简介：TheNewBabylonisametaphoricalclashofglitteringsurfacesanddeepsocialcynicismthatmarkedtheclimaxofGrigoriKozintsevandLeonidTrauberg'sexperimentationswiththeconventionsoftheSovietsilentcinema.TakingtheirthematicinspirationfromthestoryoftheParisCommuneof1871,thetwodirectorsfashionedahighlyconceptualizedallegoryofsocialstrataunderpressurethattranscendsitshistoricalrootstoformasardoniccommentonthehumancondition. Themusic,byDimitryShostakovitch,isalsointegraltothefilm'snarrativestructure.Normallyinfilm,themusicservestocomplimentoramplifythevisualimage.Therelationshipisoneofconjunction.InTheNewBabylon,however,Shostakovitchcreatesarelationshipthroughtheoppositionofsoundandimage.Inthemusichallscene,forexample,thecomposerinterfacescomponentsofthe"can-can"andthe"Marseillaise"withthevulgarspectacleofthepageanttoformamusicalcommentontheFrenchmiddleclass. Althoughtheavant-gardeaspectsofTheNewBabyloncausedittofallsomewhatindisfavorduringtheregimeofJosefStalin,itispreciselythoseelementsthatcauseittoremainofinteresttoday.AlthoughrankingsomewhatbelowthepioneeringeffortsofSergeiEisensteinandVsevolodPudovkinwhosetheoriesgreatlyinfluenceditscreation,TheNewBabylonstillrepresentsaninnovativeuseofthecinemaandoneofthehighpointsoftheSovietsilentcinema.…