Name: Storm Over Asia
Director: Vsevolod Pudovkin
Released: 1928

Storm Over Asia

1928 · Mezhrabpom-Film · Dir. Vsevolod Pudovkin

In 1918 a young and simple Mongol herdsman and trapper is cheated out of a valuable fox fur by a European capitalist fur trader. Ostracized from the trading post, he escapes to the hills after brawling with the trader who cheated him. In 1920 he becomes a Soviet partisan, and helps the partisans fight for the Soviets against the occupying British army. However he is captured by the British when they try to requisition cattle from the herdsmen at the same time as the commandant meets with a reincarnated Grand Lama. After the trapper is shot, the army discovers an amulet that suggests he is a direct descendant of Genghis Khan. They find him still alive, so the army restores his health and plans to use him as the head of a puppet regime. The trapper is thus thrust into prominence as he is placed in charge of the puppet government. By the end, however, the "puppet" turns against his masters in an outburst of fury.

Confidence

Why this status applies

Storm Over Asia (originally titled Potomok Chingiskhana) is a Soviet film directed by Vsevolod Pudovkin. It was first released in the USSR on November 10, 1928, and later exhibited in the United States in 1929 and 1930. Under the current US copyright laws (the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998), works published anywhere in the world prior to January 1, 1929, have entered the public domain in the United States upon the expiration of their 95-year term. Because the film was published in 1928, it transitioned into the public domain on January 1, 2024. Prior to this date, its status was subject to the URAA/GATT restoration (17 USC § 104A) because it was a foreign work still under copyright in its source country (Russia/USSR) in 1996. However, that restoration only extends the term to 95 years from publication. As of the current date, that 95-year window for 1928 works has fully lapsed. Note: generated without live web grounding (the grounded research engine was unavailable). Verify the cited sources independently before relying on this determination.

Why this status applies

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