Official Russian Cinema Council 2-disc Hyerpkino Edition A tender love story between a Russian girl and a German prisoner of war given permission to work in her village, Outskirts is Boris Barnet"s first sound film. The setting is the year 1914, first in a total backwater and then, as war breaks out, at the front as well. The plot is simply a series of episodes, initially comic though increasingly grim, depicting ordinary folk. Though war is here and the great Soviet revolution is coming, people - as always - seem more interested in love and clowning around. The film is presented as a 2-disc "hyperkino edition". Disc 1 contains the standard film in the best available print, with optional subtitles. Disc 2 contains the film, plus numerous scene-specific annotations, video clips and documents (in Russian and in English). These can be viewed on screen, contextualising the film and enhancing the viewer s understanding. This innovative format works extremely well and is one of the most exciting developments in DVD for years. It is especially valuable for important works of world cinema whose historical contexts crave further exploration.