Storm Over Asia 1928 (Vsevolod Pudovkin)

The Mezhrabpomfilm production Storm over Asia (1928; sound version made in 1949) ­- known as Potomok Chingis-Khana (The Heir to Genghis Khan) in Russian - was the third silent feature made by Vsevolod Pudovkin (1894-1953). Famous as a great director of revolutionary epics (Mat [Mother, 1925], Konets Sankt-Peterburga [The End of St. Petersburg, 1927], and some later, little-studied historical films), Pudovkin was sometimes called “the Russian Griffith” due both to his “epic” proclivities and his interest in and application of Hollywood editing practices. A gifted and highly trained actor, Pudovkin was also the first of the major Soviet film theorists to be widely read abroad (his Film Technique was translated in 1929 by Ivor Montagu), and his theoretical work was a practical mainstay for filmmakers and teachers of filmmaking around the world for decades.