Thread: Russian Movies/Music

This has probably been done to death but here we go. As I’m attempting to learn Russian I would like the immerse myself in the culture as much as possible but that’s not easy to do when you live in outback Australia . So to try and make up for this I have decided to get into a few different movies and some good music. As far as movies go, I love a good war flick (must be some really good ones of the Russians during WWII) and am partial to the odd horror but really any movie with a good story line is up my alley. And as for music I enjoy rock music (Aria sounds pretty awesome, will be better when I can understand it) but listen to almost anything. So what recommendations do you have?
Cheers

Hi there
film (has nothing to do with war though)

music

Cheers
The return looks pretty awesome. Have you watched the Brest Fortress?
And I've actually downloaded some of Kinos music, will sound even better when I can understand it.

Originally Posted by youngun

Have you watched the Brest Fortress?

Yes. It was quite a hit in Russian theaters but i personally didn't like it that much. I'd recommend Soviet war movies rather than these modern Russian attempts to make a hollywood-style blockbuster.

The first two Soviet movies that I ever bought on DVD (because I liked them so much on grainy old VHS tapes!) were 1973's Иван Василевич Меняет Профессию ("Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Professions") and 1967's Вий ("Viy" -- the name of a demonic monster who shows up at the end of the movie).

I definitely recommend both of these to learners because the DVD versions available through Amazon have excellent-quality subtitling in both English and Russian, so you can watch it first with the English subs to familiarize yourself with the characters and plot, then again with Russian subs for read-along practice with the dialogue. (Finding Russian movies with Russian subtitles is, alas, not always easy, so any DVD that has this feature is worth seeking out!)

Plus, they're both fun movies -- a bit campy and dated, but in a good way. "Ivan Vasilyevich" is a time-travel comedy that's set partly in 1970s Moscow (i.e., the Brezhnev era) and partly in 16th-century Moscow, and "Viy" is a wicked-witch thriller set in (I think) 18th-century Ukraine. "Viy" is also somewhat famous as the first [and only?] "horror" movie produced under Soviet censorship. (Though it's FAR from scary -- I doubt any kid older than 10 would get nightmares from it -- especially when you consider the ketchup-spattered gore films that were beginning to come out in the US, UK, and Italy in that era.)

P.S. I'm not at home right now, but I think that both of the DVD versions that I recommend (i.e., the ones with the good subtitles, and also very good video/audio quality) are distributed by the "RUSCICO" label -- you might find these films through other companies because they're so old, but I can't vouch for other versions.

P.P.S. If you want a WWII movie, Летят Журавли ("The Cranes are Flying") is definitely one of the all-time classics. Unfortunately, I don't have that one on DVD yet so I can't recommend a specific version to look for.

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

I definitely recommend both of these to learners because the DVD versions available through Amazon have excellent-quality subtitling in both English and Russian, so you can watch it first with the English subs to familiarize yourself with the characters and plot, then again with Russian subs for read-along practice with the dialogue. (Finding Russian movies with Russian subtitles is, alas, not always easy, so any DVD that has this feature is worth seeking out!)

P.P.S. If you want a WWII movie, ("The Cranes are Flying") is definitely one of the all-time classics. Unfortunately, I don't have that one on DVD yet so I can't recommend a specific version to look for.

Agree with both your comments - I have used the same approach. The problem is that very few Russian films are available with good quality subtitles. The film Летят Журавли is excellent. I have always hated ww2 films, but the Russian ones often take the perspective of the regular person, the women or the children and for that reason they are more interesting, I think. I managed to watch three (Russian) war films beginning to end, quite voluntarily - a record for me.

Originally Posted by younggun

The return looks pretty awesome. Have you watched the Brest Fortress?

I tried to watch Brest Fortress by the way, but quickly got bored. I'll have another go again some time...!

Originally Posted by Hanna

Agree with both your comments - I have used the same approach. The problem is that very few Russian films are available with good quality subtitles. The film Летят Журавли is excellent. I have always hated ww2 films, but the Russian ones often take the perspective of the regular person, the women or the children and for that reason they are more interesting, I think. I managed to watch three (Russian) war films beginning to end, quite voluntarily - a record for me.



I tried to watch Brest Fortress by the way, but quickly got bored. I'll have another go again some time...!

Yeah, I thought it would be better than the usual American war movies where the big, tough, lone American soldier comes in to save the world. I will give the movies listed above a crack. Will be good to have some with good subtiltes to follow along with.

The problem is that very few Russian films are available with good quality subtitles.

I think in general, a lot of the Soviet-era movies that are regarded as "classics" are more likely to be available on DVD with Russian subtitles. (My DVD of Ирония Судьбы also has good subtitles in both English and Russian.)

But more recent movies may lack Russian subtitles, at least on the versions that are made for the export market -- even though some of these feature subtitling in multiple foreign languages. (Although from checking out websites for deaf Russians, I gather that even "domestic market" DVDs often lack Russian subtitling!)

For example, I enjoyed "Night Watch" and its sequel "Day Watch," but both of these had subtitles only in English, so from a language-learning perspective they're not as useful (sometimes the characters talk so fast or indistinctly that I can't clearly make out all the Russian words, or I understand a word but it's not totally clear to me what case a noun is used in, etc.)

Try this site for both English and Russian subtitles of Russian films (no idea why the hyperlink is displaying so strangely - it's a Russian site though)

Subtitles ｻ ﾑ??? - ??粽蕘 ???? ??琿瑟 瑙韲 | ?璞瑣 ??鳫

Throbert, I recommend Шерлок Холмс miniseries. The actor who played Sherlock considered one of the best Sherlock Holmes actors in the world and his picture displayed in London at Sherlock Holmes Museum - Vasily Livanov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Also UK Embassy in Moscow features him and another actor who played Dr. Watson - File:Holmes and Watson.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Youngun,

Welcome to MR! I must confess that you have selected my two most favorite topics to write about! I simply adore films and music. Since I joined MR, I have come to appreciate the Russian cinema and wish I had studied it when I was in film school. However, maybe it would not have had the same affect on me as it does now... who knows?

One of the most rewarding series that I watched was the 12 part 17 Moments of Spring and you can read about my thoughts and review of it here. In that LARGE thread, I also asked a number of questions about the series.

Now, don't get all worried if your Russian isn't that good. People on this forum know that I don't know ANY Russian and that I am really clueless about Russian history and culture. So the series was even more of a challenge for me and I just stuck with it and it was more than worth the effort! Here is a link to it on YouTube with English subtitles that can be turned off.

All that being said, if you like military and spy and intrigue, along with simply fantastic acting and cinematography, than you should make the effort to watch this series.

Another one which was a series (only 5 of them) that I also enjoyed was, The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed I believe I also posted questions in the large thread about the series as I was watching it. Here is a link to it on YouTube with English subtitles that can be turned off.

So, if you are into the war time films, but not the blood and guts, but more of the intellectual, great story line with actors who actually CAN act... these two are a must for you. If you start out and think, "oh no this is way over my head," don't panic. Give it a rest and come back to it. I stopped and stared 17 so many times I can not begin to tell you. But then I just decided one day that I was going to watch all the episodes. Some of them I had to rewatch to understand or ask questions on the forum to understand what I wasn't getting. And then when I finished, I was so pleased that I had accomplished it and also so glad that I had as these two series really are that good.

Originally Posted by youngun

This has probably been done to death but here we go. As I’m attempting to learn Russian I would like the immerse myself in the culture as much as possible but that’s not easy to do when you live in outback Australia . So to try and make up for this I have decided to get into a few different movies and some good music. As far as movies go, I love a good war flick (must be some really good ones of the Russians during WWII) and am partial to the odd horror but really any movie with a good story line is up my alley. And as for music I enjoy rock music (Aria sounds pretty awesome, will be better when I can understand it) but listen to almost anything. So what recommendations do you have?
Cheers

Wow, you live in outback Australia! Cool! My dad lives near Brisbane, but I am in Sweden at the moment. I am very fascinated by the Australian outback although I haven't actually been to Australia yet.

Well, we have several threads about Russian movies here, and there is plenty to choose from including what you are looking for (war movies). Most of them are b/w though, this is the drawback with Russian war movies - other than than that they are excellent.

Some good Russian war films are:

А зори здесь тихие (1972) The Dawns are quiet today
Брестская крепость (2010) Brest Fortress
17 мгновений весны (1973) 17 Moments of Spring
Иваново детство (1962) Ivan's Childhood
Летят журавли (1957) The Cranes are Flying
Кукушка (2006) Kukushka (means "cuckoo")

You can buy these films and have them shipped to you in Australia, in that case make sure to buy a version with subtitles! Alternatively you can download them from somewhere like rutracker.org and get the subtitles from subs.com.ru

Originally Posted by Hanna

You can buy these films and have them shipped to you in Australia, in that case make sure to buy a version with subtitles! Alternatively you can download them from somewhere like rutracker.org and get the subtitles from subs.com.ru

Aaaaand some of them can be easily found at Mosfilm's official Youtube channel . With subs.
For example Летят журавли / Cranes are Flying - YouTube .

Originally Posted by Hanna

Wow, you live in outback Australia! Cool! My dad lives near Brisbane, but I am in Sweden at the moment. I am very fascinated by the Australian outback although I haven't actually been to Australia yet.

I recomend to anyone who has never been to Australia to put it on their bucket list and it sounds like you have a really good excuse to do it.

I've saved the list and will have to get around to finding them. Im downloading 17 мгновений весны at the moment as it seems to be getting a pretty good rep.

Thanks again

Try Tarkovsky's Stalker with English subs: Сталкер 1 серия / Stalker film 1 - YouTube About war: try Klimov's Come and See (Come and See - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia), I didn't find version with subs These movies are not to entertain, you warned

Originally Posted by Shady_arc

Aaaaand some of them can be easily found at Mosfilm's official Youtube channel . With subs.
For example Летят журавли / Cranes are Flying - YouTube .

In most cases, it seems, with English subs only. Мосфильм, русским глухим и слабослышащим: "Fuck you, deafies!"

(Seriously, WTF? The technology is there and it's not expensive to do; and YouTube supports multiple subtitle-files in various languages for a single video. It's a matter of hiring a few native-Russian typists to transcribe the dialogue and add the time-codes to the subtitle file.)

Originally Posted by Throbert McGee

In most cases, it seems, with English subs only. Мосфильм, русским глухим и слабослышащим: "Fuck you, deafies!"

(Seriously, WTF? The technology is there and it's not expensive to do; and YouTube supports multiple subtitle-files in various languages for a single video. It's a matter of hiring a few native-Russian typists to transcribe the dialogue and add the time-codes to the subtitle file.)

Роберт, а ну-ка напиши Денисе. Всякая помощь инвалидам - это то, чем она занимается. Я думаю, что её будет легко вдохновить на продвижение такого начинания. У неё большие связи и возможности.

http://samara-desnica.ru/tag/perspektiva/

С сайта: http://perspektiva-inva.ru/ -"Начата подготовка к Шестому Международному
кинофестивалю о жизни людей с инвалидностью «Кино без барьеров», который пройдет
в Москве 22-25 ноября 2012 года"
"...Фильмы не на русском языке принимаются с английскими субтитрами и монтажными
листами. Наличие русских субтитров и монтажных листов желательно для всех
видеоматериалов, вне зависимости от языка-оригинала, поскольку фестивальные
фильмы будут субтитрироваться для неслышащих и слабослышащих людей. ..."



И, между прочим, появился новый закон о правах инвалидов:

"Радостная новость: 25 апреля (2012) Государственная Дума Российской Федерации ратифицировала Конвенцию о правах инвалидов. Конвенция направлена на защиту и поощрение реализации прав людей с инвалидностью и обеспечение полного и равного участия инвалидов в жизни общества (текст Конвенции).

«Это долгожданный момент, – говорит Денис Роза, директор РООИ «Перспектива» и Фонда «Лучшие друзья». – Это важный шаг для реализации прав людей с инвалидностью и членов их семей, которых в России более 30 миллионов. Ратификация гарантирует эти права, даже если они не фигурируют сегодня в российском законодательстве. Конвенция имеет приоритет. Ратификация как стержень, как видение, куда мы будем развиваться в будущем: и в инклюзивном образовании, и в интегрированном трудоустройстве, и в информировании общества о людях с инвалидностью, и в доступе к досугу, и практически ко всему...

... Ратификация Конвенции потребует безотлагательного перехода всех органов власти к активным действиям по комплексной интеграции инвалидов в общество, а также выявлению и пресечению дискриминации в отношении этой категории граждан. ..."

http://solnechnymir.ru/index.php?opt...09-50&Itemid=2