Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

This article is about the film. For the book by Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi, see Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (novel). For the book by Carl Sagan, see Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (book). For the TV episode, see Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Cosmos: Possible Worlds). For the song, see Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (song).
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors
Ukrainian original poster
UkrainianТіні забутих предків
Directed bySergei Parajanov
Screenplay by
Based onShadows of Forgotten Ancestors
by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky
Starring
CinematographyYuri Ilyenko
Music byMyroslav Skoryk
Production
company
Distributed by
Release date
  • 22 March 1965 (1965-03-22) (MFF)
4 Sep. 1965 (UkrSSR)
Running time
97 minutes
CountrySoviet Union[1][2]
LanguageUkrainian
BudgetRbl.300–500 thousand
Box office6.5 mil. admissions[note 1]

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, alternatively translated into English as Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors or Shadows of Our Ancestors (Ukrainian: Тіні забутих предків, romanized: Tini zabutykh predkiv), also known in English under the alternative title Wild Horses of Fire and under the mistaken title of In the Shadow of the Past,[3] is a 1965 Soviet-era Ukrainian film by the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov based on the 1911 novel Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Ukrainian writer Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky that tells a "Romeo and Juliet tale" of young Ukrainian Hutsul lovers trapped on opposite sides of a Carpathian family blood feud.[4][5]

The film was Parajanov's first major work and earned him international acclaim for its rich use of costume and colour.[6] The festival program from the 1966 edition of the New York Film Festival described the film as an "avant-garde, extravagant, sumptuous saga" and a "haunting work" that combined folk-songs and atonal music with fantastic camera work.[7]

Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is considered to be the most internationally heralded Ukrainian film in history,[8] and a classic of Ukrainian magical realist cinema.[9]

  1. ^ "Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors". 23 October 2023.
  2. ^ "Biennale Cinema 2023 | Tini zabutykh predkiv (Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors)". 17 July 2023.
  3. ^ Reviewing the film in 1966 for Variety Gene Moskowitz mistakenly called the film In the Shadow of the Past, see Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: Ukrainian Revival. The Reception of Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors // James Steffen (2013). The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 306 p.: pp. 73–78. ISBN 978-0-299-29653-7
  4. ^ Peter Rollberg (2009). Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema. US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 612. ISBN 978-0-8108-6072-8.
  5. ^ Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Turner Classic Movies. 2021
  6. ^ Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors. Ukrainian Revival // James Steffen (2013). The Cinema of Sergei Parajanov. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. 306 p.: pp. 56–87. ISBN 978-0-299-29653-7
  7. ^ The 4th New York Film Festival: Tini Zabutykh Predkiv / Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors // Robert Elliot Palets (1969). The New York Film Festival 1963–1966: A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts. Madison: University of Wisconsin. 235 p.: p. 216
  8. ^ Preface // First, Joshua J (2008). Scenes of Belonging: Cinema and the Nationality Question in Soviet Ukraine during the Long 1960s: A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (History) in The University of Michigan. 372 p.: p. ii
  9. ^ Johnson, Steven (November 28, 2011). "Q&A: A Hawk And A Hacksaw". musicOMH. Retrieved 2015-11-17.


Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).