Of all the arts, for us cinema is the most important.

The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 changed the history of the world and of the 20th century in monumental ways that are the subject of no less than three exhibits at Harvard University this fall. The HFA pays tribute to the ways that the USSR has been portrayed on screen by presenting three screenings in conjunction with these exhibits.  We will be featuring two-thirds of Vsevolod Pudovkin’s so-called “Bolshevik” trilogy: Mother and Storm Over Asia. (The third film, The End of St. Petersburg, will be presented digitally by the Davis Center; see details below.) And in honor of Harvard’s most famous alum to witness the revolution directly, we present Hollywood’s John Reed biopic Reds.

Houghton Library will be presenting The Russian Revolution: Actors and Witnesses in Harvard Library Collections September 6 – December 21 in the Lowell Room, Houghton Library. From September 7 – October 20, Romance and Reality: Posters from the Russian Revolution will be on display at the Harvard Ed Portal (224 Western Avenue, Allston). John Reed: Reporting the Russian Revolution, on exhibit at the Fisher Family Commons October 2-November 13, 2017, presents a selection of material from Houghton Library), including photographs and personal items, that showcase his passion and dedication as a writer and political activist. 

The exhibit The Russian Revolution: Actors and Witnesses in Harvard Library Collections will be open for a special viewing on Monday, October 23 from 5:45 to 6:45 in Houghton Library.