Pressing Information

Released to coincide with the centenary of the events depicted in the film, I Own You Records are proud to present a new score by Bronnt Industries Kapital on 12th January 2018.

Oleksandr Dovzhenko’s 1928 classic film 'Arsenal' has recently been restored by the Oleksandr Dovzhenko National Centre (ODNC) in Kyiv. The British Council and ODNC commissioned Bristol-based producer and multi-instrumentalist Guy Bartell (Bronnt Industries Kapital), to compose a new soundtrack for the film. The restored version was screened (and the new soundtrack performed live by Bartell) on 22 April 2015 at Kyiv’s Fifth International Book Fair, at Mystetksyi Arsenal.

The second film in Dovzhenko’s ‘Ukraine Triology’ (together with Zvenigora and Earth), Arsenal was released in 1929. The film focuses on an episode of the Russian Civil War (1918) in which the Kiev Arsenal January Uprising of workers supported the Red/Bolshevik Army against the Ukrainian nationalists (who ran the country at the time). The American National Board of Review chose Arsenal in its list of top 5 films of 1929 (Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Joan of Arc was also on the list). Exploring a narrative that stresses the tragic nature of civil war, Arsenal is regarded by film scholar Vance Kepley, Jr. as "one of the few Soviet political films which seems even to cast doubt on the morality of violent retribution".

Artwork by regular collaborator Ben Newman (www.bennewman.co.uk)

"A terrifically intense soundtrack" Sight & Sound, UK

"Bartell’s score is expertly judged – an echo chamber of horror for the film to resonate inside. I urge you to catch the film with this score whenever you can."Silent London, UK

"An extraordinary soundtrack for an extraordinary movie, Guy Bartell's sound score for Arsenal plugs the viewer directly into the nervous system of this shattering film." John Sweeney, silent film pianist

Video: vimeo.com/138190434
Video used with permission of the National Oleksandr Dovzhenko Film Centre.

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