Contemporary Films, feature film library and documentary archive

ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938, Black-and-white)
Director: Sergei Eisenstein
Eisenstein's patriotic epic about the 13th century legendary hero was designed to instill into the Soviet people a sense of their own history so that they would be better prepared for the inevitable struggle against fascism.

BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925, Black-and-white)
Director: Sergei Eisenstein
A revolutionary film about revolution. Sergei Eisenstein recreates the historical events which took place in the town of Odessa in 1905 - the mutiny on board the Potemkin.

THE BATTLE FOR RUSSIA (1946, Black-and-white)
A Russian-made film describing the Nazi invasion of Europe and its assault on the USSR.

BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE STARS (1957, Colour)
An often unintentionally hilarious tribute to Russian space exploration, but it does provide some stunning visuals.

FALL OF THE ROMANOFFS (1927, Black-and-white)
Director: Esfir Shub
This montage of historical documentary film has been reconstructed chronologically from cine-material and stills of the 1913-1917 period to show the events which led up to the abdication of the Russian Tsar in 1917.

KING LEAR (1971, Black-and-white)
Director: Grigori Kozintsev
Kozintsev's King Lear is a total re-interpretation of the great tragedy by Shakespeare; seen not as an individual or private tragedy, but rather in the larger and social context - a search for contemporary motives.

THE MAXIM GORKY TRILOGY (1938-40, Black-and-white)
Mark Donskoi's astonishing three films ( The Childhood of Maxim Gorky, My Apprenticeships and My Universities) based on Maxim gorky's autobiographies.

PICTURES OF LENIN (Black-and-white)
Covering the years1918-22, this film contains much rare footage, including intimate scenes of Lenin at home.

OCTOBER (1927, Black-and-white)
Director: Sergei Eisenstein
A reconstruction by Eisenstein of the Russian revolution. The largely non-professional cast make the film almost a newsreel of the actual events of 1917.

STRIKE (1924, Black-and-white)
Director: Sergei Eisenstein
The new urban working class which grew up in the shadow of Russia's industrial revolution towards the end of the 19th century discovered its most potent weapon in the strike. Eisenstein's avant-garde film captures the period with incredible intensity.

OTHER MATERIAL
We have a large collection of Russian material covering the first half of the 20th century. Please e-mail us for more details.

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		Soviet Union and the Russian Revolution Alexander Nevsky \| Battleship Potemkin \| The Battle for Russia \| Blazing a Trail to the Stars \|Fall of the Romanoffs \| King Lear \|The Maxim Gorky Trilogy \| Pictures of Lenin \| October \| Strike! \| OTHER MATERIAL ALEXANDER NEVSKY (1938, Black-and-white) Director: Sergei Eisenstein Eisenstein's patriotic epic about the 13th century legendary hero was designed to instill into the Soviet people a sense of their own history so that they would be better prepared for the inevitable struggle against fascism. BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (1925, Black-and-white) Director: Sergei Eisenstein A revolutionary film about revolution. Sergei Eisenstein recreates the historical events which took place in the town of Odessa in 1905 - the mutiny on board the Potemkin. THE BATTLE FOR RUSSIA (1946, Black-and-white) A Russian-made film describing the Nazi invasion of Europe and its assault on the USSR. BLAZING A TRAIL TO THE STARS (1957, Colour) An often unintentionally hilarious tribute to Russian space exploration, but it does provide some stunning visuals. FALL OF THE ROMANOFFS (1927, Black-and-white) Director: Esfir Shub This montage of historical documentary film has been reconstructed chronologically from cine-material and stills of the 1913-1917 period to show the events which led up to the abdication of the Russian Tsar in 1917. KING LEAR (1971, Black-and-white) Director: Grigori Kozintsev Kozintsev's King Lear is a total re-interpretation of the great tragedy by Shakespeare; seen not as an individual or private tragedy, but rather in the larger and social context - a search for contemporary motives. THE MAXIM GORKY TRILOGY (1938-40, Black-and-white) Mark Donskoi's astonishing three films ( The Childhood of Maxim Gorky, My Apprenticeships and My Universities) based on Maxim gorky's autobiographies. PICTURES OF LENIN (Black-and-white) Covering the years1918-22, this film contains much rare footage, including intimate scenes of Lenin at home. OCTOBER (1927, Black-and-white) Director: Sergei Eisenstein A reconstruction by Eisenstein of the Russian revolution. The largely non-professional cast make the film almost a newsreel of the actual events of 1917. STRIKE (1924, Black-and-white) Director: Sergei Eisenstein The new urban working class which grew up in the shadow of Russia's industrial revolution towards the end of the 19th century discovered its most potent weapon in the strike. Eisenstein's avant-garde film captures the period with incredible intensity. OTHER MATERIAL We have a large collection of Russian material covering the first half of the 20th century. Please e-mail us for more details. return to top of page

Alexander Nevsky Alexander Nevsky Battleship Potemkin Battleship Potemkin October Strike Strike