Sasha's Favorite Russian Films
Burnt by the Sun (1995)
ASIN: 630386905X
Starring: Nikita Mikhalkov This Academy Award-winning feature (Best Foreign Language Film)
is a wonderfully intimate, Chekhovian idyll set in Stalinist Russia which, at its conclusion,
packs an explosive political climax. Director Nikita Mikhalkov plays a legendary revolutionary
hero living in a dacha outside Moscow with family and friends. Most of the film's complex
relationships are seen through the innocent eyes of Mikhalkov's (and the hero's) beautiful
daughter in a film that gently reveals the tragedy of living under Stalinism. Russian with English
Dersu Uzala, by Kurosawa
ASIN: 6303196543
(1975) - English subtitles
Starring: Yuri Solomin, et al.
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Kurosawa's remarkable personal tale of the friendship between a wise old man and a young,
Soviet explorer, filmed in the beautiful expanse of Siberia, is a unique story of man's unity with
nature, and a powerful testament to faith. Russian dialog with English subtitles.
Dark Eyes
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, et al.
ASIN: 6303832598
Marcello Mastroianni, in an Oscar-nominated role, is Romano, a romantic with a wife, a mistress
and a deep yearning to find a Russian woman he met at a spa. Based on several short stories
by Chekhov. The first western film of director Mikhalkov (Oblomov). With Silvan Mangano,
Marthe Keller and Elena Sofonova. Subtitled. Supporting language(s): Russian
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Starring: Omar Sharif, et al.
Director: David Lean
ASIN: 6303599109
Lavish Hollywood adaptation of the epic love story set against the Russian Revolution, winner of six
Academy Awards. A Russian poet and physician, who wishes to live a quiet, normal life, bears
witness to a society in chaos as it struggles to bring forth a new world free from stagnation and oppression.
Based on the novel by Boris Pasternak. Sweeping, majestic cinematography on a grand scale.
30th anniversary edition, with 60-minute documentary, trailer and introduction by Omar Sharif.
VHS letterboxed. Supporting language(s): Russian
Empire of the Red Bear, 3 Tapes
ASIN: 6304883668
This three-volume set from the Discovery Channel explores the Russian wilderness
which is home to the red bear. It's a landscape of rugged beauty dominated by oversized features,
including active volcanoes. 180 mins.
From Russia With Love (1964)
Starring: Sean Connery, et al.
Director: Terence Young
ASIN: 6303651461
The second James Bond film is one of the best, with Lotte Lenya playing the sinister Russian spy,
and Sean Connery as Agent 007.
Hermitage: A Russian Odyssey,
Number of tapes: 3
ASIN: 6303154506
Part I, Catherine the Great: A Lust for Art. Peter the Great built St. Petersburg for the glory of his
dynasty. In this episode the role of this monarch and the pivotal influence of his successor,
Catherine, are examined. The Queen is credited with bringing Western culture into Russia.
She amassed a great quantity of artworks by such masters as Rembrandt, Rubens,
Breughel and Watteau in less than 40 years, resulting in a collection greater than the Louvre
had assembled in over 400 years. Part II, Tyrants and Heroes: The Nineteenth Century Czars.
The Napoleonic invasion and a succession of weak Czars left their imprint on the Hermitage.
It was during this era, however, that the great collection of Scythian gold from prehistoric Russia
was discovered and added to the collection. Part III, From Czars to Commissars: A Museum Survives.
Preserving this collection during the Russian Revolution and the horrendous 900-day Nazi siege of the
city was a momentous task. Despite these depredations, the collection survived and grew to include
20th-century masters like Picasso, Matisse and Renoir.
Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1981)
ASIN: 6302870283
Starring: Vera Alentova, et al.
Director: Vladimir Menshov
Vladimir Menshov's melodrama about the cruel anonymity of city life is structured in two parts.
The first half is set in 1958, as Menshov charts the interlocking romantic fates of three Russian girls
shunned to a workers' dormitory. Tonya (Raisa Ryazanova) finds grace and happiness; Ludmila
(Irina Muraveva) is trapped in an unhealthy and oppressive marriage; Katerina (Vera Alentova) is
crudely abandoned when her lover discovers she's pregnant. The second half resumes their stories
and lives 20 years later. Winner of the 1980 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. With Alexei Batalov,
Alexander Fatiushin and Boris Smorchkov. Russian with English subtitles. Supporting language(s): Russian
Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) - English subtitles
ASIN: 6302305934
Starring: Michael Jayston, et al.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner The tragic fate of the last couple in the Russian dynasty is finally
exposed to the world. Secrets about their death were maintained by the KGB for decades.
This video uses diaries and personal effects from the Imperial Archives to recreate their story.
It ends with footage of their woodland grave. 100 mins.
National Geographic Video-Tigers of the Snow (1997)
ASIN: 0792253027
Tigers of the Snow spotlights the Siberian Tiger, which once roamed over the wide ranges of northern
Asia but now is limited to a tiny region on the Sea of Japan. Venture into the dense forests of coastal
Siberia to track the biggest cat on earth, the elusive Siberian tiger, and join a team of Russian and
American scientists risking their lives to save this endangered and dangerous creature.
Nominated for five Emmys. Supporting language(s): Russian
Realms of the Russian Bear Box
ASIN: B00000G3GN
Volume 1: Green Jewel of the Caspian. Visit Astrakhan, the oldest nature reserve on the Volga Delta,
where European, Asian and African species of wildlife mingle.
Volume 2: The Arctic Frontier
Volume 3: The Red Deserts
Volume 4: The Celestial Mountains
Volume 5: Siberia: The Frozen Forest Volume 6: Born of Fire
Seiji Ozawa - Russian Night (1996)
ASIN: 6304290373
Enjoy an electrifying evening under the stars at the Waldbuhne Berlin with the Berlin Philharmonker
as they perform classic Russian masterpieces under the baton of the great conductor Seiji Ozawa.
Selections include Rimsky-Korsakov's "Russian Easter Overture"; Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Ballet Suite,"
"1812 Overture" and "Waltz from Serenade for Strings"; Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances"; Stravinsky's
"The Firebird"; Khatchaturian's "Sabre Dance"; Johann Strauss' "Radetsky-March" and
Lincke's "Berliner Luft." 98 mins.
The Nutcracker (1978)
List Price: $16.95
Starring: Bolshoi Ballet, et al.
ASIN: 6301170113
Stalin (1992)
ASIN: 6302681634
Starring: Robert Duvall, et al.
Director: Ivan Passer
Soviet Secret Archives - WWII: The Russian Front, V. 1 (1993)
ASIN: 6303203752
Soviet Secret Archives - WWII: The Russian Front, V. 2 (1993)
ASIN: 6303203760
Soviet Secret Archives - WWII: The Russian Front, V. 3 (1993)
ASIN: 6303203779
Masters of Russian Animation Vol. 1 (1998)
ASIN: 6305137471
Masters of Russian Animation, Vol. 2 Vol. 2 (1998)
ASIN: 630513748X
One Russian Summer
ASIN: 6300253066
Starring: Oliver Reed, et al.
Riches of the Russian Empire (1998)
ASIN: 6304896727
Russian Roulette (1993)
ASIN: 6303023584
Starring: Susan Blakely, et al.
Director: Greydon Clark
Russian Prisoner/Man Wh (1997)
ASIN: 6304331193
Starring: Saint, Roger Moore, et al.
ABC World of Discovery - Powers of the Russian Psychics (1992)
ASIN: 6303944620
ANOTHER EXCELLENT SOURCE FOR FOREIGN FILMS: 1WORLD
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