Vysota

Vysota is a 1957 Mosfilm movie, with both colour and black and white footage and very brautiful camera moves, besides an interesting setting: the construction of a blast furnace by nomadic specialized workers whose labour takes place in high heights. Stated that, I shall also add that the romantic drama or melodrama is a little tepid and does not engage as other Soviet movies. There are some issues which I am not sure if they are subtly presented in a critical way or if they just normalize the problems: sexism on the one hand, and, on the other hand, a romantized view on risking workers' lives in order to reach production goals. By the way, there is at least one more element that caught my attention: in other movies, often the bad guys who appear as opponents in the script are nobles, or capitalists, os Nazis, but here, although few, they are people from the very socialist production system, including workers as Khaenko, and managers like Deryabin. They may be corrupt, selfish, liars, greedy, lazy, schemers.

Following on from the fame and love of millions of viewers in the popular film "Spring on Zarechnaya Street", Nikolai Rybnikov stars in this thrilling high-rise drama, again here he plays a steelworker.

Brigadier Pasechnik (Rybnikov) has arrived at a steel plant with a fresh batch of workers, the innovative foreman has been hired to lead a construction team building a new blast furnace.

Reflecting the social atmosphere of "thaw" period, a time of hope and optimism "Vysota" captures the bravery and sincerity of the keen young workers, many of them war-time orphans. Their enthusiasm and camaraderie are central to the story which is primarily focused on the challenging work of high-rise installers and the production process at the metallurgical plant.

To achieve maximum authenticity and realism, the stars themselves refused stunt stand-ins. Climbing on ladders and catwalks to heights of 40-60 meters the actors do everything that their characters would have to do in such situations, under the same conditions. In one particular scene Pasechnik initially slid down an iron cable without gloves from high altitude. Rybnikov injured both his palms on the first-take however he courageously continued filming and used gloves on a second take which is seen in the film.

Jealous rivals and a romantic interest involving spirited welder Katya (Inna Makarova) expands the humanistic dimension to this riveting construction drama.

Ultimately in an extreme and testing environment the inspirational film draws-out the best human qualities and the noblest of ideals. Pasechnik at the end of the film exclaims that "without height he is not a man." It is impossible not to be impressed with his genuine abilities and the dedication he gives to his idealistic Soviet character.

Filmed on location at the Dnieper Steel Plant in the Dneprodzerzhinsk Oblast, in an era when the region was within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Ukraine. The film captures the vast industrial scale of the plant and acknowledges in the credits the help and presence throughout the film of the real-life workers.

"Vysota" enjoyed incredible success with Soviet audiences, not only due to the high-quality work of the director and his actors, but also thanks to the wonderful musical accompaniment. The song "March of Installers" became one of the most popular hits of the late 1950s... Superlative classic Soviet cinema.