Aleksandr Razumny's 1933 football film (lost television broadcast of Soviet football match; 1933)

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Aleksandr Razumny.

Status: Lost

In 1933, film director Aleksandr Razumny conducted an experimental filming of a Soviet football match. It was broadcast on television the day after it was recorded, with commentary provided by Valentin Granatkin. It is considered the earliest known instance of a televised football match.

Background

Aleksandr Razumny's film career began in the 1910s, prior to the Russian Revolution.[1][2][3] His works would be influenced by his studies at Grekov Odesa Art School, which concluded three years before the Soviet Union's takeover.[2] Despite the difficulties he and other prominent Russian filmmakers had transitioning to Soviet standards, he quickly became a member of the ruling Communist Party of the Soviet Union.[3] His 1917 film The Life and Death of Lieutenant Schmidt is considered the first film released under the Soviet Union.[1] From there, he primarily directed war and revolution drama films like the 1919 silent propaganda work Comrade Abram;[4][5][1] However, one of his more notable works was the 1940 film Timur and His Team, an adaptation of Arkady Gaidar's children's novel.[4][1] Interestingly enough, the book and film reportedly encouraged many Soviet children to perform extensive charitable work during the Second World War.[6]

In April 1931, the Soviet Union began experimenting with mechanical television broadcasts, which were conducted at the Moscow Radio Broadcasting Hub (MRBH)'s fledgling Television Laboratory and overseen by Razumny.[7][8][9][1] Some progress was made, including the display of moving pictures, though it soon became clear that all-electronic televisions would pave the way forward.[7][8][9] Nevertheless, more mechanical television experiments soon emerged in 1932 and 1933, including the first Soviet television film (The Face of International Capitalism),[9][1] to the broadcasting of sports.[10][11] Outside Russia, test broadcasts had been conducted with the 1931 Epsom Derby becoming the first televised sporting event.[12] However, football coverage had not yet been achieved in any country.[13][11] Likely stemming from his Communist Party connections,[3] Razumny was chosen to demonstrate the viability of football broadcasts in the Soviet Union.[10][11] His plan was to record the match and then present the coverage the following day with commentary.[10][11]

Alas, not much is known about the match itself.[10][11][13] No sources detail the competing teams, when the game itself took place, nor the final score.[10][11] Since the MRBH primarily conducted its television experiments in Moscow,[1] it can be assumed the match transpired in the city for geographical purposes.[7][13] Razumny recorded the game with silent celluloid film because sound television broadcasts were not possible in Russia until November 1934.[14][10][7][8] But envisioning the clear importance commentary would have in future sports coverage, Razumny enlisted football player Valentin Granatkin to provide narration.[10][11][14][13] At the time, Granatkin's was Serp i Molot's goalkeeper, though he would achieve greater recognition playing for Lokomotiv Moscow and representing the Soviet Union national football team.[15][16][11] He also simultaneously played top-level ice hockey; post-career, he became the Chairman of the Football Federation of the Soviet Union, and would also become the first Vice President of FIFA, having held the position for two separate spells.[15]

The broadcast occurred with Granatkin providing live commentary.[10][11][14][13] Overall, the film was seen as an authentic - and indeed, historic - piece of television media.[10][11][13] However, some criticism was reportedly directed at the fact the game was pre-recorded.[10][9] Live football coverage would first materialise in the mid-to-late 1930s courtesy of Germany and the United Kingdom, the latter occurring in front of a domestic audience in 1937.[17][13] In contrast, Razumny's broadcast was seen by an extremely limited audience, since no domestic televisions were manufactured until the following year with the B-2's introduction.[18][11][9] Even then, the first public airings did not emerge until 1938, with the Soviet Union now relying on devices produced in the United States.[8] The Second World War curtailed further tests until the mid-to-late-1940s.[7][8] Finally, on 2nd May 1949, the first live football coverage in the Soviet Union emerged, which saw Dynamo Moscow beat CDKA Moscow 3-1.[11][14][13] Not long after his historic broadcast, Razumny returned to cinema work after television experiments were temporarily halted.[1]

Availability

Unlike many other early television broadcasts,[19] Razumny's film was pre-recorded on silent film.[10][11][14] However, no footage from it has since publicly resurfaced. Considering the film's sheer obscurity outside Russia, the lack of key match information, its single-purpose usage and the fact the broadcast occurred over 90 years ago, it is possible no copy of the film has survived.

See Also

External Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Alexander Efimovich Razumny biography on Aleksandr Razumny (article in Russian). Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema detailing the career of Razumny. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Kino summarising Razumny becoming a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and how his work retained the cinema methods taught before the Russian Revolution. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Mosmetod summarising the film Timur and His Team and Razumny's works (article in Russian). Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  5. ↑ The National Center for Jewish Film summarising the 1919 Razumny work Comrade Abram. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  6. ↑ Soviet Schooling in the Second World War summarising the impact Timur and His Team had on Soviet children during the Second World War. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Russia-IC summarising the early history of Russian television under the experiments of the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Loughborough University summarising key milestones of early Soviet television. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Archived 625 providing key facts and dates surrounding the development of Soviet television. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  10. ↑ 10.00 10.01 10.02 10.03 10.04 10.05 10.06 10.07 10.08 10.09 10.10 Day of Literature summarising the broadcast and the criticism over it being pre-recorded (article in Russian). Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  11. ↑ 11.00 11.01 11.02 11.03 11.04 11.05 11.06 11.07 11.08 11.09 11.10 11.11 11.12 Championat summarising Razumny's broadcast with Granatkin's commentary, and how the broadcast was viewed by a tiny audience (article in Russian). Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  12. ↑ Baird Television detailing how the 1931 Epsom Derby was televised. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 Football USSR Nostalgia providing a VK post listing the earliest known football television broadcasts. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 Gazeta summarising Razumny's broadcast, which was recorded with silent film (article in Russian). Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Valentin Granatkin Memorial summarising the life and career of Granatkin. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  16. ↑ Transfermarkt profile on Granatkin. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  17. ↑ The Guardian summarising the Arsenal-Arsenal Reserves broadcast on 16th September 1937. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  18. ↑ Early Television summarising the B-2, the first domestically produced Soviet television. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
  19. ↑ Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to the lack of the direct recording of television. Retrieved 21st Nov '23
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