These movies were created at the dawn of Russian cinematography, but still amaze viewers even today.
1 ‘The Queen of Spades’, 1916
This was one of the first experiments in Russian cinema in the horror genre. Yakov Protazanov’s movie, based on Pushkin’s story, strikes a disturbing atmosphere and masterful depiction of the main character’s insanity. Scenes from the Countess’ youth alternate with the story of Herman himself, giving the movie a certain rhythm. Incidentally, the movie was the first to use a moving camera.
Watch the movie online for free here.
2 ‘Father Sergius’, 1918
Contemporaries said that the screen adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s novel of the same name about a brilliant young military man, who, experiencing personal tragedy, goes to a monastery and rejects life’s temptations, shocked the audience. Against the background of frivolous melodramas, Yakov Protazanov’s movie became one of the most impressive events in young cinema. Interestingly, the director had long planned to make ‘Father Sergius’, but was hampered by bans on depicting members of the royal family and the clergy.
Watch the movie online for free here.
3 ‘Aelita’, 1924
The first Soviet science fiction movie, based on a story by Alexei Tolstoy. Earth engineers invent a machine they call ‘interplanetonef’ to travel to other planets.
Meanwhile, their lives are observed by the queen of Mars, Aelita, with the help of a special apparatus. Having arrived on the red planet, the heroes learn that the local population exists in slave-like conditions and rise up in rebellion.
The music for ‘Aelita’ was written by composers Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky. Yakov Protazanov’s movie is an example of constructivist style. For example, the costumes for the characters were created by famous artists Alexandra Exter and Nadezhda Lamanova.
Watch the movie online for free here.
4 ‘Strike’, 1924
A worker, unjustly accused of stealing tools, commits suicide. The outraged factory workers organize a strike – they refuse to go to work and demand a raise and a shorter working day. The police and Cossacks suppress the riot and shoot the demonstrators. Sergei Eisenstein’s movie would now be dubbed a ‘mockumentary’: although it is fiction, it gives the impression of a documentary and amazes with its crowd scenes.
Watch the movie online for free here.
5 ‘Kino-Eye’, 1924
Like Dziga Vertov’s other movies, ‘Kinoglaz’ (‘Kino-Eye’) was a huge experiment. It was supposed to be the first in the ‘Life unawares’ cycle. There are no professional actors and scenery. The camera lens shows ordinary people engaged in their usual activities. Each episode is a short story: about the first Soviet pioneer camp, baking bread, training athletes. Sometimes, the movie goes in the opposite direction (and then the audience sees how a loaf of bread turns back into ears of corn). The unusual approach impressed not only the Soviet, but also international audiences – the movie received a silver award at the World Exhibition in Paris.
Watch the movie online for free here.
6 ‘The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks’, 1924
A comedy by Lev Kuleshov about an American in the USSR with the subtitle: “The punished and rewarded curiosity of the Yankees.” Mr. West, having arrived in the Soviet Union, immediately falls into the clutches of local swindlers. His bodyguard Jeddy fires a pistol in search of his boss and races in cars and train carriages. The movie is something of an encyclopedia of the prejudices that existed then about the USSR and its inhabitants. History buffs will surely appreciate the view of the original Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow – a few years after filming, it was blown up.
Watch the movie online for free here.
7 ‘Battleship Potemkin’, 1925
Initially, director Sergei Eisenstein planned to make a movie about the 1905 revolution in different cities of Russia. But, the deadlines were tight and the director decided to limit himself to only the episode about the uprising on the battleship. This is how the movie appeared, which has been included in the lists of masterpieces of world cinema for many years. And the scene of the execution on the Potemkin Steps with a baby carriage rolling down it still makes the heart clench in fear.
Watch the movie online for free here.
8 ‘Mother’, 1926
A movie by Vsevolod Pudovkin based on the novel of the same name by Maxim Gorky, but with a noticeably changed plot. Factory worker Vlasov drowns his life in alcohol. His wife, the silent and submissive Nilovna, endures all his attacks. But, his son Pavel, not wanting the same fate as his father, joins the revolutionary movement. Gradually, the mother takes her son’s side. But, their fate is tragic: they both die during the dispersal of the demonstration.
Watch the movie online for free here.
9 ‘Man with a Movie Camera’, 1929
With no script or sets, no credits or actors, Dziga Vertov’s ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ is a look at life in Soviet cities, where everything is in motion. Cars rush by, people work in factories and there is a brisk trade in the market: the camera impassively observes what is happening. The movie is not only an example of avant-garde cinema, but also a real encyclopedia. It is not by chance that Vertov called the creation of an international language of cinema one of the goals of his film.
Watch the movie online for free here.
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