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421:(1894–1976) had come to the cinema along a circuitous path. A physician specializing in psychiatry and neurology, he served as a medical officer with the Red Army during the Russian civil war that followed the revolutions of 1917. Originally from Lithuania, Room decided to stay in Moscow after demobilization and began to work in the Theater of the Revolution.
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film comes when she is sent off to a private “clinic” to have the abortion. She waits for her turn with a prostitute and a young girl. As she waits, she is looking out the clinic's window, where she sees a baby in a carriage on the sidewalk below. Suddenly, Liuda decides to take control of her own life, to have the baby and also to leave the corruption of
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The film met with mixed reactions, for reasons having nothing to do with the quality of the film. In 1927, the Soviet government was preparing for the
Cultural Revolution, which would begin the following year, after which the arts in the Soviet Union would be stripped of creative autonomy and simply
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Meanwhile, the two men are bonding, joking and playing checkers while Liuda pouts. She begins sleeping with both men (at different times). Eventually, the inevitable happens, and she becomes pregnant, and since no one knows who the father is, both men insist she have an abortion. The climax of the
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Rediscovered during the 1970s, the film has become regarded as a little great masterpiece of the silent era. Today, the film is recognized as one of the masterpieces of Soviet silent films. The
Russian Guild of Film Critics voted it the sixth-best film from the first half-century of Russian cinema
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was controversial at the time of release in the Soviet Union, due to its focus on human relationships, while the state and the party are almost completely disregarded. In fact, at one point Kolya even declines to go to a Party meeting. In addition, the film's resolution is ambiguous and comes about
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In the closing scene in the film, Liuda is seen on a train, leaving town. She is smiling, leaning out the train's window. This is cross cut with shots of Kolia and
Volodia, her two erstwhile “husbands”, at first being annoyed with her departure, but then being relieved that they can now return to
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When Kolia returns from his trip, he finds himself to be the one relegated to sleeping on the couch. Initially outraged, he calms down and the three settle into a polygamous, domesticated routine. However, now that
Volodia taken over the role of "husband," he unfortunately begins acting like one,
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as Osip Brik. The parallels were so obvious that some critics and associates accused Viktor
Shklovsky of indelicacy and gossiping. Shklovsky himself never openly admitted it, yet in his diaries he mentions that during the work on the screenplay they «were living next to Mayakovsky and Lilya Brik»,
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The apartment, which was cramped to begin with, is all of a sudden much smaller, which understandably annoys Liuda, but she puts it off as just another sign of Kolia's disregard for her. Yet
Volodia quickly wins her over by his helpful behavior, as well as bestowing her with gifts. There is a
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The film is viewed as a brilliant psychological chamber drama that lay bare the dysfunctions and contradiction of early Soviet society. From the opening shot, we know that we are not going to see a schematic narrative about enthusiastic revolutionaries. The film is a frank portrayal of sexual
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had intended not only to make a picture exploring the social problems of urban life during the last years of the New
Economic Policy (1921–28), but specifically to support the state's campaign against the sexual freedom of the revolutionary years and against abortion on demand.
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In 1979, feminist
Canadian director Kay Armatage released a 12-minute-long version of the film; the story was more directly seen from the woman's point of view. A stage musical adaptation of the same name was written by Polly Pen (composer) and Laurence Klavan
580:" on 1 February 1996. The European Premier was produced by Neil Franklin and Claire Evans on 29 March 2011 at London's leading Off-West End, Finbrough Theatre, starring Alastair Brookshaw, Alastair Parker and Kaisa Hammarlund and directed by Luke Sheppard.
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A second DVD was released in 2012, produced by David
Shepard's Film Preservation Associates. This two-disc set features two complete versions of the film. The first disc contains the picture with English subtitles, superimposing overlays translating the
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sexual tension between the two from his arrival, and when Kolia has to leave town for a job, Volodia takes advantage of his friend's absence by openly seducing Liuda. A climax of this seduction comes when
Volodia takes Liuda on a plane ride over
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manners of the 1920s, as well as the living conditions in Moscow in the time, which are in sharp contrast to the official picture of a state where everything was to be the perfect idyll of Soviet life.
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The story centers on the relationship of the three main characters. Liuda and her husband, Kolia, live in a one-room basement apartment on Third Meschchanskaya Street, a petty-bourgeois neighborhood in
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remains a superb example of European silent film. Given its context and subtext, it must also be considered one of the most important films in early Soviet cinema history.
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490:. Room and his film were swept up by this coming change, as a carefully orchestrated campaign ridiculing the film was carried out by the trade newspaper,
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Quickly recognized as a masterpiece of silent film art, the Association of Revolutionary Cinematography (ARK) praised the film in its journal
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None of Room's three previous pictures, two short comedies from 1924 that are no longer extant, and the action adventure,
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not at all as he had been when he was the outsider. In fact, he is even less sensitive and more dictatorial than Kolia.
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However, it is now considered a landmark film because of humor, naturalism, and its sympathetic portrayal of the woman.
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become a propaganda arm of the state. This would result in 1934 with the Soviet Writers’ Congress adopting a credo of
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into English. The second notably provides the original version, complete with unaltered Russian subtitles.
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Because of negative publicity prior to its release, the film was released under an alternate title,
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their carefree bachelor lives in their dingy basement apartment on Third Meshchanskaya Street.
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and glorifying the struggles of the masses, Room produced a film with only three principals.
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The film was shot on location in Moscow. The acting is highly naturalistic, complementing
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The screenplay was supposedly based on the true love story of the acclaimed Russian poet
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for some years. The characters themselves also resembled the trio, with
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While movies made in the USSR would soon be regulated to the ideals of
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Instead of following in the footsteps of other Soviet directors like
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This article is about the 1927 film. For the item of furniture, see
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972:"THEATER REVIEW;New Life Off Broadway for Soviet Film of the 20s"
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849:"Abram Room – Tretya Meshchanskaya AKA Bed And Sofa (1927)"
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Jump Cut: A Review of Contemporary Media, no. 26, pp12-18
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This article related to a Soviet film of the 1920s is a
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551:. He had previously written a book about the movie,
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804:Kino: A History of the Russian and Soviet Film
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927:"Bed and Sofa / Chess Fever - Double Feature"
696:. US: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 691.
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951:. Canadian Women Film Directors Database
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669:. Silents Are Golden. Archived from
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539:of the film was released in 2004 by
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824:Marriage for Three — Soviet Version
725:. Theiapolis Cinema. Archived from
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772:Kleinhans, Chuck (December 1981).
417:Like many early Soviet directors,
187:, and is sometimes referred to as
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831:magazine, 5 May 1997 (in Russian)
523:(1908-1957). As a work of art,
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761:. December 1927. pp. 69–74.
553:Bed and Sofa: The Film Companion
172:) is the English name of a 1927
451:Critical response and reception
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1357:Russian black-and-white films
749:"Recent Films – Bed and Sofa"
386:Leonid Yurenyov as The Porter
191:. In addition to the title,
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1337:Films directed by Abram Room
1292:1920s Russian-language films
1230:. You can help Knowledge by
1177:. You can help Knowledge by
1100:The Ghost That Never Returns
389:Yelena Sokolova as The Nurse
1317:Soviet silent feature films
851:. World Cinema. 2 June 2012
179:originally released in the
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1302:Russian comedy-drama films
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549:University College, London
509:A. Zuev, the reviewer for
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256:who lived with his "muse"
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1108:The Plan for Great Works
809:George Allen & Unwin
665:DeBartolo, John (2004).
218:and written by Room and
1382:1920s Soviet film stubs
1372:1920s comedy film stubs
1367:Comedy-drama film stubs
1307:Russian satirical films
876:. Bloomsbury Academic.
870:Graffy, Julian (2001).
692:Peter Rollberg (2009).
667:""Bed and Sofa" (1927)"
117:15 March 1927
16:1927 film by Abram Room
1377:1920s drama film stubs
1327:Fiction about polygamy
723:"Tretya meshchanskaya"
633:"Tretia Meshchanskaia"
494:(Kino), the magazine,
383:as Volodia, the friend
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189:The Third Meschanskaya
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374:as Kolia, the husband
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1332:Films about abortion
1322:1920s feminist films
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185:Tretya meshchanskaya
44:Tretya meshchanskaya
1132:The Garnet Bracelet
811:. pp. 215–216.
635:. filmreference.com
541:Image Entertainment
254:Vladimir Mayakovsky
1287:1920s Soviet films
1116:A Severe Young Man
977:The New York Times
907:. icheckmovies.com
729:on 28 January 2014
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929:. oldies.com
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873:Bed and Sofa
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205:Old Dovecots
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197:Soviet Union
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133:Running time
110:Release date
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31:Bed and Sofa
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555:, in 2001.
545:Chess Fever
313:, full film
177:silent film
75:Produced by
51:Directed by
1277:1927 films
1271:Categories
1056:Abram Room
955:28 January
933:28 January
911:28 January
855:28 January
759:Pool Group
733:28 January
677:28 January
639:28 January
584:References
574:librettist
426:Eisenstein
419:Abram Room
413:Production
406:Abram Room
258:Lilya Brik
216:Abram Room
137:75 minutes
121:1927-03-15
69:Abram Room
61:Written by
55:Abram Room
1054:Films by
799:Jay Leyda
262:Osip Brik
1092:Potholes
801:(1960).
754:Close Up
561:Cyrillic
239:abortion
235:polygamy
150:Language
85:Starring
21:sofa bed
476:Sovkino
439:Release
166:Russian
142:Country
119: (
1151:(1971)
1143:(1970)
1135:(1964)
1127:(1953)
1119:(1936)
1111:(1930)
1103:(1930)
1095:(1928)
1087:(1927)
1079:(1927)
1071:(1926)
983:9 July
889:9 July
880:
783:9 July
700:
512:Pravda
492:Cinema
399:Themes
356:Moscow
344:Moscow
336:Moscow
324:Soviet
320:Moscow
247:Europe
228:Moscow
207:, and
174:Soviet
153:Silent
1228:stub
1175:stub
1008:IMDb
985:2009
957:2014
935:2014
913:2014
891:2009
878:ISBN
857:2014
785:2009
735:2014
698:ISBN
679:2014
641:2014
433:Room
366:Cast
296:Plot
245:and
237:and
145:USSR
1016:by
1006:at
537:DVD
531:DVD
183:as
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