I’m becoming a bit of a cinephile, and I’d really like to experience the greatness of Soviet cinema but I don’t know where to begin. Hit me with those recs!
Irony of Fate (1976) - rom com
Perhaps a bit of an old fashioned dating culture and even cringey by today’s standards, but offered a glimpse into the Soviet urban lifestyle of the 1970s. Premised on the stereotype that centrally planned Soviet cities all looked the same, comedy (and romance) ensued. One of the most well known Soviet films of all time, due to the fact that they always air the movie on television every New Year’s Eve when families gather, a tradition that continues to present day’s Russia. For maximum cultural immersion, watch the movie on New Year’s Eve.
Solaris (1972) - sci fi
The Soviet response to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey! Even though Tarkovsky was unaware of the Kubrick film, Solaris became an unintentional counterpart to 2001 that neatly contrasted the ideological difference between the capitalist West and the Soviet Union. While Kubrick depicted a futuristic vision set to technical perfection that propels mankind forward, Tarkovsky asked the question of whether scientific advances are even capable of solving the perplexing nature of humanity. Prepare yourself emotionally for one of the greatest science fiction films ever made.
Come and See is the only true anti-war film.
Their version of War and Peace. They really went all out.
Do watch the early cinema too, like Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera. Stride, Soviet! Is also good even if it is very much a piece of propaganda
fr fr fr fr i literally forgot War and Peace was “soviet cinema”, it’s just categorized as GOAT in my head
It’s a film in its own category. I don’t think it could have ever been made outside of the soviet union. What other state in history would fund a 7 hour adaption of war and peace, and provide them with a blank check for resources, soldiers and horses?
Come and See seriously fucked my shit up but its
A fine example of the greater artistic freedom afforded to soviet filmmakers.
The only western film I’ve seen that even comes close to come and see in it’s anti-war message is “Threads”. But even then, it depicts the destitution as a cold, mathematical inevitability of a war, whereas come and see more hauntingly depicts the conditions being the result of a depraved, but deliberate force of man.
Kim Dza Dza
Tarkovsky’s work
Kidnapping Caucasian Style
2nding кин дза дза
Eisenstein’s works are all worth seeing. Tarkovsky as well I’d say though I think Stalker is a stand-out. Agree with ‘The Ascent’. I’d also recommend ‘The Cranes are Flying’.
There’s also the MosFilm yt channel that has full Soviet movies in decent quality, many with english subs.
Solaris, stalker
The Ascent is definitely a must see
The Soviet adaptation of Sherlock Holmes.
Gaidai comedy movies.
I don’t remember Guest From the Future and Elektronik well enough.
17 Moments of Spring - I’m not sure. It does suffer from the awkward pacing of the scenes a bit, IMO, and generally kind of didn’t grip me, unfortunately. I didn’t dislike it, though.
Kin-dza-dza - I couldn’t get into it at all. I completely do not understand the movie’s subtext. This one, I do dislike.No one has mentioned Ad Astra Ad Aspera. Its a banger.
Battleship Potemkin
And there was an animation about a guy that gets killed by a bull. I can’t for the life of me remember the title but it was made by painting oil on glass and smudging it between frames.
Good to see Man with a movie camera posted
It’s the goat.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
I don’t know the actual name, but in my history class (the great patriotic war) we watched a soviet era law film about a defence lawyer being chosen for a show trial, I think set during the 30’s) and how he tries to treat it seriously and defends his client and does everything right and gets evidence his client is innocent (obvious given it’s a show trial) and runs smack into the authorities who, I can’t remember the ending, I don’t think he dies or gets punished for trying too hard, but his client definitely gets the wall.
I want to say the name was something like “defence lawyer ‘insert Russian name here’”.
I can’t even remember if it was good, but it didn’t seem actively bad. If anyone can figure out the title that’d be cool, it was over 15 years ago when I got my degree and it was just like a soft class the professor gave us during term paper round up so I have such vague memories of it.
Edit: I looked myself and it appears to be “My Friend Ivan Lapshin”. Edit edit: it may not be this, it seems vaguely possible but it’s too hard to identify as this doesn’t have anything to do with the lawyer angle, but is set in time period I recall.
Triumph Over Violence is my favourite Soviet movie. It’s a montage of Nazi archival footage with a narrator. One thing that stuck with me was how fast you went from ‘haha silly Nazis’ to sobbing at the crimes the Nazis committed.
Itt displays real holocaust victims. So be cautious.
