20 Russian Movies Everyone Should See,

by Russian Film Week (UK)

1. «Battleship Potemkin» (1925), dir. Sergei Eisenstein

IMDB: 8.0
Named the greatest film of all time at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958.
In 2012, the British Film Institute named it the eleventh-greatest film of all time.
The European Film Academy awarded the Potemkin Stairs in Odessa the title
“Treasures of European Film Culture” – 2015.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015648/

2. «Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future» (1973), dir. Nikolai Gaidai

IMDB: 8.4
In the United States, the film sold under the title “Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future”.
The film based on the play “Ivan Vasilievich” by Mikhail Bulgakov and was one of the
most attended movies in the Soviet Union in 1973 with more than 60 million tickets
sold.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070233/

3. «Moscow Does Not Believe In Tears» (1979), dir. Vladimir Menshov

IMDB: 8.2
Oscar Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film – 1981.
USSR State Award for Best Domestic Film – 1981.
Nominated for the Golden Bear at the 30th Berlin International Film Festival – 1980.
Vera Alentova was named as the Best Soviet Actress according to a poll by magazine
Soviet Screen – 1980.
Participated in the International Film Exchange.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan watched the film several times before his meetings with
Mikhail Gorbachev, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,
in order to gain a better understanding of the "Russian soul".
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079579/?ref_=nv_sr_2

4. «The Return» (2003), dir. Andrey Zvyagintsev

IMDB: 8.0
International BBC Four World Cinema Award – 2005.
European Film Award for European Discovery of the Year (Fassbinder Award).
Palm Springs International Film Festival Award for Best Foreign Film.
 5 awards from Venice Film Festival: Golden Lion, Premio Luigi De Laurentiis, Best First
Film Award etc. - 2003.
Russian Guild of Film Critics Award for Best Film, Best Director of Photography
(Mikhail Krichman), Best Debut – 2003.
Nika Award for Best Film and Best Director of Photography (Mikhail Krichman) – 2003.
Golden Eagle Award for Best Film, Best Director of Photography (Mikhail Krichman),
Best Sound (Andrei Khudyakov) – 2003.
Nominated for Golden Globe Award in category Best Foreign Language Film Russia.
Ranked the 80th-greatest film of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC critics' poll.
The film has a 95% rating based on 86 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0376968/

5. «Dawns Here Are Quiet» (1972), dir. Stanislav Rostotskiy

IMDB: 8.3
Nominated for Oscar for “Best Foreign Language Film”.
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film – 1972.
The film deals with antiwar themes and focuses on a garrison of Russian female
soldiers in World War II. The film was set in Karelia (near Finland) and filmed near
Ruskeala.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068161/

6. «Andrei Rublev» (1966), dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

IMDB: 8.2
International Film Critics Award, FIPRESCI – Cannes Film Festival 1969.
Critics Award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics – 1971.
Jussi Award for the Best Foreign Film – 1973.
Ranked No. 87 in Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films of World Cinema" – 2010.
Honored the title of "Greatest Films of All Time" as voted by critics from The Guardian
and The Observer when it came equal second in a U.K. newspaper series – 2010.
Placed No. 87 position in "Essential 100" list of films at Toronto International Film
Festival – 2010.
Due to pressure by Soviet officials, the film could be shown only out of competition,
and thus was not eligible for the Palme d'Or or the Grand Prix.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060107/

7. «Brother» (1997), dir. Aleksei Balabanov

IMDB: 8.0
The Grand Prize and Best Actor (Sergey Bodrov) Award at Kinotavr Film Festival –
1997.
Nominated for Nika Award for Best Film – 1998.
The character of Danila considered by many in Russia to be a symbol of the early post-
Soviet period. It was screening in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes
Film Festival. After its release on VHS in June 1997, “Brother” unexpectedly became
one of the most commercially successful Russian films of the 1990s and quickly rose to
Cult Film status throughout Russia. Due to the film's popularity and fan demand, a
sequel, “Brother 2”, released in 2000.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118767
8. «12» (2007), dir. Nikita Mikhalkov
IMDB: 7.7
Nominated for Oscar 2008 for Best Foreign Language Film
Special Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival – 2007
Audience Award in Karlovy Vary – 2008
Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film – 2008.
16 Golden Eagle Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Music etc.
Nika Award for Best Actor and Best Music – 2008.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0488478

9. «White Bim Black Ear» (1976), dir. Svyatoslav Rostotsky

IMDB: 8.4
Nominated for Oscar 1979 for Best Foreign Language Film
Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary – 1978
Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy
Awards.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077222

10. «Solaris» (1972), dir. Andrei Tarkovsky

IMDB: 8.1
Grand Prix Spécial du Jury and the FIPRESCI Award at Cannes Film Festival – 1972
Nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes Film Festival – 2009.
The film is often cited as one of the greatest science fiction films in the history of
cinema.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069293

11. «A Driver for Vera» (2004), dir. Pavel Chukhrai

IMDB: 7.2
Nominated for Crystal Globe in Karlovy Vary – 2005
Golden Eagle 2005 for Best Actress (Alena Babenko) and Best Supporting Actor
(Bogdan Stupka)
Nika Award 2005 for Discovery of the Year (Alena Babenko), Best Sound (Eduard
Artemyev), Best Production Designer (Olga Kravchenya).
Golden Rose and Best Scenario Award at Kinotavr Film Festival – 2004.
Best Film at Sochi Film Festival.
The film's two-country origin resulted in the film was rejected as Ukraine's entry for the
Academy Awards in Best Foreign Film category for 2005, due to a rule which states,
"the submitting country must certify that creative talent of that country exercised artistic
control of the film."
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416292

12. «Green Theater in Zemfira» (2008), dir. Renata Litvinova

IMDB: 7.9
The first in the history of domestic film distribution full-length musical movie based on
the video material of one concert.
Nominated for Golden Eagle for Best Non-Feature Film - 2009
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1224379
13. «The Island» (2006), dir. Pavel Lungin

IMDB: 8.0
15 prizes and 13 nominations.
Official selection of the Venice Film Festival, Karlovy Vary, Sundance Film Festival and
other festivals.
Best Film at the Moscow Premiere festival – 2006.
Six awards at the fifth national Golden Eagle Awards - Best Film, Best Supporting
Actor (Viktor Suhorukov), Best Actor (Petr Mamonov), Best Director (Pavel Lungin),
Best Scenario (Dmitry Sobolev), Best Operator Work (Andrei Zhegalov) – 2007.
Six Nika Awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, etc –
2007.
Best Domestic Film at Russian National Movie Awards “Georges” – 2007.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0851577

14. «Operation Y and Shurik's Other Adventures» (1965), dir. Nikolai Gaidai
IMDB: 8.6
Was a hit movie and became the leader of Soviet film distribution in 1965 having 69.6
million viewers. The novel Déjà vu, based on a story from a Polish magazine won the
Grand Prix Wawel Silver Dragon at the Kraków Film Festival in Poland in 1965. The
film became a fountain of quotes for Soviet/Russian people. In spring 2012 a
monument to Lida and Shurik reading the class notes over her shoulder was installed
in front of the Kuban State Technological University, Krasnodar.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059550/

15. «The Cranes Are Flying» (1957), dir. Mikhail Kalatozov

IMDB: 8.3
Gold Palm Branch and Special Mention Award at the Cannes Film Festival – 1958.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050634/

16. «Country of the Deaf» (1998), dir. Valery Todorovsky

IMDB: 7.6
Nominated for Golden Bear at Berlin Film Festival – 1998
4 National Awards of Film Critics and Film Press for Best Film, Best Female Actor
(Dina Korzun), Best Supporting Actor (Maxim Sukhanov) and Best Music (Alexey Aygi)
– 1998.
Geneva International Film Festival Award for Best Female Actor (Dina Korzun).
Nika Award for Best Female Actor (Dina Korzun), Best Supporting Actor (Maxim
Sukhanov) and Best Sound Design (Gleb Kravetsky) – 1999.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143907

17. «Fate of a Man» (1959), dir. Sergei Bondarchuk

IMDB: 8.1
The Grand Prize at the 1st Moscow International Film Festival – 1959.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053317/
18. «Mermaid» (2007), dir. Anna Melikyan

IMDB: 7.3
FIPRESCI Award at Berlin International Film Festival – 2008
World Cinema Directing Drama Award at Sundance Film Festival – 2008
Independent Camera Award in Karlovy Vary – 2008
Golden Eagle Award for Best Screenplay and Best Actress (Mariya Shalaeva) – 2008
Nika Award for Best Female Actress (Mariya Shalaeva) – 2008
Kinotavr Award for Best Actress (Mariya Shalaeva) – 2007
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0995747

19. «Triumph Over Violence» (1965), dir. Michael Romm

IMDB: 8.3
Documentary from the master of Russian cinematography.
Golden Dove Award and Film Critics Award at the VIII International Documentary
Festival in Leipzig.
Selected as Russia's official submission to Foreign Language Film category for the
2009 Academy Awards.
The film is also known as “Echo of the Jackboot” in the United Kingdom and “Triumph
Over Violence” in the United States.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059529/

20. «Battle for Sevastopol» (2015), dir. Sergey Mokritskiy

IMDB: 7.2
Based on a true story. Love under the enemy's never-ending fire, friendship with
Eleanor Roosevelt, presentation at the conference that influenced the outcome of
World War II, desire to live and fear to lose a loved one – can a fragile woman deal
with all of these?
7 awards and 21 nominations
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Yulia Peresild).
Golden Eagle Award for Best Actress (Yulia Peresild) and Best Director of
Photography – 2016.
Russian National Movie Award “Georges” for Best Russian Action – 2016.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4084744

Tips: Watch soviet movies free from online cinema “Mosfilm”:

http://cinema.mosfilm.ru/films/comp/Polnometrazhnye/films-with-english-subs/

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Russian Film Week 2018 will be held in the UK, 25 Nov – 2 Dec 2018.
www.russianfilmweek.org