Iron Curtain lands. Post-Stalin Period. Copyright MCMLIX. Educational Supervision: Michael Boro Petrovich, PhD. Associate Professor of History, The University of Wisconsin. Photographed & directed by filmmaker and author Charles Dee Sharp. This 1959, color movie presents a cross-section of life in the lands considered to be behind the iron curtain after the rule of Joseph Stalin. It is a profile of the communist society. It takes us a step closer to understanding these lands ruled by an atheistic aristocracy. The movie opens with peasant women walking down the road. The camera pans around a plaza with churches in the background 1:12. Women kiss the paintings in a church 1:40. Three women sit on a bench and smile for the camera 1:53. A map of the Soviet Union is shown 2:14. A map shows the plains of Russia are riddled with river systems 2:35. A footbridge is shown 2:46. In rural Russia, peasants live much as they did hundreds of years ago 3:23. Man sharpens and axe 3:43. A woman tends to chickens 4:10. A woman loads hay onto a truck with a pitchfork 4:33. A propaganda sign is shown 4:49. A country dance is held and a man drinks a beer 5:20. Russian Orthodox Churches are seen in the distance 5:47. Cannon that were left after Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 6:09. Moscow is a modern city with wide streets 6:32. GUM, the state-owned department store, 6:42. The small shops that surround GUM are seen by 7:05. The abacus is used as a cash register 7:20. The subways are the pride of Russia today 7:48. The Moskva, or Moscow River, is important to the city 8:02. The trains are modern 8:20. An animated map shows the linkages of the rail systems 8:32. Modern Russian jets are shown 8:43. Buses, trucks, and other automobiles are displayed in great halls, not to sell, but to show the public how much the government has achieved 9:15. The world’s largest Ferris wheel 9:28. The world’s largest cannon 9:30. The largest bell ever cast 9:38. A dog and her puppies sit by a fence 9:57. Russia’s cities are riddled with slums 10:10. A construction crew is building a home 10:52. Pioneer camps entertain and educate children 11:22. Children eat together in uniform 11:55. The University of Moscow 12:04. Mass communications are controlled 100% by the state; PRAVDA 12:50. Gorky Park has several amusements for children and adults alike 13:13. Artists work in sculpture 13:30. The Bolshoi Theater 13:44. A woman and a man perform a beautiful ballet 14:00. Jews are allowed to worship in temples and Protestants in churches 14:25. Throngs march toward Red Square 14:46. An animated map shows how countries west of Moscow have all been affected by the policies of the Kremlin 15:26. Warsaw, Poland 15:40. The Poles worship openly 16:05. Man plays a trumpet and young people dance 16:27. Prague, Czechoslovakia 16:38. Statue of Stalin 17:25. Dignitaries exit an airplane onto the tarmac 17:40. Khrushchev shakes hands with the dignitaries assembled 18:00. Khrushchev continues to shake the hands of everyone assembled 18:32. The Mausoleum for Russian leaders in Red Square 18:50. A Grover-Jennings Production.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
