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AGONY ( KLIMOV )
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Our Price: $29.95
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One of the famous long-banned Soviet films, Elem Klimov's Agony is a brutal look at the self-proclaimed prophet (played by Alexei Petrenko) who reveled in decadence, lust and power, and altered the face of the 20th century. Rasputin's madness brought Russia to its feet and sparked the revolution that toppled the throne. Klimov intercuts vintage newsreels into the dramatic sequences. "Frenzied semi-delirium...This film's existence has been a legend for nearly a decade." (J. Hoberman, The Village Voice). Elem Klimov---USSR---1975---142 mins.
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AGONY (KLIMOV) AKA RASPUTIN
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Our Price: $49.95
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One of the famous long-banned Soviet films, Elem Klimov's Agony is a brutal look at the self-proclaimed prophet (played by Alexei Petrenko) who reveled in decadence, lust and power, and altered the face of the 20th century. Rasputin's madness brought Russia to its feet and sparked the revolution that toppled the throne. Klimov intercuts vintage newsreels into the dramatic sequences. "Frenzied semi-delirium...This film's existence has been a legend for nearly a decade." (J. Hoberman, The Village Voice). Elem Klimov---USSR---1975---142 mins.
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ANNA AKHMATOVA FILE
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Our Price: $29.95
In Stock
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A moving portrait of the extraordinary Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova. Although her work was banned and went unpublished for 17 years, her poem "Requiem" became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin. This unique film, which uses Akhmatova's diaries for text, also includes portraits of Akhmatova's friends and contemporaries--Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Mikhail Sostchenko. An Official Selection at Sundance and the Seattle International Film Festival. In Russian with English subtitles. Semyon Aranovich---USSR---1989---65 mins.
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ANNA KARENIA (2DISCS RUSSIAN)
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Our Price: $29.95
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Based on Tolstoy's beloved 1870 novel, this Russian production of the classic tale of tragic passion and human morality traces the path of a woman who pays a very high price for following her heart. Tatiana Samoilova (The Cranes Are Flying) plays the title role. Also starring Nikolai Gritsenko and Vassily Lanovoi. "...comes closer to Tolstoy's romance than previous versions" (Faber Companion to Foreign Films). In Russian with English subtitles. Alexander Zarkhi---USSR---1967---103 mins.
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BEMBI'S YOUTH
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Our Price: $49.95
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Following the 1985 literary adaptation Detstvo Bambi, Russian filmmaker Natalya Bondarchuk returned with Yunost Bambi, or Bambi's Youth, the second half of her interpretation of Felix Salten's book, Bambi. In this family-friendly fairytale world, Bambi (Nikolai Burlyayev) is grown-up and has fallen deeply in love with Falina (Galina Belyayeva). Together, they confront all the wonders and dangers of the natural world. Filmed on nature reserves in Crimea, Caucasus, Lower Elbrus, Latvia, and Czechoslovakia. In Russian with optional English subtitles. Natalya Bondarchuk---USSR---1986---66 mins.
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CAPTIVATING STAR OF HAPPINESS
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Our Price: $49.99
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This moving historical drama tells the true story of a group of young Russian military officers who tried and failed to bring democracy to their country. Standing up to the authoritative rule of czar Nicholas I, the group's attempt was crushed, and the officers were scattered to Siberian labor camps or to the scaffold. An inspiring, if painful, story of aristocratic men who left a world of safety and comfort to follow their ideals. In Russian with English Vladimir Motyl---Soviet Union---1975---168 mins.
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CLEAR SKIES
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Our Price: $29.95
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Emboldened by the flexibility of Khrushchev's regime, Grigori Chukhrai crafted this overtly anti-Stalinist film about a heroic test pilot (Yevgeni Urbansky) taken captive during WWII. Upon his release, he is stripped of his title, denied decorations, and expelled from the Communist Party. As his life spirals downward, the love and encouragement of his wife keep the hope for justice alive. Winner of the Golden Star at the Moscow International Film Festival and Best Foreign Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1961. In Russian with Grigori Chukhrai---USSR---1961---110 mins.
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COME AND SEE
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Our Price: $29.95
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This towering, cathartic experience won the Grand Prize at the Moscow Film Festival. The story is based on writer Ales Adamovich's WWII memoirs of SS reprisals against partisans. Set in occupied Byelorussia in 1943, the film follows a raw teenager into the swamps and forests of the border provinces, where he undergoes a hell of atrocities, becoming a middle-aged wreck as he tries to survive the carnage. Remarkable acting, camera work, crowd scenes and direction raise the film far beyond anything comparable, as director Elem Klimov manages both a savage beauty and an impassioned elegy in this anti-war film. "It's a masterpiece not only of filmmaking, but of humanity itself" (Sean Penn). In Russian with English subtitles. Elem Klimov---USSR---1985---142 mins.
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COMMISSAR (2DISCS)
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Our Price: $29.95
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In 1967, a Soviet filmmaker told a tale of Jewish life, suffering, bravery and fatalism in a movie about a Red Army commissar who finds herself living with a small-town Jewish family while civil war rages around them. The film, an indictment of anti-Semitism, was Askoldov's first and last feature. Shortly after its completion, Askoldov was fired and the film locked away until 1987. "A brave, humane and powerful work...image after stunning image" (New York Times). In Russian with optional English, Russian, French, German, Spanish, and Italian subtitles and English and French audio. Alexander Askoldov---USSR---1967---105 mins.
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COMPL WORKS OF YURI NORSTEIN
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Our Price: $49.95
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Working with Russia's celebrated Soyuzmultfilm Studio, filmmaker Yuriy Norshteyn won international acclaim for his richly detailed animated works, most notably his masterpiece Tale of Tales (Skazka Skazok, 1979, 29 mins.), which was named the "Best Animated Film of All Time" by the jury of the Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival in 1984. This graceful, multi-layered film is included here, along with 25th - the First Day (1968, 10 mins.) co-directed with Arkadi Tyurun, Battle of Kerjenets (1971, 10 mins.) co-directed with Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Fox and Rabbit (1973, 12 mins.), Heron and Crane (1974, 10 mins.), and Hedgehog in the Fog (1975, 10 mins.). In Russian with English subtitles. Yuri Norstein---USSR---1968-1979---98 mins.
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CROWN OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE OR
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Our Price: $49.99
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Better known as The Elusive Avengers Strike Again, this third installment in Edmond Keosayan's Soviet espionage trilogy is set after the conclusion of the Russian Civil War, and concerns the efforts of a covert group to restore the Russian monarchy to power. Teen heroes The Elusive Avengers are called to protect the tsar's crown, thereby stopping the rebels' plans. In Russian with English subtitles. Edmond Keosayan---USSR---1971---66 mins.
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D'ARTAGNAN AND THREE MUSKETEERS
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Our Price: $79.95
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Produced for Soviet television, this three-part version of Alexander Dumas' swashbuckling novel features all the costumes and commodore you'd expect, but also singing! Starring Mikhail Boyarsky, Venyamin Smekhov, Igor Starygin, and Valentin Smirnitsky. In Russian with English subtitles. 2-DVD set. IMPORT. All Region.
Georgi Yungvald-Khilkevich---USSR---1978---250 mins.
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DAWNS HERE ARE QUIET
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Our Price: $49.99
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Stanislav Rostotsky's wartime drama chronicles the experience of a platoon of Soviet women during World War II. When the women learn that a subversive detachment of German soldiers has landed in their region, they're forced to take up arms against them. Rostotsky adeptly blends taut combat footage with lively sketches of life behind the front lines. Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1972 Academy Awards. With Yelena Drapeko, Yekaterina Markova, Olga Ostroumova, and Irina Shevchuk. In Russian with English Stanislav Rostotsky---USSR---1972---100 mins.
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FATHER FROST- RUSCICO
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Our Price: $49.95
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Director Aleksandr Rou's fairy tales for the screen have been praised by Steven Spielberg and scores of other filmmakers who recognize his mastery with film fantasy. In this film, based on a popular Russian folk story, a girl mistreated by her wicked stepmother is banished to a winter forest. There she meets and falls in love with a handsome lad, but he is turned into a bear for his constant boasting. The girl and her new love turn to Father Frost to set Aleksandr Rou---USSR---1965---81 mins.
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FILMS OF NIKITA MIKHALKOV: VOLUME 1
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Our Price: $74.95
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This collection of five films from celebrated Russian actor-director Nikita Mikhalkov includes A Slave of Love, Five Evenings, Oblomov, Without Witness, and the Academy Award-winning Burnt by the Sun (1994, 135 mins.), a wonderfully intimate, Chekhovian idyll that's set in Stalinist Russia and packs an explosive political punch.
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FIVE EVENINGS
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Our Price: $49.95
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In this chamber drama based on Aleksandr Volodin's play, Ludmila Gurchenko and Stanislav Lyubshin are two former lovers who lost each other during the second World War. Now in 1957, he finds her living in a communal apartment with her nephew among some intriguing neighbors. In such a stifling setting, they struggle to rekindle their passion, let alone verbalize their true feelings. In Russian with optional English subtitles. Nikita Mikhalkov---USSR---1978---103 mins.
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HUNTING DRAMA
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Our Price: $29.99
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This beautifully photographed drama is an adaptation of a classic Chekhov story about a beautiful young woman whose marriage to an older estate manager causes reprecussions of passion and violence from her jealous suitors. Emil Lotyanu captures the tragic intensity of Chekhov's tale with the magical atmosphere of the setting and bravura performances from his cast. In Russian with English subtitles. Emil Loteanu---Soviet Union---1975---109 mins.
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I AM CUBA (ULTIMATE EDITION)
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Our Price: $44.95
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The Cuban revolution is at the center of Mikhail Kalatazov's strange, poetic film from 1964 that unites four stories. Originally controversial because of a uniquely Russian view of Cuba, it was not widely seen. In the years since its initial release, the film, which features a poem by Yevgeni Yevtushenko, has achieved international critical acclaim. "One of the most deliriously beautiful films ever made" (Manohla Dargis, LA Weekly). In Spanish and Russian with English subtitles. Mikhail Kalatozov---Cuba/USSR---1964---141 mins.
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IRONY OF FATE
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Our Price: $49.95
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Still a staple of Russian New Year's Eve broadcasts, this made-for-television feature ranks as one of the most popular comedies made in the former Soviet Union. A drunken year end gathering leaves a man in the wrong apartment in the wrong city, although the nearly identical surroundings make him think otherwise. A run-in with the apartment's true resident--beautiful Nadya--leads to comical confrontations and unexpected romance. With Andrei Myagkov, Barbara Brylska, and Yuri Yakovlev. In Russian with English, French, German, and Eldar Ryazanov---USSR---1975---185 mins.
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LARISA SHEPITKO
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Our Price: $29.95
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Ukrainian-born Larisa Shepitko studied under Dovzhenko at VGIK, the state film institute, before going on to direct the controversial post-war drama Wings (Krillia, 1966, 90 mins.). The film offended hardliners wit h its depiction of a heroic fighter pilot (Maya Bulgakova) who struggles with adjusting to her disappointing life after the war. Shepitko's conflicts with the censors continued through her final completed film, The Ascent (Voskhozhdeniye, 1977, 105 mins.), an uncompromising portrayal of war and betrayal. Using expressive religious symbolism, the director boldly reverses stereotypical Soviet attitudes towards heroism, religion, and philosophy in her examination of two Russian soldiers who are captured in German-occupied Byelorussia during WWII. Ascent won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1978, the year before Shepitko's death. Both films are included here. In Russian with English subtitles. Larisa Shepitko---USSR---1966/1977---195 mins.
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