Arsenal

1929 1h 23m RU

👍

6.8

SOLID

★6.8TMDB · 61

DramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A soldier returns to Kyiv after surviving a train crash and encounters clashes between nationalists and collectivists. The story of the suppression of the Bolshevik uprising at the Arsenal factory in Kyiv by the Central Council troops.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Semyon Svashenko
Tymish
Amvrosii Buchma
a German soldier
Dmytro Erdman
a German officer
Sergey Petrov
a German officer
Mykola Kuchynskyi
Petliura
Mykola Nademskyi
a nationalist with a lamp
Borys Zahorskyi
dead German soldier
Osyp Merlatti
Mykhailo Sadovskyi

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Alexander Dovzhenko
Writers: Alexander Dovzhenko
Languages: No Language
Countries: Soviet Union

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

83 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

97 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "Ukraine Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko, shot by Danylo Demutsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Semyon Svashenko and Amvrosii Buchma and Dmytro Erdman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0019649 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Alexander Dovzhenko directs. Danylo Demutsky behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Soviet Union. Dialogue in No Language.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
297 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "Ukraine Trilogy" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Alexander Dovzhenko, shot by Danylo Demutsky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Semyon Svashenko and Amvrosii Buchma and Dmytro Erdman carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt0019649 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
9Classified under 11 themes, including "uniform", "world war i", "laughing gas", "russian soldier".

The technical file

Cinematography: Danylo Demutsky
Production design: Vladimir Miuller
Runtime: 83 min · 1h 23m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: RU
IMDB: Arsenal (1929)

Awards

100 best films in the history of Ukrainian cinema

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Ukraine Trilogy

Alexander Dovzhenko's "Ukraine Trilogy" (Zvenigora, Arsenal, and Earth), although underappreciated by some contemporary Soviet critics (who found some of its realism counter-revolutionary), is his most well-known work in the West.