Culture/Kultura: Russian Influences on American Performing Arts: Film

At a recent Kennan Institute event, Naum Kleiman, Director of the Moscow Cinema Museum, and Annette Michelson, Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University discussed the mutual interaction between Russian and American film. This event was the final installment in four-part series that examined the influences of Russian artists and styles on American performing arts, and the discussion of film touched on many of the same topics that were discussed at the three previous events. For example, Kleiman pointed out that Russian émigrés such as choreographer George Balanchine and actor Michael Chekhov, in addition to their influential roles in the world of dance and theater, were very active in Hollywood.

Although American film has absorbed Russian cultural influences indirectly through music, theater and dance, Kleiman and Michelson noted that it is somewhat difficult to speak of a direct influence of Russian film on American film. According to Kleiman, filmmakers in the U.S. have had very limited exposure to films made in Russia and the Soviet Union. Michelson cautioned that it can be misleading to describe one artistic style as influencing another, because the two styles are usually part of some larger whole. However, Kleiman maintained that it is both possible and productive to talk about a Russian influence on American film if one understands influence as "assimilation of a principle, and to some extent the refutation of that principle."

Michelson spoke about the influence of Sergei Eisenstein—one of the Soviet Union's best known and most innovative directors. Eisenstein never made a film in the U.S.; Michelson noted that Paramount Pictures invited him to Hollywood in 1935, but the film company never accepted any of his movie projects. Nevertheless, she argued that Eisenstein's use of montage influenced filmmakers in America and elsewhere. His influence is visible in such well-known scenes as the shower sequence in Alfred Hichcock's Psycho.

Kleiman stated that many American filmmakers in the 1920s and ‘30s had seen and admired Eisenstein's films, and that the effects of this admiration are especially visible in films made outside of Hollywood. Kleiman also noted the influence of other Russian artists, such as émigré actress and producer Alla Nazimova. In his opinion, Nazimova's film Salome clearly reflected traditions of Russian literature, theater and set design. This movie, along with other movies featuring Russian actors and directors, was seen by American filmmakers and influenced their future work in many subtle ways.

Having examined the history of complex and subtle interactions between Russian and American film, Kleiman spoke briefly about possible future influences. He noted that Americans tend to view their film industry as the center around which the film industries of every other country revolve and from which they draw influence. However, he believes that it is more accurate to think of a cinema as a broader artistic whole that encompasses different types of films produced in different countries. Kleiman argued that there have been many talented filmmakers in the Soviet Union and Russia—for example, some of the best animated films produced recently have come from Russia—and that the world of film could benefit greatly from their influences.