Best Russian Movies of All Times
The criteria for the inclusion into this list are as follows: 1. A movie must be released either by a Soviet or Russian production company irrespective of the original language used in the movie as a primary one, be produced by a substantially Soviet or Russian film crew or have a predominantly Russian-speaking cast (Yuri Mamin's "The Window to Paris" would be an example); and 2. A movie must have exceptional artistic significance either for Russian or world cinema. Given that the definition of "Russian" as used in the list includes any movie released by a Soviet production company, one will see quite a few Georgian titles here - such as Otar Iosseliani's "Iko shashvi mgalobeli" ("Once Upon a Time There was a Singing Blackbird") for example - although the original language of these releases was Georgian. Feature films, short films, animated films, documentaries and TV series - all qualify for the inclusion. So here it is. Enjoy. Leonid Storch.
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- DirectorSergei EisensteinDmitriy VasilevStarsNikolay CherkasovNikolai OkhlopkovAndrei AbrikosovThe story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsAnatoliy SolonitsynIvan LapikovNikolay GrinkoThe life, times and afflictions of the fifteenth-century Russian iconographer St. Andrei Rublev.
- DirectorPyotr TodorovskiyStarsValentin GaftIrina RozanovaEvgeniy MironovIn a distant garrison, officers and soldiers are influenced by their love affairs.
- DirectorSergey SolovyovStarsNatan EidelmanAnatoly SlivnikovGerman ShorrASSA is set in Crimea during the winter in 1980. A young musician (Bananan) falls for a mobster's (Krymov) young mistress (Alika). The parallel story line involves a 19th Century assassination plot.
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsVladimir IvashovZhanna ProkhorenkoAntonina MaksimovaYoung Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
- 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.
- DirectorMikhail KozakovStarsIgor KostolevskiyAnastasiya VertinskayaMikhail Kozakov"Stars never leave their orbits". The poor astronomy teacher got one more demonstration of this law when he met HER. SHE was "from the another world". SHE was strange and inappropriate in his tiny calm town. Town with slough-like life and citizens who spent all their time gossiping. Once he almost started to believe that the miracle is possible... but "the stars never leave their orbits".
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsSergey BodrovViktor SukhorukovSergey MakovetskiyArriving in Moscow, Danila discovers Konstantin dead and he sets out to avenge his death; a journey that leads him to Chicago and a whole new experience.
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsSergey BodrovViktor SukhorukovSvetlana PismichenkoAn ex-soldier with a personal honor code enters the family crime business in St. Petersburg, Russia.
- DirectorEldar RyazanovStarsInnokentiy SmoktunovskiyOleg EfremovLyubov DobrzhanskayaA very good cop tries to catch a very bad and extremely clever car thief. The irony's that the thief isn't very clever, nor is he a bad person. In fact, he's not just a virtuous person he's also the 'cop's best friend.
- DirectorVladimir MotylStarsAnatoliy KuznetsovPavel LuspekayevSpartak MishulinAt the end of the Russian Civil War, Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov is ordered to guard the harem of a Caspian Sea guerrilla leader.
- DirectorLeonid GaidaiStarsYuriy NikulinNina GrebeshkovaAndrey MironovAn ordinary Soviet citizen accidentally intervenes into a huge operation of international criminal group that trades illegally obtained jewelry.
- DirectorAbram NaroditskyNikolai RasheyevStarsValeriy ZolotukhinYuri SmirnovNatalya DmitriyevaPrivate Bumbarash is considered dead after air balloon scouting incident gone awry. When he, alive and well, returns home, he has to stay alive and regain the girl he loves in the harsh yet tragicomic circumstances of Russian Civil War.
- DirectorPavel LunginStarsVladas BagdonasInga Strelkova-OboldinaKaren BadalovThe conductor goes with the orchestra to Jerusalem to execute the oratorio "Passion according to St.Matthew". But tours are wrapped in the tragedy. The black sun of Jerusalem unmasks with main the hero of the successful artist, forces to see itself in ruthless nakedness of egoism and cruelty. Sometimes in 3 days of people can overestimate and rethink the life completely. To change never late.
- DirectorGrigoriy AleksandrovStarsLeonid UtyosovLyubov OrlovaMariya StrelkovaA musically talented shepherd gets his big chance when he is mistaken for a famous conductor.
- DirectorPavel ChukhrayStarsIgor PetrenkoAlyona BabenkoBogdan StupkaA General, who had sent for a cadet from the Kremlin Guard to work as his personal driver, decided to marry him to his physically disabled daughter
- DirectorAleksey BalabanovStarsAleksey ChadovIan KellyIngeborga DapkunaiteDuring the bloody war in Chechnya, a British couple and two Russian soldiers are taken hostage by Chechen rebels. Two of the hostages are then released to bring the money for the British woman who is forced to wait for the ransom.
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsLyudmila SavelevaVyacheslav TikhonovSergey BondarchukThe Russian aristocracy prepares for the French invasion on the eve of 1812.
- DirectorPavel ChukhrayStarsVladimir MashkovYekaterina RednikovaMikhail FilipchukA woman meets a man who isn't the right man for her - but she hasn't realised it yet...
- DirectorGrigoriy KozintsevStarsInnokentiy SmoktunovskiyMikhail NazvanovElza RadzinaAfter the death of the King of Denmark - Hamlet's father - his brother Claudius ascends the throne, who takes his widow Gertrude as his wife. Hamlet meets the ghost of his father and learns that he was killed by Claudius.
- DirectorAndrei KonchalovskyStarsYuliya VysotskayaIrina RozanovaAleksandr DomogarovA pretty, young girl from a coal-mining town comes to Moscow with dreams of becoming a supermodel in this satirical look at the fashion industry.
- DirectorAleksandr MittaStarsOleg TabakovOleg EfremovEvgeniy LeonovThe story of a young actor during the Civil War years who drives around the countryside giving free performances in order to bring art to the masses.
- DirectorKaren ShakhnazarovStarsLeonid FilatovOleg BasilashviliVladimir MenshovGoing on a business trip, the hero of the film suddenly finds himself in a fantastic city. It is very similar to our world, only the hidden absurdity of everyday life here has become apparent.
- DirectorNikita MikhalkovStarsSergey MakovetskiySergey GarmashApti MagamaevTwelve jurors must decide the fate of a Chechen adolescent charged with murdering his stepfather.
- DirectorKaren ShakhnazarovStarsAnna GermAndrey PaninElena KorenevaThe heroes of the film are "new Russians" and an old Uzbek, a lucky killer and a popular DJ, a beautiful princess and a mysterious monk, a foreign diplomat and a great poet .
