It's a Bloc party! Films from the Soviet Bloc.
by manicmotionman | created - 06 Feb 2014 | updated - 23 May 2017 | PublicFor all you art house lovers and lovers of European film, did you know that there's a world of great cinema that either was unavailable or in such poor condition that, even if you have seen one of these films sometime in the past, you couldn't say that you've seen the film as intended?
Well, thanks in large part to Second Run DVD (though not all the films in this list are from this distributor), films from Soviet controlled Poland, Hungary, former Czechoslovakia, former Yugoslavia, former East Germany, Bulgaria, and Romania, are now becoming available in restored condition, and in Region 0 format. It's like lost treasure being discovered!
This is my small (but constantly growing) collection, in no particular order.
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1. Alice (1988)
Not Rated | 86 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy
A surrealistic revision of Alice in Wonderland.
Director: Jan Svankmajer | Stars: Kristýna Kohoutová, Camilla Power
Votes: 14,000
DVD.
2. Diamonds of the Night (1964)
Not Rated | 67 min | Drama, War
Two Jewish boys escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another. The film goes beyond the themes of war and anti-Nazism and concerns itself with man's struggle to preserve human dignity.
Director: Jan Nemec | Stars: Ladislav Jánsky, Antonín Kumbera, Ilse Bischofova, Jan Riha
Votes: 2,905
SR, DVD.
3. Voyage to the End of the Universe (1963)
81 min | Sci-Fi
The year is 2163. Starship Ikarie XB 1 embarks on a long journey across the universe to search for life on the planets of Alpha Centauri.
Director: Jindrich Polák | Stars: Zdenek Stepánek, Frantisek Smolík, Dana Medrická, Irena Kacírková
Votes: 2,967
SR, DVD.
4. Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)
166 min | Adventure, Drama, History
In the 15th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is facing a hard struggle against the neighboring Teutonic Order.Frequent clashes between the two powers finally culminate in 1410 with the Battle of Grunwald.
Director: Aleksander Ford | Stars: Urszula Modrzynska, Grazyna Staniszewska, Andrzej Szalawski, Henryk Borowski
Votes: 2,184
SR, DVD. Epic, but I wouldn't describe the transfer that way. Quite out of focus for much of it, though I understand they used the best possible available sources to them, this isn't indicative of Second Run's capabilies. So many editions of Second Run's catalogue are pristine prints, one has to know they did all that was possible to make it look as good as it could, even if the end product is flawed.
5. Faust (1994)
97 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
An ordinary man is lured into a strange puppet theatre by a map and finds himself embroiled in a production of the Faustian legend.
Director: Jan Svankmajer | Stars: Petr Cepek, Jan Kraus, Vladimír Kudla, Antonin Zacpal
Votes: 4,298
KINO, DVD.
6. Marketa Lazarová (1967)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, History, Romance
A grim portrayal of the shift from Paganism to Christianity in medieval central Europe - as a young virgin promised to God is kidnapped and raped by a marauder who her religious father seeks to kill in return.
Director: Frantisek Vlácil | Stars: Josef Kemr, Magda Vásáryová, Nada Hejna, Jaroslav Moucka
Votes: 6,033
SR, DVD.
7. Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Lucyna Winnicka, Mieczyslaw Voit, Anna Ciepielewska, Maria Chwalibóg
Votes: 4,317
SR, DVD. You wonder what was the direct prequel to Ken Russell's The Devils, might very well have influenced The Excorcist and countless other horror films? It most certainly was this film. And film it is, in its inimitable European art house, yet very honest, sometimes exaggerated style, and it blows you away with its complex simplicity. A real treat.
8. Joseph Kilian (1963)
38 min | Short, Comedy, Drama
A man borrows a cat and when he goes back to return it, the place where he got it is no longer there. He begins his search.
Directors: Pavel Jurácek, Jan Schmidt | Stars: Karel Vasicek, Consuela Morávková, Ivan Ruzicka, Pavel Bartl
Votes: 531
aka Josef Kilian. SR, DVD, part of the two film disc paired with the White Dove, a film by Franticek Vlacil.
9. The Round-Up (1966)
90 min | Drama, History, War
In Hungary, the national movement led by Kossuth has been crushed and the Austrian hegemony re-established, but partisans carry on with violent actions. In order to root out the guerilla, ... See full summary »
Director: Miklós Jancsó | Stars: János Görbe, Zoltán Latinovits, Tibor Molnár, Gábor Agárdi
Votes: 3,305
SR, DVD.
10. Loves of a Blonde (1965)
Not Rated | 88 min | Comedy, Romance, Drama
A factory manager in rural Czechoslovakia bargains with the army to send men to the area, to boost the morale of his young female workers, deprived of male company since the local boys have... See full summary »
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Hana Brejchová, Vladimír Pucholt, Vladimír Mensík, Josef Sebánek
Votes: 9,379
SR, DVD.
11. The Cremator (1969)
Not Rated | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Set in Central Europe during World War II, a demented cremator believes cremation relieves earthly suffering and sets out to save the world.
Director: Juraj Herz | Stars: Rudolf Hrusínský, Vlasta Chramostová, Jana Stehnová, Milos Vognic
Votes: 10,787
SR, DVD.
12. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
R | 153 min | Comedy, Drama
Mr. Lãzãrescu, a dying old man, is shuttled from hospital to hospital by a loyal paramedic as doctors refuse to operate and no one can agree on a diagnosis.
Director: Cristi Puiu | Stars: Doru Ana, Monica Barladeanu, Alina Berzunteanu, Dorian Boguta
Votes: 15,929 | Gross: $0.08M
DVD.
13. The Ear (1970)
94 min | Drama, Thriller
After coming home from a Party gathering one night, a Czech official becomes convinced that he is about to be the subject of a political purge and tries to do damage control, while also dealing with his turbulent marriage.
Director: Karel Kachyna | Stars: Jirina Bohdalová, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Gustav Opocenský, Miroslav Holub
Votes: 3,313
SR, DVD.
14. The Third Part of the Night (1971)
107 min | Drama, Horror, War
Set during the occupation of Poland during World War II. Some German soldiers slaughter a woman, her son, and mother-in-law. The husband and his father escape by being in the forest. The ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Zulawski | Stars: Malgorzata Braunek, Leszek Teleszynski, Jan Nowicki, Jerzy Golinski
Votes: 2,703
SR, DVD. What an extraordinary film, very much ahead of its time and which I may even describe as a trendsetter.
15. The White Dove (1960)
76 min | Drama
A poetic film about a dove getting lost on its way to Prague getting shot down by a paralyzed boy. An artist who finds the dove becomes friends with the boy. Together they take care of it bringing it back to recovery.
Director: Frantisek Vlácil | Stars: Katerina Irmanovová, Karel Smyczek, Vjaceslav Irmanov, Gustav Püttjer
Votes: 751
SR, DVD. Part of the double feature disc, paired with Josef Kilian by Pavel Juracek and Jan Schmit.
16. Time of the Gypsies (1988)
R | 142 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
In this luminous tale set in the area around Sarajevo and in Italy, Perhan, an engaging young Romany (gypsy) with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime, which threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Davor Dujmovic, Bora Todorovic, Ljubica Adzovic, Husnija Hasimovic
Votes: 32,728 | Gross: $0.28M
DVD.
17. Underground (1995)
Not Rated | 167 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Two underground black marketeers, Marko and Blacky, sell weapons to the Communist resistance in wartime Belgrade, living the good life along the way.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Lazar Ristovski, Mirjana Jokovic, Slavko Stimac
Votes: 61,286 | Gross: $0.17M
DVD.
18. The Valley of the Bees (1968)
97 min | Drama, History
Ondrej, a young boy who loves bees and bats, is introduced to his new mother, a woman much younger than his father. He brings her a basketful of flowers which she starts to throw in the air... See full summary »
Director: Frantisek Vlácil | Stars: Petr Cepek, Jan Kacer, Vera Galatíková, Zdenek Kryzánek
Votes: 1,822
SR, DVD.
19. When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
R | 136 min | Drama
A family is deeply affected by the father's extramarital affairs and the turbulent consequences of the Tito-Stalin split.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Moreno De Bartoli, Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Mirjana Karanovic, Mustafa Nadarevic
Votes: 10,110 | Gross: $0.02M
DVD.
20. Romeo, Julie a tma (1960)
92 min | Drama, Romance, War
During World War II, a young student from Prague hides a Jewish girl inside his house. But not all of his neighbors are willing to take the risk.
Director: Jirí Weiss | Stars: Ivan Mistrík, Daniela Smutná, Jirina Sejbalová, Frantisek Smolík
Votes: 468
SR, DVD.
21. Eroica (1958)
87 min | Comedy, Drama
Two sketches covering episodes from the World War II. In the first novel, "Scherzo alla polacca", a shrewd son, trying to preserve his skin, ultimately becomes a hero and finds a reason for... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Munk | Stars: Edward Dziewonski, Barbara Polomska, Ignacy Machowski, Leon Niemczyk
Votes: 1,311
SR, DVD.
22. Passenger (1963)
62 min | Drama, War
While aboard a transatlantic passenger ship, a German woman, Liza, notices someone who looks like Marta, a former inmate at Auschwitz, where Liza used to be a guard.
Directors: Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz | Stars: Aleksandra Slaska, Anna Ciepielewska, Jan Kreczmar, Marek Walczewski
Votes: 2,135
SR, DVD.
23. Blind Chance (1987)
Not Rated | 114 min | Drama, Romance
Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Boguslaw Linda, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Boguslawa Pawelec
Votes: 11,212
CC, BR.
24. Night Train (1959)
99 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Jerzy enters a train set for the Baltic coast. He seems to be on the run from something - as does the strange woman with whom he must share a sleeping compartment.
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Lucyna Winnicka, Leon Niemczyk, Teresa Szmigielówna, Zbigniew Cybulski
Votes: 3,627
SR, DVD.
25. The Red and the White (1967)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, War
During the Russian Civil War, the Red Army - aided by Hungarian Communists - and the White Army fight for control of the area surrounding the Volga.
Director: Miklós Jancsó | Stars: Krystyna Mikolajewska, Mikhail Kozakov, Tatyana Konyukhova, Viktor Avdyushko
Votes: 3,949
SR, DVD.
26. Cien (1956)
98 min | Action, Drama
A man has been found dead after having been hurled from a train. As security agents, police and a medical examiner piece together his identity, three accounts emerge: one set during World ... See full summary »
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz | Stars: Zygmunt Kestowicz, Adolf Chronicki, Tadeusz Jurasz, Antoni Jurasz
Votes: 211
DVD.
27. Love (1971)
88 min | Drama
The wife of a political prisoner tends to her mother-in-law and keeps from the old woman the truth about her son, whom she believes is in New York making a film.
Director: Károly Makk | Stars: Lili Darvas, Mari Törőcsik, Iván Darvas, Erzsi Orsolya
Votes: 2,180
SR, DVD.
28. Diary for My Children (1984)
Unrated | 106 min | Biography, Drama
Having lost her parents to Stalin's purges, a girl returns from Soviet Union to her native Hungary to live with her Stalinist aunt.
Director: Márta Mészáros | Stars: Zsuzsa Czinkóczi, Ágnes Csere, Anna Polony, Teri Földi
Votes: 1,016
SR, DVD.
29. My Way Home (1965)
108 min | Drama, War
In the final days of WWII, a seventeen-year-old boy wanders the countryside. He is captured by Soviet troops, then released, then captured once more - after he has donned a German uniform ... See full summary »
Director: Miklós Jancsó | Stars: András Kozák, Sergey Nikonenko, Béla Barsi, Jurij Bodovszkij
Votes: 790
SR, DVD.
30. All My Good Countrymen (1969)
120 min | Comedy, Drama
Various scenes in the life of a tight-knit community in Czechoslovakia exploring the human spirit in the backdrop of the political changes that they experience.
Director: Vojtech Jasný | Stars: Vlastimil Brodský, Radoslav Brzobohatý, Vladimír Mensík, Waldemar Matuska
Votes: 1,084
SR, DVD.
31. Dragon's Return (1968)
85 min | Drama
This is a ballad about love, hate, and a search for a way out of loneliness. It is a dramatic story about the strange potter, Martin Lepis, nicknamed Dragon, who is suspected by the ... See full summary »
Director: Eduard Grecner | Stars: Radovan Lukavský, Gustáv Valach, Emília Vásáryová, Viliam Polónyi
Votes: 435
SR, DVD.
32. The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: The Later Years Vol. 2 (2003 Video)
Not Rated | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Compilation of animated and other shorts by Jan Svankmajer, a Czech surrealist filmmaker and artist whose work often inspired filmmakers, including Terry Gilliam and the Brothers Quay.
Directors: James Marsh, Jan Svankmajer | Stars: Monika Belo-Cabanová, Olga Vronská, Aleksandr Letko, Jan Zácek
Votes: 159
DVD. And even MORE Jan Svankmajer!
33. The Collected Shorts of Jan Svankmajer: The Early Years Vol. 1 (2003 Video)
Not Rated | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
Compilation of some of the early shorts of acclaimed Czech animator Jan Svankmajer.
Director: Jan Svankmajer | Stars: Václav Borovicka, Juraj Herz, Ivan Kraus, Nad'a Munzarová
Votes: 209
DVD. What can be better than Jan Svankmajer? More Jan Svankmajer! What an original!
34. Father (1966)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
A boy in Budapest loses his father in 1945, when he was the age of six. He does not remember much of the father but fantasizes that he performed various heroic feats.
Director: István Szabó | Stars: András Bálint, Miklós Gábor, Dániel Erdély, Kati Sólyom
Votes: 1,072
35. Fantastic Planet (1973)
PG | 72 min | Animation, Sci-Fi
On a faraway planet where blue giants rule, oppressed humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders.
Director: René Laloux | Stars: Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart
Votes: 36,876 | Gross: $0.19M
36. Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Romance, War
Young Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
Director: Grigoriy Chukhray | Stars: Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, Nikolay Kryuchkov
Votes: 11,294
37. Three Wishes for Cinderella (1973)
88 min | Drama, Fantasy, Family
Life changes dramatically for a Czech housemaid when the family coachman gives her three magical hazelnuts.
Director: Václav Vorlícek | Stars: Libuse Safránková, Pavel Trávnícek, Carola Braunbock, Rolf Hoppe
Votes: 11,653
38. Ida (2013)
PG-13 | 82 min | Drama
A novice nun about to take her vows uncovers a family secret dating back to the German occupation.
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski | Stars: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Dawid Ogrodnik, Jerzy Trela
Votes: 60,731 | Gross: $3.83M
39. Leviathan (2014)
R | 140 min | Crime, Drama
In a Russian coastal town, Kolya is forced to fight the corrupt mayor when he is told that his house will be demolished. He recruits a lawyer friend to help, but the man's arrival brings further misfortune for Kolya and his family.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Aleksey Serebryakov, Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov
Votes: 56,934 | Gross: $1.09M
40. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,883 | Gross: $0.23M
41. Wings (1966)
85 min | Drama
A fascinating and human portrayal of a once-famous fighter pilot and loyal Stalinist named Nadezhda Petrovna. Now a 41-year-old provincial schoolmistress, she has so internalized the ... See full summary »
Director: Larisa Shepitko | Stars: Mayya Bulgakova, Sergey Nikonenko, Zhanna Bolotova, Panteleymon Krymov
Votes: 2,240
42. White Sun of the Desert (1970)
Not Rated | 84 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
At the end of the Russian Civil War, Red Army soldier Fyodor Sukhov is ordered to guard the harem of a Caspian Sea guerrilla leader.
Director: Vladimir Motyl | Stars: Anatoliy Kuznetsov, Pavel Luspekayev, Spartak Mishulin, Kakhi Kavsadze
Votes: 7,848
43. The Ascent (1977)
111 min | Drama, War
Two Soviet partisans on a mission to gather food contend with the winter cold, the occupying Germans, and their own psyches.
Director: Larisa Shepitko | Stars: Boris Plotnikov, Vladimir Gostyukhin, Sergey Yakovlev, Lyudmila Polyakova
Votes: 10,120
44. Solaris (1972)
PG | 167 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy
Votes: 98,329
45. Kin-dza-dza! (1986)
PG-13 | 135 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Two Russians push the wrong button on a strange device and end up on the telepathic planet Pluke with its strange societal norms.
Director: Georgiy Daneliya | Stars: Stanislav Lyubshin, Evgeniy Leonov, Yuriy Yakovlev, Levan Gabriadze
Votes: 13,769
46. Ivan's Childhood (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, War
During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
Directors: Andrei Tarkovsky, Eduard Abalov | Stars: Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov, Stepan Krylov
Votes: 39,954
47. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,437
48. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Not Rated | 66 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov
Votes: 61,478 | Gross: $0.05M
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