Alexei Batalov Movies
During the 1960s, Alexei Batalov was one of the Soviet Union's most popular actors whose honest, guileless face and sweet smile helped make him the ideal contemporary Soviet man. A nephew of distinguished actor Nikolai Batalov, Alexei Batalov received formal training from the so-called Studio School at the Moscow Art Theater School and from 1950 to 1953 he performed with the Soviet Army Theater. He next joined the Moscow Art Theater and remained there through 1957. Batalov made his feature film debut in Josef Heifitz's The Big Family (1954). The young actor went on to appear in several more Heifitz films. In 1957, Batalov starred in the first Soviet film to win the Palm d'Or at Cannes, Letyat zhuravli (Cranes Are Flying). In 1966, Batalov's work in Devyat Dnyey Odnogo Goda (Nine Days of One Year) earned him a special State prize. In addition to working as an actor in such well-regarded efforts as Dama S Sobachkoy (Lady With a Dog). Batalov made his directorial debut in The Overcoat (1960) and went on to direct two more films: Three Fat Men (which he co-directed in 1966) and an adaptation of Dostoyevsky's The Gambler (1973). In 1976, Batalov was accorded one of the Soviet Union's highest honors when he was named a People's Artist of the U.S.S.R. The same year, he was appointed the head of Moscow's State Film Institute's Actors Studio until 1980 when he stepped down to become a professor there. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 2006
The career of revered Russian filmmaker Mikhail Kalatozov is explored in this documentary film comprised of rare behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with French director Claude Lelouch, and conversations with some of the biggest names in contemporary Russian cinema. Kalatozov's grandson Mikhail Kalatozishvili pays tribute to the director of such timeless classics as I Am Cuba, Salt for Svanetia, and The Cranes are Flying as such notable fans as Andrei Konchalovsky, Sergei Solovyov, and Alexei Batalov discuss the remarkable influence Kalatozov had on their own film careers. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 1991
The internationally renowned Soviet poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko was among the many who attended the March 1953 funeral of Joseph Stalin, the justly feared head of state. The celebrated American novelist John Steinbeck read about the macabre scene Yevtushenko described in his autobiography and suggested that he make a film of it. Many decades later, the poet directed and wrote this movie. After Stalin's death, his body was displayed for a few days in the Palace of the Unions, and citizens were required to pay their respects to the dead leader. Thousands of people flooded the streets around the palace waiting for their turn. At one point, when the gathering was especially crowded, a stampede broke out which resulted in many people being trampled or killed. Some commentators believe that this was a secret action planned by the KGB (or whatever it was called back then) in order to heighten the sense of fear and awe among ordinary people, a sort of human sacrifice similar to those practiced by pagans in ancient times. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Denis Konstantinov, Yevgeny Platokhin, (more)
- 1979
- Add Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears to Queue Add Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears to top of Queue
Moscow of the late '50s is the initial setting for this movie of three young girls out for love -- the upwardly mobile Lyuda (Irina Muravyova), the secure Tonya (Raisa Ryazanova) and the head-over-heels Katya (Vera Alentova). The film re-engages the trio 20 years later, focusing on their varied life changes. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears received the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1980. ~ John Bush, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vera Alentova, Irina Muravyeva, (more)
- 1972
This lavish Soviet/Czech co-production is based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's famous novel, The Gambler, which tells the story of a Russian living in Germany, in a gambling resort. This film is set at the turn of the century, and was filmed in Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czechoslovakia. Played by Nikolai Burlyayev, the gambler succumbs completely to his addiction, using up every resource he has (human, spiritual and financial) in his wagering, finally becoming a rootless drifter. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nikolai Burlyayev, Tatyana Ivanova, (more)
- 1971
The English title is a translation of the Russian word "Beg," which means run, flight or escape. This lavish USSR epic film examines the lives of a number of White Russians. "White" Russians, in contrast to "Red" Russians, were active opponents of the Bolshevik Revolution and included among their number many notable intellectuals and aristocrats. Indeed, from 1917 until well into the 1920's there was an active counterrevolution in parts of what became the USSR. After the film's White Russians fled the revolution, it details the humiliations they endured in Paris and Turkey, and the experience of those who returned to Soviet Russia. This film is notable in that it tells the story of their difficulties in a remarkably sympathetic fashion. Directors Alov and Naumov were given wide latitude by Soviet authorities, and made other notable (and internationally acclaimed) epic films such as The Legend of Til Eulenspiegel, and Teheran '43. Among the highlights of this film are performances by Mikhail Ulyanov as General Tchernota and Vladislav Dvorzhelsky as Khludov. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lyudmila Savelyeva, Alexei Batalov, (more)
- 1968
The Living Corpse and Redemption were both English-language titles for the Russo-German production Der lebende Leichnam. Based on the play by Leo Tolstoy, the film stars director V. I. Pudovkin in the role immortalized on the Broadway stage by John Barrymore and later played in the Hollywood version of Redemption by John Gilbert. Mistaken for dead, Pudovkin returns to discover that his wife has married his best friend. Unwilling to mar their happiness, the protagonist commits suicide, but not before standing trial for his own murder. Curiously, the review for Variety hailed director Feodor Ozep as a 22-year-old "boy wonder," even though Ozep was well into his thirties at the time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alexei Batalov, Alla Demidova, (more)
- 1967
Yevegeny Adamov (Andrei Popov) is a former general in the Czar's Army who is now a history professor at a military academy. He is arrested after the revolution along with many others and is accused of treason. Adamov is amazed when he is found innocent. He has no place to go as his property is seized and divided into apartments, but his intellectual friends refuse to help him in fear of reprisals. Adamov's trials and tribulations finally make him decide he should go to work for the new power. He is soon sent on a mission after years of teaching in this political drama. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Andrei Popov, Alexandr Anisimov, (more)
- 1963
Alexandre (Alexei Batalov) is a young doctor who meets Shoura (Tamara Semina) on a trolly car. The two begin to talk and harmlessly flirt with each other. Shoura's husband (Valentin Zoubkov) is a geologist who decides to stay home with her instead of traveling to his next project. When the husband loses his job, Shoura decides to move to the country and follow in her father's footsteps as a teacher. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tamara Semina, Alexei Batalov, (more)
- 1962
In this drama, a Soviet nuclear physicist and his professor are working in Siberia on a project when an accident leaves them exposed to incredible amounts of radiation. The professor dies, and the physicist is told that any more radiation will kill him. Still he persists on continuing the work. He becomes so obsessed with his work that he ignores his lover who is tempted by his friend. He does finally wake up and marry her. Meanwhile, the good friend teams up with him. Again an accident occurs and the determined physicist is exposed, but this time he swears his friend to secrecy until the experiment is over. Now he spends less and less time with his loving wife and she wonders what she has done wrong. It is nothing; he has gone to Moscow for a life-saving bone marrow transplant. The day before the operation, the friend bursts in with great news: the experiment was successful! Adding to the happy moment is his wife who anxiously awaits outside the operating room. Soon they receive a note from him that promises a great celebration. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alexei Batalov, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, (more)
- 1959
Adapted from a story by Nikolai Gogol, Rolan Bykov plays Akakiy Akakiyevich, a civil servant whose purchase of a new overcoat results in a more active social calendar. On the way home from a party, his coat is stolen, and Akakiy dies of hypothermia; shortly thereafter, his ghost returns to Earth to steal the coats of St. Petersburg's most influential citizens. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Rolan Bykov, Yuri Tolubeyev, (more)
The lady of the title is beautiful Anna (Iya Savvina), who is vacationing in turn-of-the-century Yalta. Each day, Anna walks her dog...and each day, she is worshipped from afar by Moscow banker Dmitri (Alexsei Batalov). Despite the fact that both are married, Anna and Dmitri embark upon an affair. The summer romance ends, but the memory lingers. When the lovers are reunited in Moscow, both realize that to make their ardor a matter of public record would be a major mistake. Their exquisite summer affair coarsens into a series of furtive clandestine meetings. Based on a story by Anton Chekhov, Lady with the Dog was originally released in the USSR as Dama S Sobachoy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Alexei Batalov, Iya Savvina, (more)
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