The General Line
1929 · Movie · 125 min · ★ 6.4 · 95% critics
Set in rural Russia after the fall of the old order, a struggling farming community is urged to embrace collective work and new machinery as a path to progress. As tradition, religion, and local power structures push back, the promise of modern tools and shared effort is tested in daily life.
Also known as Old and New
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Details
- Original title
- Старое и новое
- Years
- 1929
- Release date
- 1929-09-25
- Language
- Russian
- Runtime
- 125 min
- Critic score
- 95/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.4/10 (47 votes)
About
You may enjoy this if you’re curious about early Soviet history and bold, message-driven storytelling with standout set pieces; Not for you if you want subtle themes or tight plotting like Battleship Potemkin or October.
Pros: striking sequences; memorable rural faces; vivid sense of era | Cons: heavy-handed propaganda; uneven pacing; long dreamlike stretch
Cast & crew
- ML
Marfa Lapkina
as Marfa
- MI
M. Ivanin
as Marfa's son
- KV
Konstantin Vasilyev
as Tractor Driver
- VB
Vasili Buzenkov
as Secretary of the milk cooperative
- NE
Nezhnikov
as Miroshkin - Schoolmaster
- CH
Chukamaryev
as The butcher
Ivan Yudin
as Komsomolets
- ES
E. Suhareva
as Witch
- GM
G. Matvei
as Priest
- LI
Lev Ivanov
as Student (uncredited)
Directed by Sergei Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov