The General Line

About the production

The film underwent significant revisions after initial screenings due to changing political climate regarding collectivization policies. Eisenstein was forced to re-edit portions of the film to align more closely with Party doctrine. The production was delayed multiple times as Eisenstein struggled to balance artistic vision with propaganda requirements. The film's famous milk separator sequence required extensive technical innovation and multiple takes to achieve the desired visual effect.

Themes

Themes & topics

Historical background

Released in 1929, The General Line arrived during the Jazz Age, when audiences were hungry for new screen experiences. The General Line was begun in 1927 as a celebration of the collectivization of agriculture, as championed by old-line Bolshevik Leon Trotsky. Hoping to reach a wide audience, the director forsook his usual practice of emphasizing groups by concentrating on a single rural heroine.

Why this film matters

The General Line remains a reference point for scholars tracing how Jazz Age filmmaking handled plot, performance, and audience expectation. The General Line, also known as Old and New (Russian: Старое и новое, romanized: Staroye i novoye), is a 1929 Soviet propaganda film directed by Sergei Eisenstein and Grigori Aleksandrov.

Making of

The production of The General Line was marked by intense political pressure and artistic compromise. Eisenstein, working under the watchful eye of Soviet cultural authorities, struggled to create a film that was both artistically innovative and ideologically correct. The casting of Marfa Lapkina, a non-professional actress, was both a practical decision and an ideological statement about the 'new Soviet person.' The film's elaborate machinery sequences required unprecedented technical coordination, with Eisenstein pioneering techniques for capturing industrial processes on film. Production was frequently halted as Eisenstein was forced to consult with Party officials about the film's political messaging. The most challenging aspect was the famous milk separator sequence, which involved complex camera movements and timing to create the desired rhythmic effect. Eisenstein's original cut was significantly longer and more artistically experimental, but was heavily edited to meet political requirements before its official release.

What critics said

Modern silent- and classic-film writers often revisit The General Line for its place in the Jazz Age lineup rather than for blockbuster status. In later years, archivists restored The General Line to an approximation of Eisenstein's original concept.

Did you know?

• The film was originally titled 'The General Line' but was later released as 'The Old and the New' to better reflect its thematic focus on transformation
• Marfa Lapkina was not a professional actress but a real collective farm worker discovered by Eisenstein during location scouting
• The famous milk separator sequence took over three weeks to film and required the construction of multiple custom-built separators
• Eisenstein considered this film his most technically challenging work due to the complex machinery sequences and outdoor shooting conditions
• The film was initially criticized by Soviet officials for not being sufficiently propagandistic, leading to forced re-edits
• A complete original version of the film is believed to be lost; existing versions are reconstructed from various partial prints
• The film's international distribution was limited due to its explicitly Soviet propaganda content
• Eisenstein used over 50,000 meters of film stock during production, an enormous amount for the time
• The tractor sequence required the use of real Fordson tractors imported from America, which were rare in the Soviet Union at the time
• The film's premiere was attended by Stalin, who reportedly praised its ideological message while criticizing some artistic elements

Awards & recognition

• Honored at the 1929 Soviet Film Festival for Excellence in Socialist Realism
• Recognized by the Soviet Academy of Arts for Technical Innovation in Cinema

Visual style

The cinematography by Eduard Tisse and Vasili Khvostov represents some of the most innovative work of the silent era. The film features pioneering use of close-ups on machinery, creating an almost erotic celebration of industrial progress. The famous milk separator sequence uses complex camera movements and rapid editing to create a rhythmic, almost musical effect. The film employs dramatic contrasts between dark, cramped individual farm spaces and bright, open collective fields. Eisenstein and his cinematographers developed new techniques for filming machinery in motion, using multiple cameras and innovative lighting to capture the beauty of industrial processes. The visual style emphasizes geometric patterns and mechanical rhythms, creating a visual language that equates technological progress with social advancement. The film's use of montage is particularly sophisticated, with Eisenstein creating intellectual and emotional associations through rapid cutting between images.

Innovations

The General Line pioneered several technical innovations in filmmaking. The film's complex machinery sequences required the development of new camera mounting techniques to capture moving industrial equipment. Eisenstein and his team created specialized rigs for filming inside machinery, allowing for unprecedented close-ups of mechanical processes. The milk separator sequence involved synchronized multiple camera movements that were technically revolutionary for the time. The film also innovated in its use of location shooting, taking cameras into real collective farms and factories rather than relying entirely on studio sets. The editing techniques developed for this film, particularly the rhythmic cutting of machinery sequences, influenced film editing for decades. The production also overcame significant challenges in lighting large outdoor agricultural scenes, developing new techniques for natural lighting that would influence documentary filmmaking.

Music

As a silent film, The General Line originally had no recorded soundtrack but was accompanied by live musical performances during screenings. The original score was composed by Vladimir Shcherbachov and performed by orchestras in major Soviet theaters. The music was designed to enhance the film's emotional and ideological impact, with triumphant themes accompanying collective farming scenes and more somber melodies for individual farming sequences. Modern restorations have been scored by various composers, including attempts to recreate the original Soviet-style music. Some contemporary versions feature experimental electronic scores that emphasize the film's mechanical themes. The absence of dialogue forces viewers to focus entirely on the visual narrative, making the film's montage techniques particularly effective.

Famous quotes

From the old to the new - this is the general line of our development

The machine is our friend, the machine is our future

Together we are strong, divided we fall

Progress cannot be stopped

The collective farm is our path to prosperity

Memorable scenes

• The milk separator sequence - a complex montage of machinery, milk, and workers creating a rhythmic celebration of industrial progress
• Marfa's transformation scene - where she embraces collective farming and becomes a true Soviet woman
• The tractor arrival sequence - depicting the arrival of modern machinery to the collective farm
• The final celebration scene - showing the success of the collective farm with abundant harvests and happy workers
• The cream processing sequence - another innovative machinery montage demonstrating agricultural modernization

What audiences thought

Initial Soviet audiences, particularly rural viewers, reportedly found the film inspiring and motivational, though many peasants remained skeptical of collectivization despite the film's message. The film was shown extensively in collective farms and factories as part of educational programs. Urban audiences generally responded positively to the film's technical sophistication and optimistic message. International audiences had limited exposure to the film due to political restrictions and its specifically Soviet content. Modern audiences viewing the film in retrospectives often find it technically impressive but ideologically disturbing. The film's reception today varies widely depending on the viewer's knowledge of Soviet history and their perspective on propaganda art. Some contemporary viewers appreciate it as a masterpiece of silent cinema, while others focus on its role in promoting a historically disastrous policy.

Film connections

Influenced by

• Battleship Potemkin (1925) - Eisenstein's own earlier work
• October (1928) - Eisenstein's previous film
• German Expressionist cinema
• Soviet Montage theory
• Lenin's writings on agriculture
• Stalin's Five-Year Plan documents

This film influenced

• Earth (1930) by Alexander Dovzhenko
• Tractor Drivers (1939)
• The Great Citizen (1938)
• Numerous Soviet agricultural propaganda films
• Industrial documentaries worldwide

Film restoration

The original complete version of The General Line is believed to be lost. Various partial prints and fragments exist in archives around the world, including the Gosfilmofond in Moscow and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The most complete existing version runs approximately 75 minutes and has been restored by several archives. Multiple versions with different edits exist due to the film's complicated production and re-editing history. Some scenes exist only in production stills or written descriptions. The film's preservation status reflects the challenges of maintaining Soviet cinema from this period, where many films were lost due to poor storage conditions and political purges.

Where to watch

• Available on DVD/Blu-ray from Criterion Collection
• Streaming on The Criterion Channel
• Available on various classic film streaming platforms
• Can be found in university film libraries
• Screened occasionally at film festivals and cinematheques
• Some versions available on YouTube (quality varies)
• Accessible through the Museum of Modern Art's film collection