Movies, Based on Russian Novels, Stories, etc
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- DirectorDavid LeanStarsOmar SharifJulie ChristieGeraldine ChaplinThe life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
- DirectorJosef von BákyStarsEva BartokIvan DesnyKarlheinz BöhmBeautiful Dunja is bored to death at the post office of her father, far in the depths of Russia. When the dubious officer Minski arrives, she's fascinated by his stories about life in St. Petersburg and easily can be persuaded to accompany him there. Minski promises her father to marry her later. In truth he's soon tired of her and throws her out; she's passed around among the officers of the czar like a prostitute. When her father gets word of it, he wants to take revenge.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsHelen MirrenJames McAvoyChristopher PlummerA historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's (Christopher Plummer's) struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsJames MasonVanessa RedgraveSimone SignoretFilm adaptation of Anton Chekhov's story of life in rural Russia during the latter part of the 19th century.
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsLyudmila SavelevaSergey BondarchukVyacheslav TikhonovNapoleon's tumultuous relations with Russia including his disastrous 1812 invasion serve as the backdrop for the tangled personal lives of five aristocratic Russian families.
- DirectorVladimir BortkoStarsBogdan StupkaIgor PetrenkoVladimir VdovichenkovSet in the 16th century, this is a story about Ukraine's Cossack warriors and their campaign to defend their lands from the advancing Polish armies.
- DirectorFerdinando BaldiHenri ZaphiratosStarsVladimir MedarLorella De LucaJean-François PoronDespite the disagreement of their mother, the sons of old Taras Bulba are taken to the Dnieper camp on their return from a Kiev seminary, to teach them how to become real Cossacks.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsTony CurtisYul BrynnerChristine KaufmannIn the 16th-century Ukraine, the Polish overlords and Ukrainian cossacks fight for control of the land but frequent Turkish invasions force them to unite against the common Turkish foe.
- DirectorWladyslaw StarewiczStarsIvan MozzhukhinOlga ObolenskayaLidiya TridenskayaBased on Gogol's story: It's Christmas Eve, and everyone in the village has plans. The devil and the witch Solokha are looking for ways of causing mischief. Chub the Cossack just wants some vodka. Solokha's son, Vakula the smith, wants to court Chub's charming daughter Oksana, who sets him on a quest: if Vakula will bring her the tsaritsa's shoes, Oksana will marry him. Meanwhile, the popular Solokha has a series of male visitors to contend with. When Vakula interrupts her, it sets off a chain of events that leads to a busy night for everyone.
- DirectorMark ZakharovStarsNodar MgaloblishviliElena ValyushkinaAleksandr MikhaylovA young aristocrat, Aleksei Fedyashev, is languishing in his family's country estate, spending his days reading poetry and confessing his love... to a statue. Upon hearing that famous Count Cagliostro is touring Russia and has created quite a buzz in high society with his "magic", he decides to ask the Count to bring the statue to life...
- DirectorAndrzej ZulawskiStarsRuggero RaimondiKenneth RiegelBernard LefortThe film is based on the musical recording of the famous opera by Modest Mussorgsky about the tragic events surrounding the ruling of the Russian tsar Boris in the early 17th century. The recording was actually made two years before the filming with the participation of the Washington Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich) and several opera stars (the part of Marina is sung by Galina Vishnevskaya). Zulawski made the film just as we would be watching the theatrical performance. Then we are going through the sets and, finally, we notice the film crew. The director deliberately filled the picture with a plenty of anachronisms making the implications on the Soviet history and the other dictatorships of the 20th century.
- StarsPaul DanoJames NortonLily JamesAs the Russian conflict with Napoleon reaches its peak, five aristocratic families face the possibility of their lives being changed forever.
- DirectorJohn J. DesmondStarsBlythe DannerFrank LangellaLee GrantThis quintessential Chekhov drama--his first success--is both comic and tragic. A group of friends and relations gather at a country estate to see the first performance of an experimental play written and staged by the young man of the house, Konstantin (Frank Langella), an aspiring writer who dreams of bringing new forms to the theatre.
- DirectorAleksandr AlovVladimir NaumovStarsLyudmila SavelevaAleksey BatalovMikhail UlyanovThe defeat of the "White Army" in the Russian Civil War of 1918-21, causing massive emigration of the upper classes and nobility, called "White Russians". Set in Crimea, Constantinopol and Paris. The Russian Civil War and emigration is shown through the eyes of the defeated Tsarist Generals - Vrangel, Khludov, Charnota, as well as intellectuals and aristocracy. Amidst the chaos of emigration rough generals Khludov and Charnota become involved in the unfolding love story of professor Golubkov and Serafima. While General Khludov is having hallucinations about the Civil War, General Charnota is more tough and practical. He goes to Paris to frame a wealthy Russian tycoon Korzukhin to support his former wife Serafima and other suffering Russian emigrants.
- DirectorSophie BarthesStarsPaul GiamattiEmily WatsonDina KorzunPaul is an actor who feels bogged down by his participation in a production of Chekov's play, Vanya.
- DirectorAlberto LattuadaStarsCharles VanelDaniele SpalloneCristina GaioniIn 19th century Russia, an 8 year-old boy is sent from his home village to the big city to go to school. On his long way there, he gets to witness the often harsh realities of life in the steppe. Based on allegorical novel by Chekhov.
- DirectorVera StroyevaStarsAleksandr PirogovNikandr KhanayevGeorgi NeleppAction happens at the end of the 16th century, on the eve of "time of troubles". The main character of this historical tragedy - the Russian tsar Boris Godunov who has ascended to a throne after Ivan the Terrible after tragic events: death of the eldest son of Grozny Fedor and death of the young tsarevitch Dimitrii.
- DirectorAlberto LattuadaStarsMax von SydowEleonora GiorgiMario AdorfProfessor Preobrazhensky puts courageous experiences, trying to turn a dog in equal to in all of the person. As a result somebody turns out Doggies. Unfortunately, experience proves that it is better for dog to remain a dog.
- DirectorEdwin CareweStarsJohn BolesLupe VelezNance O'NeilCountry girl Katusha is seduced and abandoned by Prince Nekludov who, years later, finds himself on a jury trying the same Katusha for a crime to which he now realizes that his actions drove her. He follows her to imprisonment in Siberia, intent on redeeming her and himself as well.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsJohn SimmIan McDiarmidShaun DingwallLiving in squalor, a former student and loner (Raskolnikov) murders an old pawnbroker woman in order to confirm his hypothesis that certain individuals can pretermit morality in the pursuit of something greater.
- DirectorLev KulidzhanovStarsGeorgiy TaratorkinInnokentiy SmoktunovskiyTatyana BedovaRaskolnikov, an impoverished ex-law student, kills an old pawnbroker and her sister, perhaps for money, perhaps to prove a theory about being above the law. He comes to police attention through normal procedures (he was the victim's client), but his outbursts make him the prime suspect of the clever Porfiry. Meanwhile, life swirls around Raskolnikov: his mother and sister come to the city followed by two older men seeking his sister's hand; he meets a drunken clerk who is then killed in a traffic accident, and he falls in love with the man's daughter, Sonia, a young prostitute. She urges him to confess, promising to follow him to Siberia. Will he accept responsibility?
- DirectorAndrew O'KeefeStarsLee MasonAnna SamsonChristopher BunworthWhen reason fails, the devil helps.
- DirectorDenis SandersStarsGeorge HamiltonMary MurphyFrank SilveraA Californian law student murders a pawnbroker, then matches wits with the detective on the case.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEdward ArnoldPeter LorreMarian MarshMan is haunted by a murder he's committed.
- 19888.8 (9)TV EpisodeDirectorDavid HintonStarsKaty BeheanVas BlackwoodJohn Challis
- DirectorAnthony HopkinsStarsAnthony HopkinsLeslie PhillipsKate BurtonChekov's Uncle Vanya, transposed to turn-of-the-century North Wales, where the peace and tranquility of a country house is disturbed by the arrival of the estate's tyrannical owner and his American wife.
- StarsMarian SpencerIrmgard SpolianskyPatricia HilliardMadame Ranevsky is a spoiled aging aristocratic lady, who returns from a trip to Paris to face the loss of her magnificent Cherry Orchard estate after a default on the mortgage. In denial, she continues living in the past, deluding herself and her family, while the beautiful cherry trees are being axed down by the re-possessor Lopakhin, her former serf, who has his own agenda.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsYul BrynnerMaria SchellClaire BloomDrama based on Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky's homonymous novel about the proud Karamazov family in 1870s Russia.
- DirectorGregory MosherStarsDavid WarnerIan HolmMary Elizabeth MastrantonioWhen Vanya's brother-in-law declares his intention to sell the family's house, polite facades begin to crumble and long repressed feelings start to emerge with devastating consequences.
- DirectorSheldon LarryStarsLaurent MaletF. Murray AbrahamChristopher PlummerIn the USSR, political prisoners who were scientists were not always sent to GULAG, but also to The First Circle (named after Dante's Inferno), a special incarceration unit near Moscow where they could work for the government.
- DirectorDesmond DavisStarsIan RichardsonNicholas ClayEmma PiperAdaptation of Alexander Solzhenitsyn's story "Incident at Krechtovka Station." A railway station commander encounters a lost soldier during World War II.
- DirectorHerbert BrenonStarsNance O'NeilTheda BaraHenry BergmanMiriam, a young Russian girl, has an unfortunate love affair and is threatened with disgrace by having a child out of wedlock. Her father induces Gregor Randor, a young musician, to marry her, by paying him a sum of money. The couple migates to the United States, where they are later followed by Miriam's family, including her younger sister Celia. A love affair develops between Gregor and Celia, and despite their efforts at secrecy, Miriam learns about it. Torn between her outraged pride and her love for her young son, she confronts her cheating husband and her sister--to no avail. So she decides to wreak vengeance on them.
- DirectorAlfred ZeislerStarsPeter CooksonWarren WilliamAnne GwynneIn this Americanized retelling of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, a medical student--broke, hungry and desperate for money--murders a loan shark to whom he owes money. After the killing, he's tormented by guilt over what he's done. A police captain, who's convinced the student committed the crime but can't prove it for lack of evidence, plays on the young man's guilt in order to get him to confess to the crime.
- DirectorCarl FroelichStarsAlfred AbelMaria ConnardLili DoneckerDrama about Prince Myschkin - known as The Idiot. His philandering ways makes him discard his lover Nastasja in favor of a younger girl.
- DirectorJohn GoldschmidtStarsIrina BrookCary ElwesSunnyi MellesA story about true love, set in the Berlin of the 1920s. In a shabby lodging-house inhabited by a number of faintly ludicrous characters, the young Russian exile Ganin is unexpectedly confronted with his past.
- DirectorRosemary HillStarsDavid BirdHarry MooreAnne RobsonWill the arguing stop long enough for Lomov's proposal of marriage to be sealed with a kiss?
- DirectorEddie DavisStarsAdolphe MenjouAdeline De Walt ReynoldsTodd KarnsA young man becomes obsessed with gambling.
- DirectorAlexis GranowskyStarsHarry BaurJean-Pierre AumontDanielle DarrieuxLiterary adaptation: A Cossack chief leads his forces against Poland. But one of his university trained sons is in love with an enemy daughter.
- DirectorLee De ForestStarsNikita BalieffTamara GevaRussian ballet company Le Chauve-Souris, led by Nikita Balieff, performs "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers", part of their Broadway show.
- DirectorThorold DickinsonStarsAnton WalbrookEdith EvansYvonne MitchellAn army officer becomes obsessed with learning the secret to a card game for which an elderly countess sold her soul years earlier.
- DirectorSimon LangtonStarsJacqueline BissetChristopher ReevePaul ScofieldTragic Anna leaves her cold husband for dashing Count Vronsky in 19th-century Russia.
- StarsDavid BirdDerek FarrArthur HamblingA comedy by Constance Cox. Suggested by Turgenev's novel "Fathers and Sons" [Starring] Margaret Rawlings, Derek Farr, Clive Morton Based on John Fernald's production at the Arts Theatre Club The action takes place in a room at Marino, the country house of Nicholai Kirsanov, about thirty miles from St. Petersburg, in the middle of the nineteenth century.
- DirectorBernard RoseStarsSophie MarceauSean BeanAlfred MolinaAnna (Marceau) is a wife and mother who has an affair with the handsome Count Vronsky (Bean). Based on the novel by Tolstoy.
- DirectorMaximilian SchellStarsJohn Moulder-BrownDominique SandaMaximilian SchellBased on Ivan Turgeyev's novella, Erste Liebe is about two young lovers in czarist Russia. One is a 21-year-old woman, the other a young man of sixteen. Things take a tragic turn as the girl (Dominique Sanda as Sanaida) falls in love with the boy's father (Maximilian Schell). This film was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film in 1970's Academy Awards.
- DirectorGiuliano MontaldoStarsPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicCarolina CrescentiniRoberto HerlitzkaBiopic of the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
- DirectorRobert HosseinStarsGert FröbePeter McEneryRobert HosseinGrigori Rasputin becomes a fixture of Russia's Imperial Court after saving the life of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, the haemophiliac heir to the throne. However as war breaks out, Rasputin's enemies see him as a cause and plot fatal revenge against the Russian mystic.
- DirectorYakov ProtazanovAlexandre VolkoffStarsIvan MozzhukhinOlga KondorovaV. DzheneyevaPrince Kasatsky is a just and proud youth, shock and disappointment with the world bring him to church, he becomes father Sergius. It is a story of his piety and temptation.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsHarry BaurPierre BlancharMadeleine OzerayRaskolnikov is a Russian man who follows an unusual moral code. A combination of vigilantism and hubris fuels his decision to aid a hapless prostitute by removing her antagonist, a local merchant. Raskolnikov is locked up for the murder, and while he does not deny committing the crime, he tries to persuade the police that he should not be charged.
- DirectorHugo HaasStarsGeorge SandersSal MineoPatricia MorisonIn 1887 France, a mother is starting to become worried about her young son. He has a recurring dream in which he looks for his dead father. His mother gets worried even more when he tells her that he has met a wealthy nobleman who wants to take him aboard ship for a trip to the West Indies.
- DirectorEdward JoséStarsPauline FrederickRobert ElliottJohn St. PolisKatusha, a country girl, is seduced and abandoned by Prince Nekludov. Nekludov finds himself, years later, on a jury trying the same Katusha for a crime he now realizes his actions drove her to. He follows her to imprisonment in Siberia, intent on redeeming her and himself as well.
- DirectorD.W. GriffithStarsArthur V. JohnsonFlorence LawrenceMarion LeonardFree adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's powerful novel. The subject opens with the return home of Prince Dimitri, who meets the maid Katusha, a little peasant girl, and is instantly charmed with her beauty. Young, artless and innocent, as pretty as a rose, she unwittingly fascinates the prince. His noble bearing likewise impresses her, and his little attentions flatter her, until at length she is unable to resist his advances. The poor girl is meted the usual fate. An alliance is out of the question. The disparity of their ranks even forbids it, and soon the prince must cast her aside. Five years later we find that the girl, who is now a loathsome sight, has learned the bitter lesson of the eternal truth, "The wages of sin is death." It is death to the soul at all events. She has gone down to the lowest depths and is arrested in a low Russian tavern. As she is carried to the tribunal she passes Prince Dimitri, who now sees the terrible result of his sins. He grows repentant and attempts to plead her cause before the jury, but they are a callous lot and pay no attention to the arguments for nor against, and by force of habit vote to send her to Siberia. She is dragged out to the pen of detention and herded with a lot of poor unfortunates, who scarcely bear any resemblance to human beings. The repentant prince determines to give up his life to right the wrong he has done, and visits her here with a view of turning her now vicious nature, handing her a copy of the Bible. She does not recognize him at first, but when she does she flies into fury, beating his body and face with her fists and the book. He leaves her and she sits moodily on the bench with the book on her lap. Shortly she turns its pages and lo, the Resurrection! Her eyes fall on the passage (John xi, 25), "And Jesus said unto her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live." In an instant her whole being changes. There is hope for her salvation, and she reads on. The guards arrive and we next see her with the poor unfortunates trudging over the snow-clad steppes toward the goal from whence few return. She becomes the ministering angel, sharing her comforts with them. The prince, meanwhile, has secured her pardon and hastens after her. Giving her the welcome notice, he begs her to return with him as his wife: but no, she prefers to work out her salvation helping those poor souls to whom a kindness is an indescribable blessing, and bidding him farewell, she renounces the world for the path of duty, so we leave her kneeling on the snow at the foot of the Holy Cross.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsSetsuko HaraMasayuki MoriToshirô MifuneA Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Hokkaido where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.
- DirectorChristopher MorahanStarsRex HarrisonPatsy ByrneSiân PhillipsA brilliant fellow, Platonov, and he might be a good husband, too - if only women would let him.
- DirectorKirill LavrovIvan PyrevMikhail UlyanovStarsMikhail UlyanovLionella PyryevaKirill LavrovThree brothers, one spiritual and living at a monastery, the other - a gambler, and the third - an intellectual, work out their problems in 19th century Russia.
- DirectorGeorges LampinStarsEdwige FeuillèreLucien CoëdelJean DebucourtMuichkine, a young Russian prince, returns home to St. Petersburg from a mental institution, determined to spread decency and kindness in the harsh and cruel world. He becomes betrothed to an innocent young girl while trying to save a less-innocent woman from her own travail, but jealousy and his own naivete conjoin to bring about unimaginable tragedy.
- StarsJames CrabbeRita DanielLeo de PokornyAt her husband's country estate, an attractive woman approaching middle age loses her heart (and her common sense) to her ward's handsome tutor.
- DirectorAntonio CalendaStarsOliver ReedJohn McEneryCarole AndréBased on Lermontov's novel Vadim, this costume drama, set in Russia during the 1700s, chronicles the battle between a vengeful, anarchic peasant and the tyrannical landowner who killed his mother and father.
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsKevin JarreDennis HopperAlbert HallThe film involves a displaced cowboy, a sociopathic record producer and, caught between them, a gum-chewing valley girl who would rather be somewhere else.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsJames MasonShelley WintersSue LyonA middle-aged college professor becomes infatuated with a 14-year-old girl.