Soviet films appreciated abroad

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The history of Soviet cinema has many outstanding films that are still being watched today. Among them are the well-known "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears", "The Cranes Are Flying". We watch and love these and other films, but part of this film heritage was also recognized by foreign experts and was loved by the foreign public no less than us.

We made a selection of 10 Soviet films that have become popular abroad.

Evaluated by experts: films - nominees for "Oscar"

War and Peace

One of the first Soviet films, which in 1969 won an Oscar in the nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. In the film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Leo Tolstoy, Sergei Bondarchuk acted as a director, screenwriter and actor - he played Pierre Bezukhov.

The film became famous for its large-scale battle scenes and innovative panoramic photography. During the creation of the film, the collections of 58 museums of the country were used, and more than 40 enterprises produced weapons and equipment - from snuff boxes to carts. The geography of the film covered the entire path of the Napoleonic army: they started in Moscow and finished near Smolensk.

Dersu Uzala

A Soviet-Japanese feature film by Akira Kurosawa, created in 1975 based on the works of Vladimir Arsenyev, in which the writer talked about his travels in the Ussuri region and his friendship with the taiga hunter Dersu Uzala. The filming of the film caused a negative reaction in the PRC for political reasons.

However, despite their rejection, the motion picture won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and was highly praised by the foreign public.

The Ballad of the Soldier

Grigory Chukhrai's war drama "The Ballad of a Soldier" won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the London International Film Festival and the British Film Academy, and also won an Oscar in the Best Original Screenplay category. The film tells about several days in the life of a simple soldier who goes on vacation to his mother. And at the very beginning, the authors report that the hero, Alexei Skvortsov, will die in the war.

Private life

The story of a simple Soviet pensioner interested the world film community. Immediately after the premiere of the tape, the management of the Venice Film Festival announced the demonstration of "Private Life" in one of the out-of-competition programs. The penultimate film directed by Julius Raizman was also nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Foreign Language Film", and the actor Mikhail Ulyanov received a prize at the 39th Venice Film Festival for his leading role.

The film tells about a former director of a production company who retires and seems to be learning to live anew. He does not know at all what to do now, without a job and subordinates, but he finally has time to deal with family relations.

Field novel

The Soviet melodrama directed by Pyotr Todorovsky was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Foreign Language Film category, and the leading actress, Inna Churikova, was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

The love story of the soldier Sasha and the nurse Lyuba, who meet a few years after the war, was recognized not only by world cinema experts, but also by the foreign mass public.

Viewers rated: films that have fallen in love abroad

Kin-Dza-Dza

"Mad Max meets Monty Python with a touch of Tarkovsky" - so the Soviet film "Kin-dza-dza!" described in 2016 in the British online publication Little White Lies. However, the Soviet society did not immediately accept the film: it was criticized for its "unpleasant" images, the artist Mikhail Pugovkin called the heroes "disgusting types" and a reflection of "wretched reality."

Nevertheless, the comedy of Georgy Danelia about two earthlings who unexpectedly found themselves on the planet Plyuk attracted with its dystopian, fantastic nature and fell in love with Western audiences.

Stalker

The cult film by Andrei Tarkovsky is based on the story of the Strugatsky brothers "Roadside Picnic" and has repeatedly hit the world ratings. For example, he was included in the "Top 100 Best Films of All Time" by the British Film Institute.

The film takes place in a fictional time and space. The protagonist of the film is a recently released man called Stalker. He goes to the Forbidden Zone, where the fulfillment of any desires is possible in the secret room.

Mum

The joint Soviet-Romanian-French musical fairy tale was released in three languages: Russian, English and Romanian. The English version was released under the name "Rock'n'Roll Wolf", the Romanian - "Mama". At the Venice International Film Festival for Children and Youth - 77, the film was awarded a special jury prize.

Despite the fact that the film assumes a children's audience, the music, colorful characters attracted adults as well. The role of the Mother of the Goat was played by Lyudmila Gurchenko, and the role of the Wolf by Mikhail Boyarsky.

Planet of Storms

A fantastic story about a space expedition directed by Pavel Klushantsev became popular all over the world immediately after its premiere in 1962. The cult producer Roger Corman at one time acquired the rights to the film, remastered and re-dubbed it in Hollywood, turning it into a fantastic action movie "Journey to a Prehistoric Planet."

The right to distribute the film was acquired by 28 countries.

Aelita

The silent feature film by Yakov Protazanov, a screen adaptation of the science fiction novel by Alexei Tolstoy, is considered one of the first Russian blockbusters. The film is dedicated to the exploration of Mars. The shooting was carried out at the Mezhrabpom-Rus factory by cameramen Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky and Emil Shuneman, specially invited from Germany, and the avant-garde artist Alexandra Exter became the costume designer.

The Soviet people received the premiere coldly, calling the picture an attempt to please viewers of capitalist countries, but abroad the film became a universally recognized classic, yielding only to "Solaris" by Andrei Tarkovsky.