Alone

Originallymadeasasilentfilm,Odnawasreleasedin1931asa'sound'film–whichdiffersfromatalkiebecausealthoughtherearesoundeffectsinthefilm,thereisnosynchroniseddialogueanditwasintendedtobeperformedwithanorchestralaccompanimentusingascorebyShostakovich.AfteritfellintopoliticaldisfavourthefilmwasarchivedintheLenfilmcomplex,whichwasdestroyedduringthesiegeofLeningrad.Fortunately,althoughmuchofthescorewaslost,allbutone8-minutereelsurvived,asdidthefullscoreforthemissingreel.MarkFitz-Geraldandcolleagues,withtheencouragementofShostakovich'swidow,completedtherestorationoftheoriginalscorein2003.ItwasfirstperformedintheNetherlandsandhasalsobeenperformedinFrance,SwitzerlandandGermany.IattendedtheLondonPremiereon10thFebruary2006.<br/>　　Normally,areviewrelatestoanexperiencethatcanbesharedsubsequentlybyanycinema-goer,orwatcherofDVDs.Aliveconcertperformance(theBBCSymphonyOrchesttraconductedbyMarkFitz-Gerald)isdifferent.Theentireorchestralperformanceandlivesoundeffectssuchasthethroatsinger,TheraminandHarmoniumwillnotbeconstantfactors-whichiswhyperformancesofgreatmusicalworksarereviewedrepeatedly.TheperformanceIexperiencedmaybedifferentfromwhatyouexperience.Forme,whatmighthavebeenarathersentimentalendingwastransformedbythe'buzz'ofthelivemusicalclimax(theentirerestoredscorewasperformed,withtitlesexplainingtheactionofthemissingreel).<br/>　　Anotablefeatureofthefilmwasthesuperbnaturalperformanceofthe'actors'(includingarealshamanperformingarealritual)withnoneoftheexaggeratedeyemakeupof'Napoleon'andtheGermanexpressionists.Suchaliveperformanceconvertedagoodpropagandafilmintosomethingmoresublimeandanexperiencethatshouldnotbemissediftheopportunityisrepeated.