From 1949 onwards came a series of films from Russia designed to show its 'superiority' over the West in the arts and sciences. Earlier in the 1940's master film maker Vsevolod Pudovkin had waved the patriotic flag with his excellent biopics of General Suvorov and Admiral Nakhimov and is here given the task of bringing to life the man Lenin described as 'the father of Russian aviation', Nicolay Zhukovsky, who has been immortalised by having a city, an airport and a plane named after him, not to mention a crater on the moon.
Zhukovsky's theories, like those of so many innovators, were met with scepticism, derision and indifference. Writer Anatoli Granberg and actor Yuri Yurovsky have given us a portrait of a character whose inspiration, infectious enthusiasm and determination enabled him to triumph.
Although this film could easily appeal solely to 'aviation anoraks', Granberg keeps the technical jargon to a minimum and Pudovkin's stunning visual sense is very much in evidence, especially his images of Nature. The pioneering flights, many of which were to prove fatal to the pilots, are brilliantly depicted. Pudovkin is again assisted in the direction by Dmitri Vasiliev whilst cinematography, editing and score are of the highest quality. Although one could have done without the final sequence showing the might of the Soviet airforce one has to accept this as part and parcel of cold war propoganda. Unsurprisingly the film was awarded the Stalin Prize.
When considering Zhukovsky's theories on airflow and flight, Leonardo da Vinci's findings of five centuries earlier make fascinating reading.
