Cinema of Russia

Cinema of the Russian Empire

The first films seen in the Russian Empire were brought in by the Lumière brothers, who exhibited films in Moscow and St. Petersburg in May 1896. That same month, Lumière cameraman Camille Cerf made the first film in Russia, recording the coronation of Nicholas II at the Kremlin.

Aleksandr Drankov produced the first Russian narrative film Stenka Razin, based on events told in a popular folk song and directed by Vladimir Romashkov. Ladislas Starevich made the first Russian animated film (and the first stop motion puppet film with a story) in 1910 - Lucanus Cervus. Among the notable Russian filmmakers of the era were Aleksandr Khanzhonkov and Ivan Mozzhukhin, who made Defence of Sevastopol in 1912. Yakov Protazanov made Departure of a Grand Old Man, a biographical film about Lev Tolstoy.

During World War I, imports dropped drastically, and Russian filmmakers turned out anti-German, nationalistic films. In 1916, 499 films were made in Russia, more than three times the number of just three years earlier.

The Russian Revolution brought more change, with a number of films with anti-Tsarist themes. The last significant film of the era, made in 1917, Father Sergius would become the first new film release of the Soviet era.

Cinema of the Soviet Union

Although Russian was the dominant language in films during the Soviet era, the cinema of the Soviet Union encompassed films of the Armenian SSR, Georgian SSR, Ukrainian SSR, and, to a lesser degree, Lithuanian SSR, Byelorussian SSR and Moldavian SSR. For much of the Soviet Union's history, with notable exceptions in the 1920s and the late 1980s, film content was heavily circumscribed and subject to censorship and bureaucratic state control. Despite this, Soviet films achieved significant critical success from the 1950s onwards partly as a result, similar to the cinema of other Eastern Bloc countries, for reflecting the tension between independent creativity and state-directed outcomes.

As with much Soviet art during the 1920s, films addressed major social and political events of the time. Probably the single most important film of this period was Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin, not only because of its depiction of events leading up to the 1905 Revolution, but also because of innovative cinematic techniques, such as the use of jump-cuts to achieve political ends. Other notable films of the period include Vsevolod Pudovkin's Mother (1926) and Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera (1929).

However, with the consolidation of Stalinist power in the Soviet Union, and the emergence of Socialist realism as state policy, which carried over from painting and sculpture into filmmaking, Soviet film became subject to almost total state control.

One of the most popular films released in the 1930s was Circus.

Notable films from the 1940s include Aleksandr Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible.

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the Soviet color films such as The Stone Flower (1947), Ballad of Siberia (1947), and Cossacks of the Kuban (1949) were released.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s Soviet film-makers were given a less constricted environment, and while censorship remained, films emerged which began to be recognised outside the Soviet bloc such as Ballad of a Soldier which won the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film and The Cranes Are Flying. The Height (1957) is considered to be one of the best films of the 1950s (it also became the foundation of the Bard movement).

The 1970s saw the emergence of a range of films which won international attention, including Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris; White Sun of the Desert (1970), and "Ostern" – the Soviet Union's own take on the Western genre.

With the onset of Perestroika and Glasnost in the mid-1980s, Soviet films emerged which began to address formerly censored topics, such as drug addiction, The Needle, and sexuality and alienation in Soviet society, Little Vera.

1990s

Russian cinema of the 90s acquired new features and themes.

The drama Burnt by the Sun (1994) by Nikita Mikhalkov is a story of small countryside community when new times of Stalinism are taking pace to disrupt their idylic reclusion and distort their characters and fates. The film received an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

In the context of the Russian World War II history Pavel Chukhrai filmed The Thief (1997), a movie about a mother with son seeking a manly support and finding a criminal in military clothes. The film was awarded with 6 national prizes Nika, got a special prize in Venice and became the Oscar nominee.

Made by Valery Todorovsky The Country of the Deaf (1998) comedy based on the plot of Renata Litvinova is parodying Russia of the 90s as a journey of two female friends caught in the fight of two clans - the deaf and the hearing.

The profound Dmitri Meskhiyev's melodrama Woman's property (Женская собственность, 1999) reflected subtle relationship between young student and older actress that grew into love-affair. The awaited death of one of the protagonists leaves the other facing the bitter loneliness.

East/West co-production film tells history of early years of Stalinism as a story of emigre family living in the USSR.

2000s

Andrey Zvyagintsev's The Return, a Golden Lion award recipient, shows two brothers' test of life when their father suddenly returns that reaches a deep almost-mystic pitch.

The Russian Ark, 2003 by Alexander Sokurov, was filmed in a single 96-minute shot in the Russian Hermitage Museum is a dream-like narration that tells about Classic Russian culture sailing in the Ark.

The Night Watch was one of the first blockbusters made after the collapse of the Soviet film industry, it was a 2004 supernatural thriller directed by Timur Bekmambetov. It is the first part of a trilogy, followed by Day Watch (2006) and ending supposedly with Twilight Watch.

The serialised novels by Boris Akunin set in pre-Revolutionary Russia evolve around fictional Erast Fandorin adventures in three popular movies: The Azazel, The Turkish Gambit and The State Counsellor.

Life of the Orthodox Monastery and their Christian miracles are described in the film The Island by Pavel Lungin. The film was highly acclaimed by critics and was much-awarded by spectators and prizes.

Colorful musical Stilyagi, Hipsters about young generation lifestyle in the Soviet Union was a big success for its profound and vibrant portrait of the era of the 1950s. Filmed by Valery Todorovsky in 2008.

2010s

How I Ended This Summer by Alexei Popogrebski a film shot in remote Chukotka won Berlin's Film Festival Golden Bear in 2010 and thrills upon the face-off generation gap.

The same year Silent Souls, an arthouse film wins Golden Osella for the best cinematography. Beautifully filmed it is a melancholic poem of love and death.

One of the many successful movies that were made in co-starring with Western actors and actresses is a comedy Lucky Trouble, 2011 which features Milla Jovovich.

One of the most successful Russia's director to enter Hollywood is Timur Bekmambetov producing and screening blockbusters.

Andrey Zvyagintsev's Leviathan has won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film.

List of highest-grossing films

According to Kinopoisk.ru, highest grossing Russian films, as of early 2015, are the following:

Most expensive Russian films

Below, is a list of the 10 most high-budget Russian films in the history of hire (excluding inflation). The figures given in the February 25, 2014.

Awards

Festivals

Notable Cinematography Schools