USSR

  • Sergei Solovyov – Chuzhaya belaya i ryaboy AKA The Stray White and the Speckled (1986)

    1981-1990ArthouseDramaSergei SolovyovUSSR

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    Quote:
    In a poor provincial town, the ragamuffin boys are frenziedly drilled for combat, and at nights the local elite, gathered in a pool room, boasts of fictitious biographies, while bands of boys amuse themselves with bloody fights on trashy vacant plots… One of the most vivid staples of the postwar childhood were pigeons. They could be bought, sold or stolen. One day a beautiful white dove appeared over the town. Risking his life, Ivan caught the White. And immediately became the target of the “pigeon” mafia…Read More »

  • Kiyoshi Nishimura & Sergei Solovyov – Melodii beloy nochi AKA Melodies of a White Night (1977)

    1971-1980ArthouseDramaKiyoshi Nishimura and Sergei SolovyovUSSR

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    Quote:
    Ilya, a Russian composer, played by Yury Solomin, meets a beautiful woman named Yuko, a Japanese pianist. The music they share makes them feel close to each other and fall in love. However, the long distance between the two countries and the difference of their lives constitute problems they need to consider. A very romantic story accompanied by enchanting musical pieces. Perfect for when you are in the mood for dreams and contemplation.Read More »

  • Sergei Solovyov – Stantsionnyy smotritel AKA The Postmaster (1972)

    1971-1980DramaSergei SolovyovUSSR

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    Quote:
    In May, 1816 narrator passes through a small station. At the station, Dunia, Beauty daughter of the superintendent, serves tea. On the walls of the room hang pictures of the story of the prodigal son. The narrator and the superintendent and his daughter together, drink tea, before leaving the stranger kisses Dunya in the hall (with her consent). A few years later, the narrator again falls on the same station. The superintendent is very old. When asked about his daughter, he does not respond, but after a glass of punch is talkative. He says that 3 years ago, a young hussar (Captain Minsky) spent several days at the station, pretending to be sick and bribing a doctor. Dunya nursed. Recovering, the captain is going on the road, called a lift Dunya to the church and drives her away. Having lost a daughter, aged father becomes ill from grief.Read More »

  • Georgiy Daneliya – Ne goryuy! AKA Don’t Grieve (1969)

    1961-1970ComedyDramaGeorgiy DaneliyaUSSR

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    Synopsis:
    After graduating from St. Petersburg University, full of hopes and grand plans, returned to his native town of the young doctor Benjamin Glonti. But life as before his departure, is running its course: a growing family of sestritsy Sofiko, hard from morning till night rewrite the paper her husband, Luke, from time to time in the cellar down to “topple” bottle. And still, the elephant, without the case, “getting” all the counsel of Dodo. Benjamin became a lament for the failed life. And then, to correct the matter brother, Sofiko decided to marry his daughter to the old doctor …Read More »

  • Aleksandr Gintsburg – Giperboloid inzhenera Garina AKA Engineer Garin’s Hyperboloid [+Extra] (1965)

    1961-1970AdventureAleksandr GintsburgSci-FiUSSR

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    Synopsis:

    The year is 1925. Professor Mantsev invents a weapon of a formidable destructive force never seen before – a hyperboloid that strikes dead with a beam… Engineer Garin steals this prototype of the modern laser gun, with the aim to use it for the realization of his insane idea of become the ruler of the world, with no inkling of the consequences that would be dangerous for him, too. A hunt for Garin and Mantsev’s dangerous invention begins…Read More »

  • Vsevolod Pudovkin – Mat AKA Mother (1926)

    1921-1930DramaSilentUSSRVsevolod Pudovkin

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    The son of a worthless alcoholic father and a hardworking mother leads
    an illegal strike during the failed 1905 uprising. In an attempt to save
    her son, the mother inadvertently gives him away to the police, but
    gradually turns to communism after experiencing injustice and suffering.

    Pudovkin’s first feature turns Maxim Gorky’s rambling novel into a
    tightly constructed narrative. The film’s emotional and visual impact
    has not diminished with time, nor has Baranovskaya’s
    performance. – Holt’s Foreign Film Guide.Read More »

  • Mikhail Kalatozov – Jim Shvante (marili svanets) AKA Salt For Svanetia (1930)

    1921-1930Mikhail KalatozovSilentUSSR

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    Quote:
    The Georgian-born filmmaker Michail Kalatozov (19031973) is best remembered for directing some of the most innovative and successful Soviet films of the 1950s and 1960s. This DVD presents digitally restored versions of two of his lesser-known, early works, which were highly controversial in their time but now rank among the finest achievements in Soviet silent cinema. Salt for Svanetia is an austere depiction of peasant life in the inhospitable terrain of the Caucasus Mountains. Nail in the Boot, a biting parable of wartime irresponsibility, chillingly prefigures the later Stalinist purge trials. Günter Buchwald’s and Stephen Horne’s prize-winning scores and the experimental accompaniment by Masha Khotimshi underline the poetic and expressive visual style of these exceptional masterpieces.Read More »

  • Yuri Vorontsov; Igor Rachuk – The phenomenon of the Soviet cinema (1980)

    1971-1980BooksIgor RachukUSSRYuri Vorontsov

    Author: Yuri Vorontsov; Igor Rachuk
    Publisher: Moskva : Progress Publishers, 1980
    Edition/Format: Print book : English

    Related Subjects:

    Motion pictures — Soviet Union — History.
    Cinéma — URSS — Histoire.
    Motion pictures.
    Soviet Union.Read More »

  • Vsevolod Pudovkin – Dezertir AKA The Deserter (1933)

    1931-1940ExperimentalPoliticsUSSRVsevolod Pudovkin

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    Synopsis:
    In 1929, four years before making this film, Vsevolod Pudovkin and Sergei Eisenstein had collaborated on a Sound Manifesto that called for a radical use of asynchronous sound effects, which would be used in counterpoint to the screen image, rather than supporting it, as is normally the case. In DESERTER, Pudovkin put this theory into practice.

    Starring Boris Livanov as German dockworker Karl Renn, the film focuses upon a politically unconscious figure who learns the error of his ways. Renn becomes involved in picketing and demonstrating on the dock but walks out on his comrades one day, doubtful about the value of this kind of political activity.Read More »

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