Originally posted by sam_tem
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COMEDY (I am omitting the famous comedies of the slapstick variety).
1. "Irony of Fate" part 1 and part 2. This film is an icon, shown on Russian TV every New Year's. A mix up with keys leads a protagonist to the wrong address and ends up in a love triangle and questioning of each character's circumstances and fate. A brilliant, heart-felt picture.
2. "Office Romance" part 1 and part 2. Another heart-felt comedy about a man pining away because he is incapable of showing his love for an office coworker.
3. "12 Chairs." part 1 and part 2. Based on the most brilliant book of satire of the 20th Century Russian literature and arguably Russian literature of all time. The protagonist, Ostap Bender, is a swindler that takes advantage of idiots from all walks of life, from greedy speculators to Soviet bureaucrats. Unfortunately, the equally brilliant sequel, The Golden Calf, is without English subtitles.
4. "Kin-Dza-Dza" part 1 and part 2. One of my favorite comedies of all time. Two strangers that meet by chance on a Moscow street get transported onto another planet. As they navigate their way home they come to terms with their uneasy partnership. Extremely hilarious in its simplification of power relations between humans, especially vis-a-vis capitalism. Totally lo-fi with fantastic cinematography, shot mostly in the desert.
DRAMA
1. "Dersu Uzala" part 1 and part 2. A rare Russian-Japanese production shot by Akira Kurosawa. One of his best films about a clash of civilizations as an officer of a Russian czarist army relies on an old Mongolian guide to navigate the Siberian taiga.
2. "Solaris" part 1 and part 2. Not much introduction needed - second best film of Tarkovsky after Stalker, based on a science fiction novel by Stansilvaw Lem.
3. "Alexander Nevskiy" The epic story of prince Nevskiy repelling a German knight invasion in 13th Century. In my opinion Eisenstein's crown achievement, quiet a feat of cinematography considering time and place.
4. "The Mirror" More Tarkovsky :-)
ACTION
1. "The Mysterious Avengers" (stupid translation). Story of a friendship of several teenagers as they fight the White Army during the Russian Civil War.
WAR FILMS
1. "Come and See" part 1 and part 2. This is by far one of the best WWII films ever made, concentrating on the fate of one Belorussian village that was razed to the ground by Nazis as thousands of others throughout the war. The unflinching way in which the Nazi atrocities were depicted here are in my opinion unrivaled in any Western film. Also, unlike most Soviet war films, the propaganda is virtually nonexistent. Unfortunately the video is not available now, but I am sure you can find it on a DVD in the US.
2. "Liberation" An epic WWII film that follows much of the war starting with the famous Kursk tank battle in 1943. Historically accurate in terms of names, events, etc. (obviously there is a Soviet bent in terms of emotion). I am not sure I put these in the right order.
part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6
There will be more when you are done :-) Unfortunately, my favorite film, Heart of a Dog is not on there. And I can never download it and get the English subtitles to watch.
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