostly Viktor Turin ; Russian : Виктор Александрович Турин; * March 1895 in Saint Petersburg , † May 15, 1945 in Moscow ) was a Russian film director.

Life

Turin studied at the theater school in Saint Petersburg. In 1912 he went to the USA and studied at the Technical Institute in Boston . He then worked in Hollywood as an actor and librettist. In 1922 he went back to the Soviet Union and worked as a director. The documentary Losungi Oktjabrja ( Лозунги Октября ) was made. Turin's first feature film Borba gigantow ( Борьба гигантов , 1926) is about the class struggle in capitalist society.

The main work of Viktor Turin is the documentary film Turksib ( Турксиб , 1929) about the construction of the Turkestani-Siberian Railway . He is one of the most important silent films of Russian cinema . The film was completed before the route was completed and could therefore be used for propaganda purposes. He shows that large raw material deposits are undeveloped in the east, as there is a lack of infrastructure and the construction of the railway line is therefore worthwhile despite a struggle against the forces of nature. The urgency of the construction is conveyed by the increased speed of the film towards the end .

Turksib also attracted attention outside the Soviet Union ; In consultation with Turin, John Grierson produced a version of the film that had a major impact on the British documentary film movement of the 1930s .

Web links

• Viktor Turin in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Review of Turksib ( Memento from October 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original from August 27, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ google query on May 16, 2007
3. ↑ Short biography (French)