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IMDbPro

The Commissar

Original title: Komissar
  • 19671967
  • 1h 50m
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
The Commissar (1967)
  • Drama
  • War
Klavdia Vavilova, a Red Army cavalry commissar, is waylaid by an unexpected pregnancy. She stays with a Jewish family to give birth and is softened somewhat by the experience of family life.Klavdia Vavilova, a Red Army cavalry commissar, is waylaid by an unexpected pregnancy. She stays with a Jewish family to give birth and is softened somewhat by the experience of family life.Klavdia Vavilova, a Red Army cavalry commissar, is waylaid by an unexpected pregnancy. She stays with a Jewish family to give birth and is softened somewhat by the experience of family life.
IMDb RATING
7.5/10
1.6K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Aleksandr Askoldov
  • Writers
    • Aleksandr Askoldov
    • Vasiliy Grossman(story "V gorode Berdicheve")
  • Stars
    • Nonna Mordyukova
    • Rolan Bykov
    • Raisa Nedashkovskaya
Top credits
  • Director
    • Aleksandr Askoldov
  • Writers
    • Aleksandr Askoldov
    • Vasiliy Grossman(story "V gorode Berdicheve")
  • Stars
    • Nonna Mordyukova
    • Rolan Bykov
    • Raisa Nedashkovskaya
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 20User reviews
    • 12Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 9 wins & 4 nominations

    Photos65

    The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    Rolan Bykov, Nonna Mordyukova, and Raisa Nedashkovskaya in The Commissar (1967)
    Lyudmila Volynskaya in The Commissar (1967)
    The Commissar (1967)
    Raisa Nedashkovskaya in The Commissar (1967)
    Raisa Nedashkovskaya in The Commissar (1967)
    Raisa Nedashkovskaya in The Commissar (1967)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Nonna Mordyukova
    Nonna Mordyukova
    • Klavdia Vavilovaas Klavdia Vavilova
    Rolan Bykov
    Rolan Bykov
    • Yefim Mahazannikas Yefim Mahazannik
    Raisa Nedashkovskaya
    Raisa Nedashkovskaya
    • Maria Mahazannikas Maria Mahazannik
    Lyudmila Volynskaya
    Lyudmila Volynskaya
    • The Grandmotheras The Grandmother
    Vasiliy Shukshin
    Vasiliy Shukshin
    • The Commandantas The Commandant
    Lyubov Kats
    • Childrenas Children
    • (as Lyuba Kats)
    Pavel Levin
    • Childrenas Children
    • (as Pavlik Levin)
    Dmitri Kleyman
    • Childrenas Children
    • (as Dima Kleyman)
    Marta Bratkova
    • Childrenas Children
    Igor Fishman
    • Childrenas Children
    Sergey Nikonenko
    Sergey Nikonenko
    Otar Koberidze
    Otar Koberidze
    Leonid Reutov
    Leonid Reutov
    • Chief of Staffas Chief of Staff
    • (as L. Reutov)
    Valeri Ryzhakov
    Valeri Ryzhakov
    • Kursantas Kursant
    Viktor Shakhov
    Viktor Shakhov
      Vladimir Vasilyev
      • Appearingas Appearing
      Viktor Ilichyov
      Viktor Ilichyov
      • Appearingas Appearing
      • (uncredited)
      Semen Morosov
      • Appearingas Appearing
      • (uncredited)
      • Director
        • Aleksandr Askoldov
      • Writers
        • Aleksandr Askoldov
        • Vasiliy Grossman(story "V gorode Berdicheve")
      • All cast & crew
      • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        After making the film, Aleksandr Askoldov lost his job, was expelled from the Communist Party, charged with social parasitism, exiled from Moscow, and banned from working on feature films for life. He was told that the single copy of the film had been destroyed. Mordyukova and Bykov, major Soviet movie stars, had to plead with the authorities to spare him of even bigger charges. The film was shelved by the KGB for twenty years.
      • Connections
        Featured in Women Filmmakers in Russia (1988)

      User reviews20

      Review
      Top review
      9/10
      This is cinema
      A film on the same echelon as Kilmov's Come And See, Jancsó's The Red and The White, Shepitko's Ascent and the great Russian silents as well as the vanguard 60s cinema. This is one of those films where image and sound form a perfect marriage committing to screen an onslaught of ingenious, uproarious and emotional imagery marred with wonderful sound design and score, all strung together by ingenious editing. This is cinema.

      The story is one of a Red Army woman officer during the Russian civil war, who ends up pregnant and is forced to live with a Ukrainian Jewish family, who has been used and abused countless times by the red and the whites. This is a story of humans coming together and setting aside their differences and understanding each other amongst suffering and strife. It is a test of loyalty to one's self, one's family, one's country.

      Commissar was banned on its initial completion and writer/director Aleksandr Askoldov was kicked out of the Communist party and not allowed to work in the film business in any form again. It wasn't until 1988 that the ban was lifted and the soundtrack remastered/re-done along with a reconstruction of the picture, which was fairly intact. But not until now has it been wildly available so I really would urge anyone who enjoys Kurosawa, Tarkovsky, Tarr or any of the before mentioned films to seek this one out. The US DVD from Kino is probably their best transfer yet; very pristine and sharp with no a lot of dirt or scratches, although it is from a PAL source so there are some ghosting effects on large movements, making the picture look simultaneously in slow mo and normal frame rate
      helpful•16
      2
      • hoobits
      • Aug 19, 2007

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • 1967 (Soviet Union)
      • Country of origin
        • Soviet Union
      • Language
        • Russian
      • Also known as
        • Comissar
      • Production companies
        • Kinostudiya imeni M. Gorkogo
        • Mosfilm
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Box office

      Edit
      • Gross US & Canada
        • $388,029
      See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 50 minutes
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Sound mix
        • Mono
      • Aspect ratio
        • 2.35 : 1

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