Russian Cinema

[pgmatg]

Is anyone interested in talking about Russian Cinema in general?
If you are, which Russian movies have you seen, liked?
My favorites:
Sci-Fi: Solaris, Stalker, Kin-Dza-Dza, Night Watch,
Professor Dowell's Testament, Amphibian Man, Wizards

War: Alexander Nevsky, Ballad of a Soldier,
Prisoner of the Mountains, Father of The Soldier,
100 Days Before The Command, At Dawns it's Quiet Here

Action: White Sun of the Desert, Elusive Avengers

Mystery: Ten Little Indians, Meeting place can’t be changed

Horror: Viy or Spirit of Evil

comedies: Ordinary miracle, Formula of Love,
Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik's New Adventures
The Diamond Arm, Ivan Vasilievich changes his occupation,
The Very Same Munhgauzen, Kin-Dza-Dza, Twelve Chairs,
Pokrov Gates, Gentlemen of luck,
Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures,
Hello, I am your aunt!

dramas:
Solaris, Moscow does not Belive in Tears, The Mirror,
At Home Among Strangers, a Stranger Among his own
The Star of Fascinating Happiness, A Cruel Romance,
Prisoner of the Mountains, The Thief, The Lover

Romance: Ordinary miracle, Irony of fate or with light steam!,
A Railway Station for Two, Moscow does not Belive in Tears,
Business romance, I am Walking Along Moscow, Truffaldino from Bergamo

History: Andrei Rublev, The Battleship Potemkin,
War and Peace, Ivan the Terrible, October, Russian Ark,
Strike, Cold Summer of 1953, Tchaikovsky

[Emperor Norton]

I like Red Dawn.

And Rocky IV.

[LeiterCIA]

I like Red Dawn. And Rocky IV. Oh my God, I swear I made the same crack to a co-worker recently. I have a girl in my office who is Russian and adorable, and a sleazy co-worker was chatting her up about 'Russian Cinema', and I yelled across the room, "Oh please, your idea of Russian Cinema is 'Rocky 4!'"

I would like to get into the discussion of Russian Cinema, but my knowledge of it is pretty lame.

PGMATG -- Where from in Jersey?

[Emperor Norton]

And to complete the trifecta of Rocky IV references today, just now on Family Guy (a repeat I hadn't seen), Brian and Stewie spoofed the "training in the snow" scenes, complete with "DRAGO!!!" yell. :D

[Space Tycoon]

I would like to get into the discussion of Russian Cinema, but my knowledge of it is pretty lame.

Apparently, from what I have been told they've made some good, even revisionist war films, particularly about Afghanistan. I think they're going through their Platoon, Full Metal Jacket phase.

9th Company (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417397/) was supposed to be a pretty good film on that subject. At least Putin seemed to like it. Which is good or bad, depending on who you ask...

[Penfold]

The only Russian movie I've seen is Alexander Nevsky. I watched it as part of a project in my music history class when I was a junior in college. The score was by Sergei Prokofiev and the paper I was writing was on the effects of the communist government on the works of Russian composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich. There's a legend that Sergei Eisenstein (the director) fell asleep in the editing room one night, and some people came and took the reel he was working on to be approved by Stalin. Stalin gave it the thumbs up, and Eisenstein didn't dare edit any more for fear of ticking Stalin off. The result are some pretty rough scenes in the film. But the movie is pretty cool, and the battle on the frozen lake is pretty amazing to watch.

[KingVoyeur]

I've seen Solaris (have it on Criterion, have yet to watch the special features) and Battleship Potemkin (there's some law it must be shown in every film class ever). Other than that, I don't know much, but luckily there's a video store here in town that has a section divided by countries. I'd love to hear suggestions on some movies to check out, and discussion is always great.

[Deacon]

A) The only link they provided was the one at the very end of the post (in their sig, I believe). Pretty mild. And

B) It's spam that provoked actual film discussion.

[pgmatg]

Anyone planning to see "Night Watch"? It's in limited release, but not anywhere close to me, which is fine because I've already seen the original Russian version.

PS: thanks to the moderator for being so kind

[Bark]

If you guys like Russian Cinema, check this movie (http://www.atomfilms.com/af/content/atom_990) out.

[KingVoyeur]

Just finished Russian Ark. An incredibly beautiful film. I really wish I knew more about Russian history, I probably would've appreciated it more. For those who don't know, Russian Ark follows a man (we see through his eyes the entire time) and Custine, a French Marquis, as they wander through the Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg, skipping from time period to time period, spanning 300 years of Russian history. The amazing thing about the film is that it is told in one un-interrupted 90-minute take. The film took 4 years to plan, they had 36 hours to set up the entire building, and only one day to shoot. There are easily 1000 extras and 2 live on-screen symphonies. An interesting meditation on Russian culture's place in the world at that time, we get 2 perspectives, the Marquis (symbolizing Europe, who pretty much ignored Russia until the early 20th century) and the man whose eyes we see through (symbolizing Russia finding itself and its place in the world). Interestingly, it's a very calming and satisfying film, and I highly recommend it.