Soviet Cinema

Film posters for Soviet horror flicks

The best Soviet films of 1981, as voted by readers of Soviet Screen magazine: 1. Could One Imagine?, dir. Ilya Frez 2. O Sport, You Are Peace!, dir. Yuri Ozerov, Fyodor Khitruk, Boris Rychkov 3a. Youth of Peter, dir. Sergei Gerasimov 3b. At the Beginning of Glorious Deeds, dir. Sergei Gerasimov 4. Teheran 43, dir. Alexander Alov and Vladimir Naumov 5. Once Upon a Time Twenty Years Later, dir. Yuri Yegorov 6. Squadron of Flying Hussars, dir. Nikita Khubov and Stanislav Rostotsky 7. Particularly Important Task, dir. Yevgeni Matveyev 8. The Last Escape, dir. Leonid Menaker 9. To the Stars by Hard Ways, dir. Richard Viktorov 10. On His Motherland Service, dir. Latif Faiziyev 11. Sashka, dir. Aleksandr Surin 12. Return Move, dir. Mikhail Tumanishvili 13. The Uninvited Friend, dir. Leonid Maryagin 14. I'll Take Your Pain, dir. Mikhail Ptashuk

📽️I Am Cuba, directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, starring Sergio Corrieri, Luz María Collazo, and Raúl García, was released in the Soviet Union on this day in 1964.

Behind-the-scenes photos from the making of July Rain (1967), directed by Marlen Khutsiev.

The Seven Brides of Lance-Corporal Zbruyev (1970), dir. Vitaly Melnikov

Tale of Tales (1979), dir. Yuri Norstein

🎂Anatoli Papanov, Soviet theater and film actor, People's Artist of the USSR, was born on this day in 1922. He was best known for his roles in the films The Living and the Dead (1964), The Diamond Arm (1968), Belorussian Station (1970), Gentlemen of Fortune (1971), 12 Chairs (1976), and many others.

The most popular Soviet films of 1960, ranked by theater admissions: 1. Far from the Motherland, dir. Alexei Shvachko (42M) 2. The Maiden’s Spring, dir. Benjamin Dorman and Genrikh Oganisyan (34.3M) 3. Resurrection, Mikhail Shveitser (34.1M) 4. Love Must Be Cherished, dir. Sergei Sploshnov (33.9M) 5. Northern Story, dir. Yevgeni Andrikanis (31.3M) 6. Ivanna, dir. Viktor Ivchenko (30.2M) 7. Virgin Soil Upturned, dir. Aleksandr Ivanov (30.1M) 8. The Quarrel in Lukashi, dir. Maksim Ruf (29.5M) 9. Midshipman Panin, dir. Mikhail Shveitser (28.9M) 10. Lullaby, dir. Mikhail Kalik (28.8M)

Fate of a Man (1959), dir. Sergei Bondarchuk

Similarly, the famous Soviet comedy director Leonid Gaidai released his own version of The Twelve Chairs in 1971. And in 1976, director Mark Zakharov's mini-series adaptation was released. All these films were adapted from the satirical novel written by Soviet authors Ilf and Petrov published in 1928.

Dmitri Shostakovich on Eisenstein and Dovzhenko: "Among my creative achievements, I should mention one more: the release of Eisenstein’s film October. A. A. Kholodilin compiled a score for it using my compositions. I have seen the film; my music enhances it to some extent, though I do not care for the film itself. In fact, I do not understand why Eisenstein--or Dovzhenko, for that matter--are considered geniuses. I simply do not like their creative work. This is likely due to some shortcoming in my own judgment, given that those in the know consider them geniuses." -Letter to Isaak Glikman on August 30, 1967.

The Captivating Star of Happiness (1975), dir. Vladimir Motyl

📽️We'll Live Till Monday, directed by Stanislav Rostotsky, starring Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Irina Pechernikova, and Nina Menshikova, was released in the Soviet Union on this day in 1968.

This anti-prostitution poster is from 1923. By 1989, the most popular film in the Soviet Union was Intergirl, a Perestroika era social drama depicting prostitution in Leningrad.

Ivan the Terrible, Part II (1945) dir. Sergei Eisenstein

The best Soviet films of 1980, as voted by readers of Soviet Screen magazine: 1. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears, dir. Vladimir Menshov 2. Air Crew, dir. Aleksander Mitta 3. Please Accuse Klava K. of My Death, dir. Nikolai Lebedev and Ernest Yasan 4. Siberiade, dir. Andrei Konchalovsky 5. Autumn Marathon, dir. Georgiy Daneliya 6. The Detective, dir. Vladimir Fokin 7. Father and Son, dir. Vladimir Krasnopolsky and Valery Uskov 8. Garage, dir. Eldar Ryazanov 9. Ode to Sports, dir. Yuri Ozerov 10. Santa Esperansa, dir. Sebastian Alarcon 11. Pirates of the 20th Century, dir. Boris Durov 12. Profession: Film Actor, dir. Stanislav Rostotsky 13. A Few Days from the Life of I. I. Oblomov, dir. Nikita Mikhalkov 14. People in the Ocean, dir. Pavel Chukhrai 15. Dangerous Friends, dir. Vladimir Shamshurin 16. Married for the First Time, dir. Iosif Kheifits 17. Life is Beautiful, dir. Grigori Chukhrai 18. Petrovka, 38, dir. Boris Grigorev 19. Border Dog Scarlet, dir. Yuli Fayt 20. The Starshina, dir. Nikolay Koshelev

📽️Office Romance, directed by Eldar Ryazanov, starring Andrey Myagkov and Alisa Freindlich, was released in the Soviet Union on this day in 1977.