Russian Films

[Alexey_Galiulin]

Is anyone interested in talking about Russian Cinema?

If you are, what are your favorite films? actors? directors?

My favorites:

comedies:

Обыкновенное чудо / Ordinary miracle

Кавказская пленница / Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik's New Adventures

Бриллиантовая рука / The Diamond Arm

Иван Васильевич меняет профессию / Ivan Vasilievich changes his occupation

Покровские ворота / Pokrov Gates

Тот самый Мюнхгаузен / The Very Same Munhgauzen

Кин-дза-дза / Kin-Dza-Dza

Двенадцать стульев / Twelve Chairs

Здравствуйте, я ваша тетя! / Hello, I am your aunt!

Джентльмены удачи / Gentlemen of luck

Операция Ы и другие приключения Шурика / Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures

 

dramas:

Солярис / Solaris

Москва слезам не верит / Moscow does not Belive in Tears

Зеркало / The Mirror

Свой среди чужих, чужой среди своих / At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among his own

Звезда пленительного счастья / The Star of Fascinating Happiness

Кавказский пленник / Prisoner of the Mountains

Вор / The Thief

Любовник / The Lover

Покаяние / Repentance

 

about love:

Обыкновенное чудо / Ordinary miracle

Ирония судьбы или С легким паром! / Irony of fate or with light steam!

Вокзал для двоих / A Railway Station for Two

Москва слезам не верит / Moscow does not Belive in Tears

Жестокий романс / A Cruel Romance

Служебный роман / Business romance

Я шагаю по Москве / I am Walking Along Moscow

Чародеи / Wizards

 

War:

Александр Невский / Alexander Nevsky

Баллада о солдате / Ballad of a Soldier

Война / War

Кавказский пленник / Prisoner of the Mountains

Отец солдата / Father of The Soldier

Сто дней до приказа / 100 Days Before The Command

Торпедоносцы / Torpedo Bombers

 

Action:

Белое солнце пустыни / White Sun of the Desert

Брат / Brother

 

Horror:

Вий / Viy or Spirit of Evil

 

History:

Андрей Рублев / Andrei Rublev

Броненосец Потемкин / The Battleship Potemkin

Война и мир / War and Peace

Иван Грозный / Ivan the Terrible

Октябрь / October

Русский Ковчег / Russian Ark

Стачка / Strike

Холодное лето пятьдесят третьего... / Cold Summer of 1953

Чайковский / Tchaikovsky

 

Musical Comedy or Costume Drama:

Д'Артаньян и Три Мушкетера / D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers

Труффальдино из Бергамо / Truffaldino from Bergamo

Гардемарины, вперед! / Naval Cadets, Forward!

 

Sci-Fi:

Солярис / Solaris

Сталкер / Stalker

Кин-дза-дза / Kin-Dza-Dza

Завещание профессора Доуэля / Professor Dowell's Testament

Человек-амфибия / Amphibian Man

Ночной дозор / Night Watch

 

Animation:

Алиса в стране чудес / Alice in Wonderland

Тайна третьей планеты / The Secret of the Third Planet

Приключения капитана Врунгеля / Adventures of captain Vrungel

Остров Сокровищ / Treasure Island

Бременские музыканты / Musicians of Bremen

Маугли / Mowgli

[Xuefei24p]

My father used to shoot Marxist Chinese propaganga, and I was shocked to see Farenheit 9/11 packed with the most basic techniques of Eisenstein and Griffith.

 

Being a Marxist for 25 years, I developed quite an appreciation for Soviet cinema. Tarkovsky is probably the best of the non-propaganda auters. Eisenstein was the best Marxist propagandist, while, all the way over in the U.S, D.W Griffith did a hell of a job for the anti-black, anti-semitic Klansmen propaganda with Birth of a Nation.

 

Propaganda probably alienates people, so i'll knock that off, but, short of going to Yale University, I have yet to see a good Propaganda course taught. I mention the science of propaganda because it is practically inseperable from Soviet film.

 

I have to say that Зеркало is perhaps superior to Солярис, simply on the level of editing and cinematography.

 

I am going to buy a 35mm print of Solaris as soon as I can find one

[Alexey_Galiulin]

Some time ago I've made a page that lists English language movies that are based on Russian books. So far I have 26 titles listed. And I'm trying to find more. Would appreciate any help with the ones I've missed. The ones I really liked are: Lolita, Onegin & Doctor Zhivago.

 

Also what Russian directors, besides Tarkovsky, Eisenstein, Mikhalkov & Sokurov, do you like or know of?

 

PS: not every Soviet film is propoganda or even has any in it, but most have a different viewpoint from American ones in general.

[Phil Rhodes]

Hi,

 

I saw a fascinating documentary once concerning Japanese cinema just after WW2, where they'd have to work around government guidelines to create anything worthwhile. Some fantastic monochrome photography, particularly some stuff I remember involving snow. I get the feeling that whoever shot "Kill Bill" had seen it.

 

Phil

[Shawn Mielke]

My interest in Russian cinema hasn't covered a wide amount of material. I'm a disciple of Tarkovsky at heart, and I'm very interested in Dziga Vertov was doing. I particularly like

The Man With The Movie Camera. Tarkovsky's Stalker and also his Mirror have had an enormous impact on me. All of his films have, really.

[Mark Allen]

I thought Tarkovsky's book "Sculpting in Time" was one of the most powerful books I ever read as a filmmaker. It speaks at a very deep level - but be prepared to be destroyed by recognizing anything impure in your instincts. That said, I honestly cannot say that I love his movies - though I feel like I should... I feel alienated by them rather than expanded by them.

 

I would be curious if anyone would want to recommend the "must see" contemporary Russian films.

 

 

Also - on the note of propaganda, I wanted to mention a quote that I don't know where it came from... if you do, let me know... it's a dialogue exchange between a russian filmmaker and an american filmmaker during the cold war.

 

AMERICAN

Russian films are packed with propaganda.

 

RUSSIAN

So are American films. Everytime you open a refridgerator and it's loaded with all kinds of food, that's propaganda.

 

He goes on to say it's like an advertisement for a "better life over here"

 

Sorry for the incredible paraphrase, but the concept I thought was interesting.

[Chris Keth]

I thought Tarkovsky's book "Sculpting in Time" was one of the most powerful books I ever read as a filmmaker.  It speaks at a very deep level - but be prepared to be destroyed by recognizing anything impure in your instincts.  That said, I honestly cannot say that I love his movies - though I feel like I should... I feel alienated by them rather than expanded by them.

 

I would be curious if anyone would want to recommend the "must see" contemporary Russian films.

Also - on the note of propaganda, I wanted to mention a quote that I don't know where it came from... if you do, let me know...  it's a dialogue exchange between a russian filmmaker and an american filmmaker during the cold war.

 

AMERICAN

Russian films are packed with propaganda.

 

RUSSIAN

So are American films.  Everytime you open a refridgerator and it's loaded with all kinds of food, that's propaganda.

 

He goes on to say it's like an advertisement for a "better life over here"

 

Sorry for the incredible paraphrase, but the concept I thought was interesting.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

That may have acted as propaganda but I bet it wasn't intentional. That was and is the norm here. It'd be a signal to the audience to have anything but a normal-looking mix of food in the fridge.

[David Mullen ASC]

Most cinematic devices of proganda mastered by Eisenstein and Riefenstahl have found a home in commercials rather than features.

 

I wish I were more versed in Russian cinema but I'm not. Probably my favorites have been "Alexander Nevsky" and "I am Cuba" so far. "The Sacrifice" too but that hardly seems Russian (same with "I am Cuba"...)

 

For entertainment, I can recommend the documentary "East Side Story" on the history of movie musicals made in Iron Curtain countries.

[DavidSloan]

Hey, great thread, here. I am a huge , huge fan ofr Russian cinema, I consider Russian and Eastern European cinema to be the best. Some favorite Russian directors have to be:

 

Tarkovsky

Sokurov

Bortko

Boris Khlebnikov

Alexej Popogrebsky

Vertov

Alexei Balabanov

Pudovkin

Oleg Menshikov

 

and many more.

[Shawn Mielke]

Yes, T.'s Sculpting In Time, along with his films, revolutionized my understanding of art and cinema, art in cinema.

 

Sokurov. I would like to know lots more about he and his work. I've seen Russian Ark and am in awe. Is more of his stuff available in NA?

 

I was very interested in the film Repentance as a younger man. Haven't seen it in years.

[DavidSloan]

@Sean: http://www.sokurov.spb.ru/island_en/mnp.html

 

You can find a few of his films on DVD. I have a lot of his earier stuff on VHS with no subtitles...gives me a chance to make up my own stories to his amazing imagery.

[Guest Kai.w]

Sokurov. I would like to know lots more about he and his work. I've seen Russian Ark and am in awe. Is more of his stuff available in NA?

 

I was very interested in the film Repentance as a younger man. Haven't seen it in years.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Did'nt like "Russian Ark" (rather..."weird"... historical perspectives sometimes). "Farther and son" was great though!

 

-k

[Ben Schwartz]

The films that director Mikhail Kalatozov shot with his DP Sergei Urusevsky (Cranes are Flying, The Letter Never Sent, I Am Cuba) are some of the visually inventive films ever made. I'm not one to make lists, but I would say that they are among the 5 or 10 greatest director-DP duos EVER.

[Shawn Mielke]

Wow. Alright. Thank you, David S.

[moscowflix]

I found this website that has descriptions of the latest russian hit movies in english: http://geocities.com/lxp149. I guess you have to scroll down a bit to see. It's pretty cool. I saw the Night Watch recently and supposedly Day watch will be out soon. It's so good that an american production company bought it to be shown on the big screens here. Russian cinematography is getting better and better. I know this other website that rents russian movies www.Moscowflix.com. They don't have movie description in english, but a lot of their movies have english subtitles. you could probably call them up and ask, if you're a true russian movie fanatic.

[dd3stp233]

I plan on seeing "Night Watch", which is opening in Los Angeles, this friday, at the Nuart theater. I have seen several early Russian films which are generally accepted to be very influencial in the history of film. I cannot really compare them to the later Soviet era films because I have not seen enough of them.

[Max Jacoby]

'Nightwatch' got released here over the summer and I actually walked out of it, because I found it to be horribly bad. It tries very hard to be like a Hollywood blockbuster but it fails in all aspects. The cinematography isn't anything to write home about either, nonsensical framing and a bad DI.

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

My father used to shoot Marxist Chinese propaganga, and I was shocked to see Farenheit 9/11 packed with the most basic techniques of Eisenstein and Griffith.

 

Being a Marxist for 25 years, I developed quite an appreciation for Soviet cinema. Tarkovsky is probably the best of the non-propaganda auters. Eisenstein was the best Marxist propagandist, while, all the way over in the U.S, D.W Griffith did a hell of a job for the anti-black, anti-semitic Klansmen propaganda with Birth of a Nation.

 

Propaganda probably alienates people, so i'll knock that off, but, short of going to Yale University, I have yet to see a good Propaganda course taught. I mention the science of propaganda because it is practically inseperable from Soviet film.

 

I have to say that Зеркало is perhaps superior to Солярис, simply on the level of editing and cinematography.

 

I am going to buy a 35mm print of Solaris as soon as I can find one

 

Leni Riefenstahl. Best ever. Triumph des willens still astounds technically.

[Max Jacoby]

Leni Riefenstahl. Best ever. Triumph des willens still astounds technically.

You mean best Propaganda film?

[Rod Otaviano]

My knowledge on Russian cinema is limited to Sokurov and Tarkovsky. I've seen a couple of films directed by them and was really impressed by the sense of poetry they integrate into the narrative.

 

I love those scenes at the beginning of "Andrei Rublev", for example, with that guy riding aboard a hot air balloon and then crashing into the ground. And in "Mother and Son" by Sokurov, although the story is no the main element, I'd mention the cinematography which in my opinion is a masterpiece. It feels like you're watching a slide-show of paintings from the Romantic period.

 

I'm looking forward to watching "The Return" from Andrei Zvyagintsev. Heard good things about this film.

[Alexey_Galiulin]

"Night watch" is a very good Russian Sci-Fi / Fantasy movie ("Lord of the Rings" meets "Prophecy"). It's been out on DVD for some time, but since Fox bought all American distribution rights, they have mandated to stop making NTSC formatted dvds of it. The disk has been slowly disappearing from even Russian stores in America. And Fox kept postponing the release until limited release on friday, while sequel "Day Watch" is already out in Russia, and even on dvd pal (no subs) in US. Both installments beat American movies in Russia. And the studio is insisting on filming the 3rd part in English. Ain't US movie studios wonderful :rolleyes:

[Travis Cline]

I was in Russia during Christmas and I saw Nevnoi Dozor (Day Watch) and it was really good, much better than Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch). It is not only bigger and better production-wise, but the story and story telling are much better as well. Even if you did not like Night Watch you may like Day Watch. Also, you put Brat on your list of films, but nokt Brat 2, which is also a ton better. It tends to happen in Russia that a good, yet very low budget movie gets made and then they get funding to make a sequel which is really just the movie they wished they could have made originally. Another amazing film is Boina (War). Its half in English half Russia. An english reported is kidknapped by Chechnian terrorists. Also, the Cranes Are Flying is amazing and some super spectacular B/W photography. I Am Cuba is also pretty unbelieveable. It was shot in Cuba, but made by Russians. When you watch it you will recognize nearly every shot from some later America movie. There are shots from Goodfellas, The Graduate, Apocolypse Now. Those guys loved it, but it was not too popular in america since it is pro-communist and it was made during the height of the cold War. Anyway, I have to go to set, but this is a good topic, I'll be back later.

 

Travis

[Lars.Erik]

If you ever get the chance, see "Come and See". One of the best war movies ever made. The director is Emil Klimov. I'm not going to start and give a resume of why it's so good. It has to be experienced for yourself. Just buy it if you don't have it. Needs to be in every cinematography DVD collection.

 

FYI (IMDB comments):

 

"Indeed, this is a nightmare. Imagine weird scenes where people stare into the camera like in some kind of Kubrick film. Imagine a film where the main character seems to age before our eyes. The film starts off normally, but slowly it gets darker. Until the last 20 minutes where it turns into hell on Earth."

 

"In all fairness, this Belorussian-made World War II picture detailing Nazi atrocities, holds a special distinction in world cinema: it is by far the most brutal and emotionally draining of all - in fact, a viewer whose senses have not been properly trained would most likely find it unwatchable. Those brave souls willing to be put through an ordeal of almost 2 1/2 hours will find themselves deeply immersed in an absolutely horrifying experience that will not easily subside whether they want it to or not."

Edited March 5, 2006 by Lars.Erik

[Tomas Stacewicz]

If you ever get the chance, see "Come and See".

 

I second to that. It is one of the best films ever made.

[Jon-Hebert Barto]

You mean best Propaganda film?

 

 

Hey, Max. My reply is a bit late but....Sure, I guess. I don't know...I don't care about it's politics, really. Maybe because of the distance removed by time we are from it?(yoda?) It's use of montage is what I like. Montage is propagation of "symbols". Every shot in this theory acts as Hieroglyphs, in a sense. In TDW, these symbols are employed brilliantly. Of course Nazi symbolism has always been "seductive", not in it's politics, per se, but in it's power of imagery. That is what made it so dangerous, IMHO.

 

But forget all that...I just like to sit down and be bombarded sometimes. In narrative this annoys me, I must admit. But TDW is really one of the only films like this I can sit through and enjoy completely.

 

A film will earn respect from me when I can take one shot/image from it and know it's whole message/meaning, no matter the theory employed to realise it. That shot for TDW is the close up of Hitlers hand in humble salute to his "admirers" during the parade scene following his arrival by plane. It speaks volumes to his manipulation in simple metaphorical imagery, captured in a "real" time-sense. Powerful stuff. This film played in theatres in Germany all during the war, BTW. Makes you wonder at the power of cinema. This is another reason I call for a new theory of the documenary. An ethics of documentary. The formal reading of doc theory is too easily manipulated while still obtaining it's "objective" status. This demands another thread, of course... :rolleyes: