Cool Russian films?

thorbiorn said:
Thanks to everybody for the links and suggestions, there are probably many Russian or Soviet movies that have no English subtitles, I have found a few at least, and when I watch some of them, I think it is regrettable, deeply regrettable, that they are not more known to more neighbours in Western Europe. Maybe this restriction in access was part of the policy.
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Absolutely. Hollywood think and wanted to make us think that they are the best, the inventors of cinema, the inventors of anything, the best directors and the best technicians. Hollywood is a mafia that smells bad.
 
loreta said:
thorbiorn said:
Thanks to everybody for the links and suggestions, there are probably many Russian or Soviet movies that have no English subtitles, I have found a few at least, and when I watch some of them, I think it is regrettable, deeply regrettable, that they are not more known to more neighbours in Western Europe. Maybe this restriction in access was part of the policy.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Hollywood think and wanted to make us think that they are the best, the inventors of cinema, the inventors of anything, the best directors and the best technicians. Hollywood is a mafia that smells bad.
Click to expand...

Yes some are hard to find with subtitles, and yes "Hollywood is a mafia that smells bad"
But great with all the suggestions :)

Here's one that I saw as a kid and absolutely loved (it has flying horses, what more can a little girl ask for?)


https://youtu.be/8Ngwh5r7tW4
 
I've found my old copy of Andrei Rublev in my DVD stack today. Man, that is one hell of a good film, I watched it twice when I bought it ten years ago and haven't seen it since. I love a good 3 hour epic, slow moving but deep characterisation,, and this film really has it. I've made plans to sit back and enjoy it tomorrow evening. Here's a little review to whet the appetite of anyone who hasn't seen it.

 
If you like comedy with a romantic theme, then there is this Soviet classic from 1977:
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Office Romance (Russian: Служебный роман, romanized: Sluzhebny roman) is a Soviet comedy film directed by Eldar Ryazanov. It was filmed at Mosfilm in 1976 and released in 1977. The film's plot is based on the stageplay Co-workers (Сослуживцы) written by Eldar Ryazanov and Emil Braginsky, and tells the story of Ludmila Kalugina, head of a statistical bureau, and her subordinate, economist Anatoly Novoseltsev, who come from mutual aversion to love.

Office Romance was a box office success, the leader of Soviet film distribution in 1978 and still enjoys wide popularity in the former Soviet republics.

Both romantic drama and screwball comedy, the film is noted for its scenes of Moscow in the late 1970s, and for its comical depiction of the everyday life and customs of Soviet society during the Era of Stagnation.
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Apparently one can watch it online with English subtitles: Служебный роман (1977) — смотреть все серии фильма бесплатно онлайн в хорошем качестве 720 HD на портале Культура РФ. Notice that there are two parts, 127 minute and 109 minutes.

Before I went to watch it, I read the whole Wiki. Even if you do not wish to read the plot, there is still the unusual feature, at least for the USSR, that the script was written with the actors in mind:
  • Alisa Freindlich was the film director's primary choice for the role of Kalugina. Eldar Ryazanov created the character with Freindlich in mind. Moreover, he started working on the screenplay seriously only after securing consent of all the actors he wanted to cast to participate in the film. It was a rare case in Soviet cinema when a director would be allowed to cast all actors of his own choice without preliminary screen-tests and approval of the Art Council.[1][2] Ryazanov worried that Freindlich would not be able to come to Moscow for shooting of the film because of stage performances and rehearsals she was busy with in her native Leningrad. So he assured both the actress and her management that she would be allowed to go to Leningrad on the first demand. It came out that she was compelled to leave for the theater often, and thus traveled between Moscow and Leningrad all the time.[1]
  • In order to create a genuine image of a frumpy boss, Ryazanov and Freindlich searched through all the wardrobes of the studio for baggy, old-fashioned clothes. Cameraman Vladimir Nakhabtsev brought to the studio the old thick-frammed glasses that belonged to his father - they helped to complete the image.[1][3]
  • Ryazanov took some risk casting Andrey Myagkov for the second time for the role of a clumsy intellectual, similar to this in 1975 hit The Irony of Fate. Not everyone agreed with the director's decision upon casting. Oleg Basilashvili didn't like the role of the "villain" Samokhvalov. Like Freindlich, he had to travel frequently between Moscow and Leningrad due to obligations on the Leningrad stage, and he believed that his worn-out look would be ideal to portray an unkempt and humble Novoseltsev. Later, during the shooting he admitted that the director's choice was right. But it was a hard task for make-up artists to make a glossy complacent Samokhvalov out of the exhausted Basilashvili, and, on the contrary, a sloppy bachelor Novoseltsev out of the refined Myagkov.[1][2][3]
  • One of few roles for which screen-tests were taken was the role of the activist Shura. Actress Ludmila Ivanova, who in real life was head of a local labor union committee at the Sovremennik Theatre, got into the role quickly and was the most convincing when she shouted out: "Comrades, donate 50 copecks!"
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For fans of fantasy, I was given the DVD of Wolfhound (2006) a few years ago by a Polish friend.

It's a pretty fun film, very high budget for a Russian film of it's time. Big old mix of Lord of the Rings, Conan the Barbarian and Celt/Slavic mythology set in a fantasy dark age Europe.
 
thorbiorn said:
If you like comedy with a romantic theme, then there is this Soviet classic from 1977:
View attachment 66170

Apparently one can watch it online with English subtitles: Служебный роман (1977) — смотреть все серии фильма бесплатно онлайн в хорошем качестве 720 HD на портале Культура РФ. Notice that there are two parts, 127 minute and 109 minutes.

Before I went to watch it, I read the whole Wiki. Even if you do not wish to read the plot, there is still the unusual feature, at least for the USSR, that the script was written with the actors in mind:
Click to expand...
I watched the first part and liked. I especially liked seeing the Soviet streets. :-D People, fashion, cars... very interesting. The camera work is very good. The actors are excellent and sometimes it is very funny. Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Heart of a Dog

From Wikipedia...won't add entire plot, so as not to spoil watching:

SNIP:
Heart of a Dog (Russian: Собачье сердце, translit. Sobachye serdtse) is a black-and-white 1988 Soviet television film directed by Vladimir Bortko. It is based on Mikhail Bulgakov's novel Heart of a Dog.[1]

The film is set in Moscow not long after the October Revolution where a complaining stray dog looks for food and shelter. A well-off, well-known surgeon Philipp Philippovich Preobrazhensky happens to need a dog and with a piece of sausage lures the animal to his big house with annexed practice. The dog is named Sharik and well taken care of by the doctor's maids, but still wonders why he is there. He finds out too late he is needed as a test animal: the doctor implants a pituitary gland and testicles of a recently deceased alcoholic and petty criminal Klim Chugunkin into Sharik.

Sharik proceeds to become more and more human during the next days. [ ...]
Heart of a Dog (English subtitles)

Edit to add subtitles in english..
 
This is a spy series called "Sleepers". The name refers to sleeping agents inside Russia today. Altough it starts as a mix between James Bond and Jason Bourne it goes a lot deeper.

There are 2 seasons.

Wasn`t able to find subtitles, but the language is straight forward. I thought it was pretty decent.
 
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