Russian Critics on the Cinema of Glasnost

This collection brings together twenty-three essays by some of Russia's most astute commentators on film and culture, written during the 1980s and published here in English for the first time. Included are reviews of films such as Little Vera and Taxi Blues, which were critically hailed in the West. Their comments illuminate important aspects of Russian filmmaking during this decade and capture a sense of a society in flux during the waning years of communism, as well as conveying the larger context within which Glasnost cinema and culture developed.
Russian Critics on the Cinema of Glasnost gathers together 23 essays written by some of Russia's most astute commentators of film and culture. Written during the 1980s and published in English for the first time, this collection includes reviews of films such as Little Vera and Taxi Blues, which were critically hailed in the West. Their comments not only illuminate important aspects of Russian filmmaking during this decade: as importantly, they capture a sense of a society in flux during the waning years of Communism, as well as the larger context within which Glasnost cinema and culture developed. This collection provides insight into the successes and shortcomings of Glasnost, as captured in film, for a Western audience.
"Brashinsky and Horton have done it again...the work consists of 23 essays, which are sometimes witty, sometimes trenchant, and always replete with the requisite amount of Eastern European irony...teachers, students, and film buffs will find much of interest here." J. M. Curtis, Choice
"...not only presents the views of Soviet critics on the glasnost movies, it also casts light on film criticism as a type of active and assertive social behavior....a useful tool." Dina Iordanova, Slavic and East European Journal