Dovzhenko, Aleksandr [key], 1894–1956, Soviet film director, b. Ukraine. He ranks with Eisenstein and Pudovkin as one of the greatest Soviet filmmakers. Zvenigord (1928), Arsenal (1929), and Earth (1930) used editing for lyric ends and celebrated the lives and work of his fellow Ukrainians. The physical beauty of his films brought him great acclaim, but Earth was denounced by Soviet critics as “counterrevolutionary,” and Dovzhenko turned to making films more agreeable to the regime. His wife, Elena Solntseva, directed three films from screenplays left by Dovzhenko after his death, including Poem of the Sea (1958).
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