Russian Cinema

Directed by Nikita Mikhalkov.
160 minutes; released 2007.
Set in contemporary Moscow where 12 men must decide the fate of a young man accused of murdering his step-father. Consigned to a makeshift jury room, one by one each man takes center stage to confront, connect, and confess while the accused awaits a verdict and revisits his heartbreaking journey through war in flashbacks. In Russian with English or French subtitles.

Directed by Serik Aprimov.
78 minutes; released 1999.
Kanat takes his pregnant wife to visit his older brother, Aman, who lives in the village of Aksuat, Kazakhstan. After the baby is born, Kanat lands in jail for fighting with a policeman so Aman takes care of his brother's wife and baby and has to endure gossip and disapproval from the villagers. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein and Dmitriy Vasilev.
108 minutes; released 1938.
Biographical story of Prince Alexander Nevsky and his successful resistance against an attempt by the Teutonic Knights to invade Russia in 1242.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
205 minutes; released 1966.
A 15th-century monk perseveres in painting icons despite the civil disruptions and cruel turmoil of his times. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Uzmaan Saparov.
88 minutes; released 1993.
This film tells the story of a German boy, who was exile with his family from Volga region to Turkmenia in the beginning of World War II. Accidentally evading the next deportation round to Siberia, the boy is left alone in the abandoned village, doomed for a hungry death. In Turkmen, Russian and Bavarian dialect; optional English subtitles.

Directed by Aleksandr Zarkhi.
145 minutes; released 1967.
A young woman risks her marriage, her family, and her husband's career when she falls in love with a young, flirtatious count. Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy.

Directed by David Blair.
240 minutes; released 2000.
Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, this mini-series depicts the fallout from a love affair between Count Vronsky and Anna Karenina, a married woman. In English.

Directed by Cedric Messina et al.
1094 minutes; released 2008.
A collection of Chekhov plays originally produced for television by the BBC. Includes Platonov (120 min.; 1971), The Wood Demon (120 min.; 1974), The Proposal (31 min.; 1959), The Wedding (30 min.; 1961), The Seagull (120 min.; 1978), Uncle Vanya (120 min.; 1970), Uncle Vanya (173 min.; 1991), The Three Sisters (120 min.; 1970), The Cherry Orchard (130 min.; 1962) and The Cherry Orchard (130 min.; 1981). In English.

Directed by Grigoriy Chukhray.
88 minutes; released 1959.
During World War II, a 19-year-old soldier gets a medal as a reward for a heroic act at the front. Instead of this medal he asks for a few days leave to visit his mother and repair the roof of their home. On the train eastwards he meets Shura who is on her way to her aunt. In those few days traveling together they fall in love. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Motyl.
85 minutes; released 1970.
A Russian soldier wants to return home to his wife but must first guard the harem of a rebel leader to safety. In Russian, dubbed English, French or Arabic, with optional subtitles in Russian, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Hebrew, Swedish, Chinese, Arabic or Japanese.

Directed by Melis Ubukeyev.
63 minutes; released 1965.
The film White Mountains tells about the tragic consequences of the people's revolt of 1916. In Russian and Kyrgyz; with English subtitles.

Directed by Aktan Abdykalykov.
78 minutes; released 1998.
Beshkempir is an exquisitely composed and photographed child-to-man tale of a Kyrgyz villager. Beshkempir is just like any other kid -- playing in mud, getting into trouble, experiencing the first pangs of sexuality -- until a fight with his best friend leads to the revelation that he was adopted. In Kyrgyz with English subtitles; Russian voice-overs.

Directed by Yuri Moroz.
440 minutes; released 2009.
Four very different brothers in 19th century Tsarist Russia who stand to gain an inheritance from their father find themselves caught in a web of intrigue and murder. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Alexey Balabanov.
96 minutes; released 1997.
Danila returns from army service and looks up his older brother, who's become a contract killer in post-Soviet St. Petersburg. Danila is drawn into the violent underworld culture but retains a kind of honor in his dealings with those he comes to know there. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Kirill Lavrov, Ivan Pyryev and Mikhail Ulyanov.
259 minutes; released 1969.
Four very different brothers in 19th century Tsarist Russia who stand to gain an inheritance from their father find themselves caught in a web of intrigue and murder. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein.
74 minutes; released 1925.
Eisenstein's silent film about the 1905 Odessa revolt in Czarist Russia.

Directed by Dziga Vertov.
68 minutes; released 1929.
An experimental film which uses numerous cinematic techniques (split screens, multiple superimpositions, variable speeds, etc.) to present a dawn to dusk view of the Soviet Union to study the relation between cinema and reality. In Russian.

Directed by Michael Cacoyannis.
141 minutes; released 1999.
A woman returns to her decaying estate in pre-Revolutionary Russia. Based on the play by Anton Chekhov.

Directed by Aleksandr Askoldov.
105 minutes; released 1967.
A Red Army woman warrior must choose between her political commitments and her new-born son. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Michael Darlow.
225 minutes; mini-series released 1979.
A proud man who has committed a murder is forced to face his crime. Based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein.
85 minutes; released 1979.
A film document of the history of Mexico, presented in four novellas: Sandunga, an exposition of Tehuantepec jungles and the peaceful lifestyles of their inhabitants; Manguei, a love story about a poor peon and his bride; Fiesta, devoted to bullfighting and romantic love; and Soldadera, a portrayal of the 1910 revolution in Mexico as depicted in the frescoes of Siqueiros, Rivera, and Orosco. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
140 minutes; released 1975.
An eccentric Mongolian frontiersman saves the members of a Russian surveying expedition by teaching them how to survive in the wilderness. Based on the novel by Vladimir Klavdievich Arsen'ev.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
95 minutes; released 1964.
A crazed American general orders a surprise nuclear air strike on the Soviet Union. In English, French, Spanish, or Portuguese, with optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, or Thai subtitles.

Directed by Aleksandr Seryj.
88 minutes; released 1971.
A Kindergarten director and a very nice man finds himself chasing stolen treasure and not for his own profit. His kindness and pedagogical experience have an unexpected effect on the hardened criminals. In Russian, English and French; subtitles in Russian, English, German, French and Spanish.

Directed by Régis Wargnier.
125 minutes; released 1999.
Est-Ouest highlights a little-explored facet of modern Russian history: in 1946, Stalin offered amnesty to all Russian emigrants throughout the world who wanted to return to their homeland and participate in the postwar rebuilding of their nation. In French and Russian, with optional subtitles in English or French.

Directed by Sidney Lumet.
112 minutes; released 1964.
Due to an electrical malfunction American planes are sent to attack Moscow. In English, French, or Spanish, with optional English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean, or Thai subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Bortko.
500 minutes; released 2003.
The masterful treatment of even the most minor characters (e.g. Yepanchin's butler) provides an incredibly rich texture for this amazing story. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Andrey Kravchuk.
99 minutes; released 2005.
A six-year-old orphan sets off on a dangerous journey to find his real mother while being pursued by police and orphanage officials. In Russian with optional English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
95 minutes; released 1962.
An evocative, poetic journey through the shadows and shards of a boy's war-torn youth. 12-year old Ivan works as a spy at the World War II eastern front. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein.
184 minutes; released 1944.
Part I starts with the coronation of Ivan the Terrible and concludes with his return to power after the death of his wife. Part II covers the attempt to assassinate him in 1564. The third part of the saga was never made due to the death of Sergei M. Eisenstein.

Directed by Boris Kimyagarov.
92 minutes; released 1965.
Harmless story of Arbakesh Hasan, who has his cart and a horse and all he dreams of is to earn enough for bride-money in order to be with his beloved. In Russian and Tajik; with English subtitles.

Directed by Grigor Kozintsev.
132 minutes; released 1971.
Kozintsev's adaptation of William Shakespeare's play based on a translation by Boris Pasternak. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Larisa Shepitko.
85 minutes; released 1966.
Suffocated by modern-day living, a buttoned-down headmistress reminisces about her glory days as a World War II pilot. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Andrzej Wajda.
93 minutes; released 1962.
This remake of Siberian Lady Macbeth tells the story of a ruthless wife of a merchant. She falls in love with another man, the exciting Sergei, and will pursue a life with him at all costs.

Directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.
95 minutes; released 1957.
In Moscow, Veronica and Boris are blissfully in love, then World War II separates them. Boris is sent to the front lines, communication stops, and Veronica tries to ward off spiritual numbness as Boris's draft-dodging cousin tries to seduce her. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Vasily Pichul.
110 minutes; released 1988.
Young Vera lives with her mother and her alcoholic father, Kolya, who are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with her choice of friends and what they consider her decadent lifestyle. In English or French, with optional English or French subtitles.

Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
153 minutes; released 1962.
A middle-aged novelist falls in love with a 14-year-old girl. Based on the novel by Vladimir Nabokov. In English or French, with optional English or French subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Bortko.
450 minutes; released 2005.
Master and Margarita is a Menippean film, based on the eponymous book by Mikhail A. Bulgakov. Set in the Soviet Union under Stalin, it has several story-lines, that are intertwined. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Aleksandar Petrovic.
90 minutes; released 1972.
A writer is imprisoned in 1925 Moscow. Based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov. In Italian, with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Menshov.
150 minutes; released 1980.
A romantic comedy about three young, working-class, country girls, who go to Moscow in 1958 to seek work, men, and success. The story then jumps forward twenty years to look at the results of their expedition. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Khodzha Kuli Narliyev.
81 minutes; released 1972.
At the very railway junction, where the director spent his childhood, lived two people - old shepherd and his daughter in law. Her husband died at the battle front. But she did not believe in his death and waited... In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Boris Barnet.
165 minutes; released 2004.
Two movies. Includes Outskirts (97 min.; 1933): Family obligation competes with personal desire in a remote Russian village during World War I. The Girl with the hatbox (68 min.; 1927): A young woman who works in a hat shop unexpectedly wins a fortune through a lottery ticket. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Yusup Razykov.
84 minutes; released 2000.
A tale of a poor man who is a talented public speaker and becomes a staff agitator to protect his wives from having to remove their veils. In Uzbek (some Russian); English subtitles; optional Russian voice-over.

Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov.
180 minutes; released 2009.
Oriental Elegy (44 min.; 1996) is the first among the "Japanese" videos by Sokurov, where real people are represented in their normal conditions and surroundings. A Humble Life (75 min.; 1997) is an unhurried and detailed report from an old solitary house, lost in the mountains, in the village of Aska (Nara Prefecture), Japan, where an old woman, Umeno Matsuyoshi, lives alone. Dolce (61 min.; 2000) is a form of documentary about a well-known Japanese writer, Toshio Shimao, who died in 1986, his widow and their daughter. In Russian with English and French subtitles.

Directed by Georgiy Daneliya.
94 minutes; released 1979.
A mild-mannered college professor finds his life made difficult by hounding students, a nagging wife, a demanding mistress, and a neighbor who insists the professor jog with him each morning at dawn. In Russian, with optional soundtracks in English, French, and Spanish. Subtitles in Russian, English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Hebrew, Swedish, Chinese, Arabic.

Directed by Pavel Lungin.
112 minutes; released 2006.
Somewhere in Northern Russia, in a small Russian Orthodox monastery, lives a very unusual man. His fellow monks are confused by his bizarre conduct... In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Tyulkin.
50 minutes; released 1991.
The film Lord of the Flies has been viewed not only as the ethnic documentary film but also the feature film - the artistic background of which reflects the downfall of Soviet Union. In Russian and Turkmen; optional English subtitles.

Directed by Aleksey Balabanov.
89 minutes; released 1998.
Explores the seamy underside of the early 20th century Russian upper classes. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Boris Khlebnikov and Aleksey Popogrebskiy.
105 minutes; released 2003.
A father sets off from Moscow with his 11-year-old son for his sister's house in Koktebel by the Black Sea. With no money, nor means of transportation, they drift through the expansive and mesmeric landscapes at the mercy of chance. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Aleksandr Sokurov.
96 minutes; released 2002.
A dazzling technical achievement, Russian Ark follows a modern filmmaker across 300 years of Russian history--all in a single uninterrupted take. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Josef von Sternberg.
104 minutes; released 1934.
Catherine, a German princess, marries the Grand Duke Peter, the heir to the Russian throne. Because of his madness, she is able to seize the throne and become known as Catherine the Great.

Directed by Alexander Medvedkin.
185 minutes; released 1934.
Happiness: banned by Stalin, this satirical comedy used Russian folklore to bring humor to the Revolution. It tells the tale of a hapless mercenary loser, his wife Anna, his well-fed neighbor Foka, and also of a priest, a nun and other old relics. Silent with Russian intertitles and English subtitles.

Directed by John J. Desmond.
117 minutes; released 1975.
A production by the Williamstown Theatre Festival of Anton Chekhov's classic comedy-drama depicting man's propensity for destroying those he is close to. In English.

Directed by Michael Anderson.
162 minutes; released 1968.
A feature-length movie about a fictional Russian pope who attempts to avert a conflict between Communist Russia and Communist China by declaring that the Church's wealth should alleviate the world's starving people and challenges other institutions to do the same.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
169 minutes; released 1972.
Tarkovsky's classic science fiction film based on the book by Stanislaw Lem. An astronaut is sent to investigate strange transmissions from a space station. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky.
163 minutes; released 1979.
A man enters "The Zone", an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. In Russian, with optional Russian, English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, or Japanese subtitles.

Directed by J. Lee Thompson.
124 minutes; released 1962.
Set in the Ukraine of the 16th century, a powerful Cossack chieftain is determined to regain his land from Polish invaders. In English, with optional English or Spanish subtitles.

Directed by Vladimir Bortko.
128 minutes; released 2009.
Set in the 16th century, this is a story about Cossack warriors and their campaign to defend their lands from the advancing Polish armies. In Russian, with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Shukhrat Abbasov.
63 minutes; released 1962.
A touching story about an Uzbek family who give shelter to fourteen children evacuated during the World War II while their own child is at the battlefronts. In Russian and Uzbek; with English subtitles.

Directed by Larisa Shepitko.
109 minutes; released 1977.
Tracks two Byelorussian peasant soldiers - one on the path to redemption, the other to hell - as they try to evade Nazi forces during World War II. In Russian with optional English subtitles.

Directed by Sergey Bondarchuk.
403 minutes; released 1966.
Based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy, this adaptation follows the interconnected lives of a group of Russian aristocrats from 1805 to 1812 as they cope with love, youth, financial trouble, military life, land management, high society, and Napoleon's invasion of Russia. In Russian with English subtitles.

Directed by Aleksandr Dovzhenko.
69 minutes; released 1930.
The last great Russian "silent" film, is a story of a young man trying to instill a collectivist spirit in his Ukrainian village. DVD includes two additional movies by dir. Pudovkin Konets Sankt-Peterburga (89 min.; 1925) and Shakhmatniia goriachka (28 min.; 1925). In Ukranian with English subtitles.

Directed by Shaken Ajmanov.
85 minutes; released 1966.
One of the brighest Kazakh film of the Soviet epoch. Since it was shot during the years of the "Thaw", it was impossible to show verily national personalities, their resistance to Soviet ideology. In Russian with English subtitles.