Russian Cinema
Early films from the then Soviet Union had a shaky start due to the First World War and the October Revolution in 1917, but Lenin himself and later Stalin recognised the propaganda uses of the medium. At first, with the infrastructure in tatters and virtually no cinemas in which to screen films, shorts expounding communism were carried from place to place often accompanying live speakers. Once Moscow's first cinema was opened at the end of 1921, newsreels became common. But in 1924 Sergei Eisenstein's 'Strike' became the first true Soviet feature. The following year his 'Battleship Potemkin' was launched to great acclaim, highly propagandistic and towing the party line.
Tight restrictions on content continued up until Stalin's death in 1953 and it wasn't until the '60s and '70s that seminal Russian film makers like Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergo Paradjanov and Nikita Mikhalkov began to find their own voice.
With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the largely state-funded film industry all but disappeared and is only now beginning to find its feet once more. A few gems found their way to Alice's shelves from this period, such as 'Burnt By The Sun' (1994), 'Prisoner of the Mountains' (1996), and our one and only Estonian film is to be found in this section, for want of a better home, the darkly humourous 'Darkness in Tallinn' (1993). 2002 saw the release of 'Russian Ark' (pictured), shot in one take, it is the longest unedited film ever made.
The Fool (Blu-ray) (2014)
5.6/10
Director: Yuriy Bykov
Starring: Yuriy Tsurilo
Dima Nikitin is an ordinary honest plumber who suddenly decides to face the corrupt system of local politics in order to save the lives of 800 inhabit... Read more
Leviathan ( Leviafan ) (2014)
7.6/10
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Starring: Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Aleksey Serebryakov
Nominated for an Oscar and winner of the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, 'Leviathan' is a gripping parable of class, faith and corruption... Read more
Hard to Be a God (2013)
6.7/10
Director: Aleksei German
Starring: Leonid Yarmolnik, Yuriy Tsurilo, Natalia Moteva, Aleksandr Chutko
Aleksey German directs this Russian-language sci-fi drama following the journey of a group of scientists who have been selected to travel to another p... Read more
Hard to Be a God (Blu-ray) (2013)
6.6/10
Director: Aleksei German
Starring: Leonid Yarmolnik, Yuriy Tsurilo, Natalia Moteva, Aleksandr Chutko
Aleksey German directs this Russian-language sci-fi drama following the journey of a group of scientists who have been selected to travel to another p... Read more
Tangerines (2013)
8.3/10
Director: Zaza Urushadze
Starring: Lembit Ultsak, Elmo Nuganen, Giorgi Nakashidze
Set in 1992, during the growing conflict between Georgia and Abkhazian separatists in the wake of the Soviet Union's dissolution, this compassionate t... Read more
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In Bloom (2013)
7.7/10
Director: Nana Ekvtimishvili, Simon Groß
Starring: Lika Babluani, Mariam Bokeria, Zurab Gogaladze
Set in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi in 1992. Friends Eka and Natia look to leave childhood behind as they ignore societal customs and work to escap... Read more
Gagarin: First in Space (2013)
7.1/10
Director: Pavel Parkhomenko
Starring: Yaroslav Zhalnin
On April 12 1961, Soviet fighter pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted off into space not knowing what fate awaited him. He was one of the legendar... Read more
Stalingrad (2013)
5.6/10
Director: Fedor Bondarchuk
Starring: Thomas Kretschmann, Mariya Smolnikova, Yanina Studilina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Sergey...
A band of Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deepl... Read more
In the Fog (2012)
6.8/10
Director: Sergei Loznitsa
In 1942, Belarus is in the hands of Nazis and the local militia. Sushenya is taken from his house in the middle of the night by Burov and his sidekick... Read more
White Tiger (2012)
5/10
Director: Karen Shakhnazarov
Starring: Aleksey Vertkov, Vitaliy Kishchenko, Valeriy Grishko, Dimitriy Bykovskiy-Romasho...
Aleksey Vertkov stars as Ivan Naydenov, a mysterious Soviet soldier discovered amidst the wreckage of a destroyed tank. Ninety percent of his body is... Read more