Soviet Films

The link works perfectly, Anna. It's just a pity about the soundtrack. Why oh why oh why can't they use the original soundtrack composed by Edmund Meisel back in 1926? It complements the film perfectly, and was composed for it. Instead we get the usual distracting medley of classical tunes. Completely inappropriate - during the most heartrending scenes we hear this chirpy light classical music tootling away in the background. Bah!

If you do download it, take my advice and listen to it with the sound switched off.

Shostakovich's works are normally used now to accompany the film....one of the best films ever made....ever has to be Andrei Rublev, i'm surprised you haven't mentiond it (apart from Potemkin!)! It is the perfect piece of art, one may argue that Tarkovsky's best work was Nostalgia, but Andrei Rublev is by far the best shot Soviet Film, and has an excellent plot and the imagery is utterly divine! For example, the subtle use of an angel at the crucifixion scene when the protagonist and Feofanes the Greek are talking about sacrifice and the biggest symbol, literally, being the bell that reminds Andrei Rublev that he must break his oath of silence and continue work (as the god's fool dressed in white glances at him), there's no point trying to explain, watch it!

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Shostakovich's works are normally used now to accompany the film

Tell me about it. The latest release of 'Potemkin' on DVD in Britain has a soundtrack consisting of a medley of hits from Shostakovich's symphonies. Bah, humbug!

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....one of the best films ever made....ever has to be Andrei Rublev, i'm surprised you haven't mentiond it (apart from Potemkin!)! It is the perfect piece of art, one may argue that Tarkovsky's best work was Nostalgia, but Andrei Rublev is by far the best shot Soviet Film, and has an excellent plot and the imagery is utterly divine!

Personally, I prefer his film 'Mirror'. 'Nostalgia' (or 'Nostalghia', as he wanted it to be known) was unimpressive to my mind. He was trying too hard to be a European auteur filmmaker. I think his work after he defected to the West is not as good as his earlier, Soviet-period films. I would say that his films are in the following order of greatness:
1. Mirror
2. Andrei Rublev
3. Stalker
4. Ivan's Childhood
5. Solaris
6. Nostagia
7. Sacrifice

Strangely enough, he made exactly the same number of films during his career as Eisenstein.

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For example, the subtle use of an angel at the crucifixion scene when the protagonist and Feofanes the Greek are talking about sacrifice and the biggest symbol, literally, being the bell that reminds Andrei Rublev that he must break his oath of silence and continue work (as the god's fool dressed in white glances at him), there's no point trying to explain, watch it!

I agree. I would advice anyone with any interest in Russian culture to watch 'Andrei Rublev' - it is one of the best films ever made. And it's beyond question the greatest historical epic ever filmed. It's even better than Eisenstein's 'Ivan the Terrible'. A great, beautiful, poetic film.

Ah yes, I was wondering about the rather happy music in that particular version of Battleship Potemkin, wish I could see the original sometime.

I Am Cuba is an excellent Soviet film, it is from the Khruschev era but still very good. Quite advanced camera-wise for its time too.

Using his work is as anachronistic as when Kubrick used one of Schubert's Piano Trio (in E minor???) in Barry Lyndon, though he did it artfully.
Sadly, I have that very version of Potemkin that uses the MEDLEY of symphonies, which massacre and dissect the works in a very uneasy and experimental fashion, I would rather hear the second movement of the 10th Symphony (when Mr Vakulinchuk (?) shouts "BROTHERS, WHO ARE YOU SHOOTING AT?? in it's context by hearing the slow, heartfelt first adagio and the finalé.

Andrei Rublev is unparallelled, perhaps this version of Potemkin is ruined by the disgrace of the music of the genius that is Shostakovich, but both films are on even par nontheless . As Rublev is so long, it allows us to get into the minds of the characters, like Father Kirill when he finally leaves the monastery, we enter Andrei himself and when Kirill finally returns we are bombarded with memories of him "grassing up" the buffoon and his speech denouncing the repetition of clergy work as we simply want them to talk to each other like the good friends that they are! 9.9/10!

Edit: I had to turn the sound off on Potemkin as the incoherent medley was a distraction, changing from movt 2 of shosty's 5th to the second of his 11th was too much of a shock to behold. (at the Odessa Steps)

'Manos' the Hands of Fate, though not Soviet, is supposed to be the WORST creation to grace the cinema, is this correct?

Comrades the Soviets films are the best ones in the world.

PS

I found a server with Soviets Movies, download it for free, (for US)downloading is opne from 6pm to 5 am
http://film.arjlover.net/film/

Hmm... I havn't seen many Soviet films but I have seen previews for one that looked really good It was called 'Foreigners' (around 60-70's) Aparently it's about western imperialism and russians smuggling in jeans and western goods. At the time it was a major problem, there was a hight demand for western goods and the Soviets had to do something about it (actually 2 men were sentanced to execution because they smuggled in a couple of pairs of jeans) so anyway the Soviets made a film about western goods being smuggled into the country. I really want to see this film can anyone give me any more information about it OR EVEN BETTER where to download it?

Does this version of Battleship Potemkin have the original music? The music seems quite natural, and not terribly chrpy or happy...

http://www.netbroadcaster.com/movies/classics/battleship.html

(click 300k, or the film is unwatchable due to frame rate and picture quality)

In the credits at the start of the film, it says "Music by Shostokovich[sic]". I presume they mean Dmitri Shostakovich. This is not the original music to the film. The Berlin premiere had music by Edmund Meisel, which had been specially composed in collaboration with Eisenstein himself. This is just a medley of tunes from Shostakovich's symphonies, thrown together any old how irrespective of what's on the screen. Ugh!

Anyhow, I have said it before, and I shall say it again, medleys of classical music, for example, on mobile phone ringtones and on those AWFUL albums "100 greatest piano hits!" or anything by Charlotte Church with her "pop-era" genre.....

Andrei Rublev, in my honest opinion is an absolutely superb film, throw away anything by Bruckheimer and buy Soviet films!

I agree with you about the ghastliness of classical 'medleys', and also about the supreme genius of Andrei Tarkovsky. Have you seen 'Mirror'? In my view, it's his masterpiece.

And have you seen any of the films of Angelopoulos? For example, 'The Travelling Players'?

The greatest scene in that film, as far as i'm concerned is the actual blowing up of the Odessa Opera house, "The ship's guns roared in reply to the massacre", utterly perfect, mwahaha! I never was a big fan of opera, unless it be Gilbert and Sullivan or one or two epic Russian ones (Mussorgsky's!). The second best scene was where the recruit got whipped and started crying coming joint with the suspense building up to the rendezvous with the rest of the fleet.

Eisenstein is an over-rated cop-out. That's like saying Charlie Chaplin is the best American cinema...

My favorite Russian films are from the late 1950's to the 1980's. Especially early to mid 80's. The 60's were really a golden age of Soviet cinema.

WW2 must see:

They Fought For the Motherland
The Destiny of a Man
The Cranes Are Flying
The Father of a Soldier
Come and See



Civil War/Sci-fi/comedy:

Two Soldiers (?) Два Бойца
White Desert Sun (?) Белое Солнце Пустыни
War and Peace
Stalker
Solaris
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson
Ivan Vasilievich: Back To The Future
The Diamond Arm


that's just a mini-list....there's tons more.

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White Desert Sun (?) Белое Солнце Пустыни

My personal favorite of all time.

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White Desert Sun (?) Белое Солнце Пустыни


My personal favourite of all time.

Yes! Such a great movie! First saw it at 9-10 years old and loved it ever since! Don't know if there is a western-friendly release of it though, I have a nice Russian DVD of it, but that doesn't even have an English subtitle option!

"Я не пью! - Правильно. Вот я, это допью, и тоже брошу."

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Eisenstein is an over-rated cop-out.

That is an objectively false statement.

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That's like saying Charlie Chaplin is the best American cinema...

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"Я не пью! - Правильно. Вот я, это допью, и тоже брошу."

TY V CHEI DOM ZALEZ?!


Glorious Leader: what'cha confused about?

"У него гранаты не той системы." Remember? After the подпоручик flew out the window?