Alt Sheff

Film: Tsar to Lenin

Tue 16 Oct 2012, 6.30pm, St. Matthews Meeting Rooms, Carver St. S1 4FE

First released in 1937, this film ranks among the twentieth century's greatest film documentaries. 75 years later, its importance remains undiminished. Indeed, the fresh wave of historical falsification provoked by the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 lends to this film exceptional relevance.The narration by Max Eastman (1883-1969), the pioneer American radical, conveys with emotion and humanity the drama and pathos of the revolution. Hailed by film critics as a masterpiece upon its premier, Tsar to Lenin aroused fierce opposition from those who feared the consequences of its truthful portrayal of events.First, the Stalinist organizations—which could not abide the documentary's depiction of the leading role played by Leon Trotsky in the revolution and civil war—threatened a boycott of theaters that showed the film. Later, during the McCarthyite era and the Cold War, public showings of Tsar to Lenin were all but impossible.In a new period of global capitalist crisis, Tsar to Lenin bears witness to a moment in history when socialist ideals inspired the greatest revolutionary movement in world history.More details at Socialist Equality Party: www.socialequality.org.uk/content/tsar-lenin-film-screening-sheffield

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