Thread: NonRussian films (work in progress)

Каникулы строгого режима is very funny comedy and a game of actors is great. But it just released and there are no English subtitles for it. It's a great task to translate a whole film but if each of us take 10 minutes of it we can create them. Natives are welcome to correct posts for better translation. Any suggestions?

I have finally read through this thread in it's entirety and I am blown away!

This thread is a highlight of the internet for anybody interested in film... I really don't think anything similar is available on the internet for people who do not speak Russian. There are so many incredibly insightful comments, perspectives and helpful links.

I will undertake the exercise of organising the information relating to Russian-language films into a table which I will publish in a new thread. (This thread has become too long). I will put the following information in the table:

Russian title; English Title; Year Produced; Comment; Colour/Black-White

This thread could then be used as a reference by people who study Russian and would like an introduction to Russian cinema. Sort of "100 years of Russian film"

As we all know, watching films is good for improving language skills and also for learning to understand other countries / cultures better. These films can help learners not only to improve their Russian skills, but also to understand Russia, its' history and its' people better.

Once the information is available in table - format, the Russian speakers on the forum can double-check to make sure that no important film is left out, and that no poor quality film is included.

As I said in the previous post, I've read through this amazing thread in its' entirety.
I've started downloading a whole bunch of films and I watched two so far.

I found myself agreeing specifically with many of Olya's comments regarding some specific films like "Stalker" and also her comments regarding the overall high quality of Soviet cinema. I was interested to read CoffeCup's explanation of how the actors split their time between working on movies and at the theatre.

I have no knowledge of how Soviet cinema worked, but there are many things to admire: Some incredibly talented actors and directors. The music in most of the Soviet films, was outstanding; even in the most simplistic films.

As Olya hinted; Cinema from this era was "Art for arts sake" and not just created to make money. The necessity today for all films to be profitable means that there is a tendency to stick with tried concepts and sometimes appeal to the lowest common denominator. The lack of commercialism shines through in the Soviet films - I for one find this refreshing.

I am not sure if there was any serious censorship or not and whether this had any impact on the artistic content. My guess would be that this disappeared post-Stalin..

(But on the other hand, the focus on artistic content can be taken too far - some of the films from this era I remember as frankly a bit boring... Or you feel as if you need to go and get a degree in existentialist philosophy to fully appreciate them....)

As a non-Russian viewer there is probably A LOT you are missing in terms of cultural references.

I could rant on for a long time about how much I (as a child) enjoyed some Russian childrens' productions (cartoons, puppets, fairy tales and adventures). Disney / MGM etc definitely met their match in these productions - they were allround top class.

Some specific questions:
1) I was looking for films from the 1990s and found only a few mentioned in the thread, namely Brother I, Thief, Burnt by the Sun and 9th Company, at a quick glance. Only four films in such a long thread with over 100 titles mentioned! Are there any other good films from the 1990s?

2) Anybody recognises this description of a film I've seen on TV but don't recall the name of? I'd like to see it again: Sci-fi (science fiction), with the plot revolving around an alien woman who was played by a very striking actress with short white hair and a very long neck. The plot takes place in a futuristic looking house. The film was considered to be a masterpiece but I have no idea who made it, when it was made or what the title was. My guess would be that it's from the 1980s but this could be wrong.

3) Why hasn't the nice film "Moscow does not believe in tears" been mentioned? It's more or less a romance (chick-flick) from the 1970s. I'm sure this must have been popular in Russia? Is it not considered to be good quality? I liked this film a lot anyway, and I recommend it - particularly to women.

4) "Beamer" (BMW?) which is supposedly about some guys who steal a car and drive to Magadan... ? What is the Russian name of this film, I can't find it? My brother recommended it as his top tip for contemporary Russian films (which is a sure sign it's a very violent film...) Nevertheless, the concept of driving thorugh Russia is interesting. (But is it really possible to drive to Magadan?)

5) Does anybody recall the name of a Russian film from a few years back which features the battle of Poltava?

6) Films which feature non-native speakers of Russian? (I can only think of "Mimino"). Anything more contemporary, or any other old film like that?

7) I vaguely remember that there were one (at least) musical film from the 1980s with Sofia Rotaru. Anybody remembers this? Were those good or worth watching today? The "Fame" comments made me think about Russian musical / pop films and that's the only one I can think of. Not sure of names or years though. I am also interested in her because she is (apparently!!!) a speaker of Russian as a foreign language.

Originally Posted by Johanna

Some specific questions[/b]:
1) I was looking for films from the 1990s and found only a few mentioned in the thread, namely Brother I, Thief, Burnt by the Sun and 9th Company, at a quick glance. Only four films in such a long thread with over 100 titles mentioned. Are there any other good films from the 1990s?

I've mentioned "Кукушка" several times in this thread.
As for me, I don't think "9th Company" is a good film.

Or... wait, what do you mean by "films from the 1990s"? Films between 1990 and 2000? But "9th Company" was made in 2005. Okay, if you mean just films after 1990, there are more than four good films, of course.

2) Anybody recognises this description of a film I've seen on TV but don't recall the name of? I'd like to see it again: Sci-fi (science fiction), with the plot revolving around an alien woman who was played by a very striking actress with short white hair and a very long neck. The plot takes place in a futuristic looking house. The film was considered to be a masterpiece but I have no idea who made it, when it was made or what the title was. My guess would be that it's from the 1980s but this could be wrong.

Is this her? http://ternii.film.ru/img/large/ternii-09.jpg

3) Why hasn't the nice film "Moscow does not believe in tears" been mentioned? It's more or less a romance (chick-flick) from the 1970s. I'm sure this must have been popular in Russia? Is it not considered to be good quality? I liked this film a lot anyway, and I recommend it - particularly to women.

No, this film is not considered to be bad quality. It's a very popular Russian movie.

4) "Beamer" (BMW?) which is supposedly about some guys who steal a car and drive to Magadan... ? What is the Russian name of this film, I can't find it? My brother recommended it as his top tip for contemporary Russian films (which is a sure sign it's a very violent film...) Nevertheless, the concept of driving thorugh Russia is interesting. (But is it really possible to drive to Magadan?)

The Russian title is "Бумер".

6) Films which feature non-native speakers of Russian? (I can only think of "Mimino"). Anything more contemporary, or any other old film like that?

"Паспорт", maybe?

Thanks for the response!
Yes - that's the film I meant! (the woman in the pic).

By films from the 90s i DID mean 1990 - 2000 but I had only just started to skim through all the information from the thread, that's why I missed Kokoshka and got mixed up with the other film.

That's why we should turn all the information into a nice table that is easy for anybody check. People could also focus on films that interest them, for example Romantic, Comedy, War film etc.

Originally Posted by Johanna

I have finally read through this thread in it's entirety and I am blown away!

This thread is a highlight of the internet for anybody interested in film... I really don't think anything similar is available on the internet for people who do not speak Russian. There are so many incredibly insightful comments, perspectives and helpful links.

Johanna, I must admit, this thread is amazing. As I mentioned to you, it started out as one thing and then just sort of became this lovely free-for-all exchange of questions, answers, reviews, trivia... you name it...it is in here. You want to find a song from a movie ask and... "bibbidi bobbidi boo," your wish is granted. You need subtitles to a film... "presto," you have a link for subtitles and probably Olya has written them! You don't understand the Russian meaning of something going on in the film... "abracadabra," you have an explaination x3. And on the other side... you have the American things like the cultural references in our TV/Films that we can explain. So it is a great balance and exchange.

Originally Posted by Johanna

I will undertake the exercise of organising the information relating to Russian-language films [/b]into a table which I will publish in a new thread. (This thread has become too long). I will put the following information in the table:

Russian title; English Title; Year Produced; Comment; Colour/Black-White

The list that I have on page 13, I have it in Word if it will help. Let me know, I can post it for you to download or email it to you.

Originally Posted by Johanna

That's why we should turn all the information into a nice table that is easy for anybody check. People could also focus on films that interest them, for example Romantic, Comedy, War film etc.

BTW, the list on page 13, does have the genre for each film and you can also download a pdf of it here http://www.mediafire.com/?nndmvguu0id

Originally Posted by Johanna

Yes - that's the film I meant! (the woman in the pic).

It's "Через тернии к звездам" then: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Per_Aspera_Ad_Astra_(film)

I wouldn't say it's a popular film in Russia. I don't think I've seen it entirely, it's somehow too oppressive for me. Also, there are no big "stars" (I mean actors) in that film, although Soviet cinema was exceptionally rich in stars.

Thanks for identifying the film. It's one I started watching many times on TV but never lasted to the end...

Swedish state TV in the 1980s loved these deep intellectual Russian and Eastern European films. Unfortunately not all viewers liked it, but sometimes it was all that was available to watch.

This particular one: "Per Aspera Ad Astra" was promoted a lot, prior to being shown, as a "great Soviet masterpiece..." or something like that..
And now you say people there didn't care for it... Haha!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
@Rockzmom - the link that you pasted is dead? (to the PDF...)
I pasted every title mentioned in the thread into a spreadsheet. Currently the sheet has 108 rows, but there are probably a several duplicates. I don't think the list on p. 13 was complete though?

Originally Posted by Johanna

"Per Aspera Ad Astra" was promoted a lot, prior to being shown, as a "great Soviet masterpiece..." or something like that..

Hm, that's funny It's definitely an overstatement. I've just looked up who is the director of this "masterpiece" - his name is Ричард Викторов (unknown to me). I'm sure if you ask 100 passers-by in Russia who is Ричард Викторов, you'll get 100 answers "I don't know". Although I see on Wiki that he shot a couple of more or less famous films: "Москва-Кассиопея" and "Отроки во Вселенной".

Originally Posted by Johanna

1) I was looking for films from the 1990s and found only a few mentioned in the thread, namely Brother I, Thief, Burnt by the Sun and 9th Company, at a quick glance. Only four films in such a long thread with over 100 titles mentioned! Are there any other good films from the 1990s?

I like Blokpost (199
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0196381/



and Kavkazskiy plennik (1996)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116754/

Super, thanks BappaBa.
Those seem like films that should be possible to find --- with subtitles.

(After checking torrents.ru it's clear to me that it has everything....
The trouble is that the uploads to this site don't seem to have subtitles.)

Without the subs I miss out on too much of the plots.

I've watched this movie not so long ago and somehow it returned to me the belief in Russian cinematograph.
It is one of the few films that have been released during the last ten years that I actually liked:



Here's some info in English:
http://www.kinokultura.com/2007/17r-graffiti.shtml


And another one from that list:



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuckoo_(film)

There is a sketch show on Russian TV (quite a new genre for us, by the way) named "6 кадров" which is sort of a word game in Russian and means "6 frames", and/or "6 shots", and/or "6 characters" (because 6 actors play in it).
So... First, I'd like to ask Russians who watch this show if they like it and who they like best of all in that show.

And second, I'd like others to watch one of the episodes I put on youtube and ask if you like it. I hope everything is understandable without translation there.

[video:1laeed4x]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqOkLayYjb4[/video:1laeed4x]

Originally Posted by Оля

So... First, I'd like to ask Russians who watch this show if they like it and who they like best of all in that show.

Я смотрел несколько выпусков, ничего особенного на мой взгляд. Смотрел из-за Добронравова. Его бы с Нонной Гришаевой свести - получилась бы убойная смесь. =)

Originally Posted by Оля

Although I see on Wiki that he shot a couple of more or less famous films: "Москва-Кассиопея" and "Отроки во Вселенной".

These two movies were BIG with kids in 1970s and early 1980s. Everyone knew the "Если что-то я забуду" song. Well, every child and teen, that is. I guess the films weren't quite as popular with adults as they were with us kids. Much later, I tried watching a rerun of "Отроки во Вселенной" on TV, and it wasn't nearly as much fun as it had been when I was young
But I had no idea about who was their director, and I have never heard of "Через тернии к звёздам". Odd, no?

Originally Posted by Johanna

Super, thanks BappaBa.
Those seem like films that should be possible to find --- with subtitles.

(After checking torrents.ru it's clear to me that it has everything....
The trouble is that the uploads to this site don't seem to have subtitles.)

Without the subs I miss out on too much of the plots.

Кавказский пленник-subtitles, Блокпост, but I can't find subtitles for Блокпост.

Originally Posted by BappaBa

Я смотрел несколько выпусков, ничего особенного на мой взгляд. Смотрел из-за Добронравова.

Я вообще смотрю это шоу ТОЛЬКО из-за Добронравова.
Некоторые из его номеров, на мой взгляд, просто гениальны. Например, как он в аптеке спирт спрашивает.

Originally Posted by Johanna

Films which feature non-native speakers of Russian?

"Red Heat" with Arnold Schwarzenegger as a Russian policeman!

Originally Posted by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Довэрьйай мнэ. (Trust me)
Капыталызм. (Capitalism)
Хулиганы. (Hooligans)

I love this movie!