Tag Archives: Soviet Union

The Foundling
7.6

The Foundling

Jan. 27, 1940

The Foundling

The Foundling (Подкидыш) is a Soviet comedy from 1940 directed by Tatyana Lukashevich. This movie is a childhood classic for many Russians from ...
Sadko
5.2

Sadko

Jan. 05, 1953

Sadko

Sadko (Садко), also known as The Magic Voyage of Sinbad, is a wonderful Russian fantasy film from 1953 that received global acclaim. The ...
The Keepers
4.6

The Keepers

Mar. 01, 1991

The Keepers

As announced in our Russian movie blog, The Keepers (Khraniteli) is a long lost, but now joyously rediscovered Soviet TV film adaptation of ...
A Nest of Gentry
6.7

A Nest of Gentry

Aug. 25, 1969

A Nest of Gentry

A stunning film adaptation by Andrei Konchalovsky of the novel of the same name by Ivan Turgenev. The story depicts life of the landed gentry in ...
The Sword and the Dragon
5.5

The Sword and the Dragon

The Sword and the Dragon is a wonderful Russian film based on the folk story about Ilya Muromets. At the beginning of the tale, Ilya is unable to ...
Life Is Beautiful
6.4

Life Is Beautiful

Jun. 01, 1979

Life Is Beautiful

Life is Beautiful, also known as Betrayed, is a joint Soviet-Italian film production directed by Grigory Chukhray. The main character ...
Othello
6.9

Othello

Mar. 13, 1956

Othello

Othello is a film adaptation of the Shakespeare play, featuring Sergei Bondarchuk playing Othello himself and his wife, Irina Skobtseva, playing ...
Uncle Vanya
7.3

Uncle Vanya

Oct. 01, 1970

Uncle Vanya

While the deep Russian soul is in many ways immeasurable and undefinable, there are still those who can show it. Watch this beautiful rendition ...
The Red Snowball Tree
7.7

The Red Snowball Tree

Mar. 25, 1974

The Red Snowball Tree

The Red Snowball Tree is a heart-warming story about the ex-convinct, Yegor Prokudin, who tries to get his life back together and be a good ...
The Russian Question
6.4

The Russian Question

Mar. 08, 1948

The Russian Question

The Russian Question is a classic Soviet film by Mikhail Romm that throws audiences back to the dawn of the Cold War. Based on a play by ...
The Red Tent
7.0

The Red Tent

Dec. 23, 1969

The Red Tent

The Red Tent is a joint Soviet-Italian film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov and featuring Sean Connery and Peter Finch. As such, it’s a ...
Viy
7.4
HD

Viy

Nov. 27, 1967

Viy

Viy is generally considered the most famous Russian horror film – really one of the few in a country that has experienced far too much real ...
Mister Designer
7.1

Mister Designer

Dec. 01, 1988

Mister Designer

Mister Designer is an exciting and a little eerie mystical drama about a sculptor who dreams of breathing life into his magnificent ...
The Captivating Star of Happiness
7.2

The Captivating Star of Happiness

The Captivating Star of Happiness is a beautiful film by ace director, Vladimir Motyl, that tells the story of the famous Decembrist ...
Daddy, Father Frost Is Dead
6.4

Daddy, Father Frost Is Dead

The film, Daddy, Father Frost is Dead, released the year of the collapse of the USSR, reflects the problems of perestroika and the feeling of ...
Winter Evening in Gagry
7.3
HD

Winter Evening in Gagry

Winter Evening in Gagra became a classic almost immediately after its release. This Karen Shakhnazarov’s film (the acclaimed director of ...
Jolly Fellows
7.0

Jolly Fellows

Dec. 09, 1934

Jolly Fellows

Jolly Fellows, also known as Moscow Laughs, was the first Soviet musical film. Director, Grigori Aleksandrov, wowed not just domestic audiences, ...
Cheburashka Goes to School
7.4

Cheburashka Goes to School

This is the final of four episodes in the beloved Cheburashka / Чебурашка series. In this episode, the Crocodile Gena realizes that Cheburashka ...
Shapoklyak
7.7

Shapoklyak

Jun. 06, 1974

Shapoklyak

This is the third of four episodes in the beloved Cheburashka / Чебурашка series. In this episode, Cheburashka and the Crocodile Gena leave by ...
Cheburashka
8.0

Cheburashka

Jun. 06, 1972

Cheburashka

This is the second of four episodes in the beloved Cheburashka / Чебурашка series. In this episode, Crocodile Gena is celebrating his birthday. ...
Gena the Crocodile
7.9

Gena the Crocodile

Dec. 30, 1969

Gena the Crocodile

This is the first of four episodes in the beloved Cheburashka / Чебурашка series. In this episode, we are introduced to the series’ two main ...
We’re from Jazz
7.2

We’re from Jazz

Jun. 06, 1983

We’re from Jazz

We’re from Jazz or Jazzman is all about the difficult path the formation of jazz took in the Soviet Union. Kostya Ivanov is a student in a ...
Cherry Town
6.8

Cherry Town

Apr. 01, 1963

Cherry Town

Once upon a time “Cherry Town” was the name of a small village near Moscow. Today, however, thousands of Muscovites live there and it ...
Aerograd
6.1

Aerograd

Nov. 06, 1935

Aerograd

Aerograd is a 1930s film from influential director, Alexander Dovzhenko. Set in the Far East region of Russia, the movie centers on the struggle ...
A Dog Was Walking on the Piano
7.1

A Dog Was Walking on the Piano

A miracle descends on the quiet, sleepy village of Bersenevka. A man appears to whom the young Tanya is ready to give her heart. Komarov is a ...
Come Tomorrow…
7.5

Come Tomorrow…

Dec. 03, 1962

Come Tomorrow…

Come Tomorrow tells the story of a young talented woman’s journey from the Siberian taiga to the music conservatory in Moscow.  Frosya has ...
Karlson Returns
8.1

Karlson Returns

Jan. 01, 1970

Karlson Returns

Karlson Returns is the sequel to the beloved Russian cartoon, Junior and Karlson. The housekeeper, Freken Bock, appears in Junior’s ...
A Necklace for My Beloved
6.7

A Necklace for My Beloved

A Necklace for My Beloved (Samkauli satrposatvis) is a 1971 lyrical comedy by legendary Georgian director, Tengiz Abuladze. It is based on the ...
Brief Encounters
7.4

Brief Encounters

Dec. 13, 1967

Brief Encounters

Brief Encounters is a beautiful rom-com by famed director, Kira Muratova. In the film, Nadia leaves her village for the big city where she meets ...
The Communist
7.1

The Communist

Feb. 03, 1958

The Communist

The Communist is an ideology-ridden, but also beautifully created film. Hugely popular in the Soviet Union, the movie also won its director, Yuli ...
Rock
7.0

Rock

Jan. 19, 1988

Rock

Rock (Рок) is a cult documentary by acclaimed director, Alexei Uchitel. Better than any other film, it shows the life of the underground rock ...
Ashik Kerib
7.4
HD

Ashik Kerib

Jul. 03, 1988

Ashik Kerib

Ashik Kerib is a Georgian film that is acclaimed director, Sergei Parajanov’s final work. Parajanov dedicated the film to his good friend, ...
The Legend of Suram Fortress
7.4
HD

The Legend of Suram Fortress

The Legend of Suram Fortress is legendary director, Sergei Parajanov’s first film since his release from the Soviet Gulag prison system. ...
Fragment of an Empire
7.3

Fragment of an Empire

Oct. 28, 1929

Fragment of an Empire

Fragment of an Empire is an extraordinarily impressive classic and the epitome of the Soviet propaganda film. It tells the a story of a Russian ...
No Path Through Fire
7.5

No Path Through Fire

Dec. 25, 1967

No Path Through Fire

No Path Through Fire is acclaimed director Gleb Panfilov’s first feature film. It tells the interesting story of a talented nurse trying to ...
Dead Man’s Letters
7.6

Dead Man’s Letters

Dec. 12, 1986

Dead Man’s Letters

Dead Man’s Letters is the first feature film of the masterful director, Konstantin Lopushansky. It deals with a popular theme of the late ...
A Visitor to a Museum
7.3

A Visitor to a Museum

Mar. 14, 1989

A Visitor to a Museum

A Visitor to a Museum is a 1989 film directed by Konstantin Lopushansky. Like his earlier 1986 work, Dead Man’s Letters, it explores what a ...
There Will Be No Leave Today
6.5

There Will Be No Leave Today

This short film is a stylishly constructed thriller that will appeal to a wide range of viewers. It tells the story of a small Soviet town that ...
Boule de suif
7.4

Boule de suif

Sep. 15, 1934

Boule de suif

Boule de Suif (Пышка) is a 1934 Soviet drama by Mikhail Romm. An adaptation of the eponymous short story by Guy de Maupassant, Boule de Suif is a ...
Trial on the Road
7.9

Trial on the Road

Apr. 01, 1971

Trial on the Road

Trial on the Road (Проверка на дорогах) is the directorial debut of acclaimed director, Aleksey German. In English, it is also sometimes known as ...
My Grandmother
7.5

My Grandmother

Dec. 01, 1929

My Grandmother

The protagonist, a lazy pen-pusher, gets the sack for his bureaucratic idleness, and learns that the way back into the job market depends on ...
Days of Eclipse
7.1

Days of Eclipse

Jan. 01, 1988

Days of Eclipse

This bleak late soviet-era drama follows the career of Malyanov, a young medical school graduate who has been sent to work in Turkmenia. Here he ...
The Killers
6.6

The Killers

Jan. 01, 1956

The Killers

The Killers (Убийцы) was Andrei Tarkovsky’s first film. He co-directed this short film along with his classmates, Alexander Gordon and ...
Bezhin Meadow
6.7

Bezhin Meadow

Mar. 04, 1968

Bezhin Meadow

Bezhin Lug (Bezhin Meadow) was to be a Soviet film about a young farm boy whose father attempts to betray the government for political reasons by ...
Somebody else’s wife and a husband under the bed
7.2

Somebody else’s wife and a husband under the bed

An older official has long suspected his wife of infidelity. His worst fears are justified on the anniversary of their wedding, when he comes ...
Beginning of an Unknown Era
6.9

Beginning of an Unknown Era

Two young directors adapted the short stories of two Russian authors whose works had been banned for decades, and so their film ended up in the ...
Migrants
6.1

Migrants

Aug. 03, 1991

Migrants

Pavel and Pavelina leave their rural countryside homes and move to Moscow to find work. Once there, they find that urban life is not what they ...
Mother
6.9

Mother

Dec. 01, 1990

Mother

The social ferment in late 19th century Russia which led to the 1917 Russian Revolution is movingly portrayed in this lengthy historical drama, ...
Assassin of the Tsar
6.9
HD

Assassin of the Tsar

Feb. 02, 1991

Assassin of the Tsar

A new doctor from Moscow arrives at a provincial mental institution. His interest is the peculiarities of the psyche of a patient who believes ...
The Shining Path
6.2

The Shining Path

Oct. 07, 1940

The Shining Path

Tanya Morozova, an illiterate but industrious textile factory worker, finds happiness through her education and the Stakhanovite movement. She ...
Boris Godunov
6.7

Boris Godunov

May. 01, 1986

Boris Godunov

Praised for its fine photography and production design if not its narrative, Sergei Bondarchuk directed this adaptation of the tale by Alexander ...
Anna Karenina
7.1

Anna Karenina

Jan. 01, 1967

Anna Karenina

The plot of the film is the love of a married woman, Anna Karenina, and a young officer, Alexei Vronsky. Anna leaves the family in search of ...
Shine, Shine, My Star
7.6

Shine, Shine, My Star

Jun. 06, 1969

Shine, Shine, My Star

This late 60s Russian films is set in 1920, just 3 years after the October revolution. Folks had the choice between red and white, revolution and ...
Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day
8.3

Winnie-the-Pooh and a Busy Day

This is the third and final episode in the three-part Russian Winnie-the-Pooh series. In this episode, Pooh searches for a tail for his friend, ...
Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting
8.3

Winnie-the-Pooh Goes Visiting

This is the second episode in the three-part Russian Winnie-the-Pooh series. In this episode, Pooh and Piglet visit Rabbit for a meal with honey. ...
Winnie-the-Pooh
8.3

Winnie-the-Pooh

Jan. 01, 1969

Winnie-the-Pooh

This is the first episode in the three-part Russian Winnie-the-Pooh series. In this episode, Pooh attempts to take honey from a beehive with the ...
Triumph Over Violence
8.2

Triumph Over Violence

Dec. 31, 1965

Triumph Over Violence

Romm’s “Ordinary Fascism” pulls out all the stops in its selection of documentary material to draw the viewer not only into ...
Tchaikovsky
6.6

Tchaikovsky

Aug. 31, 1970

Tchaikovsky

The film is dedicated to the great Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). It tells of the last twenty years of the great master’s life, ...