Inna Makarova Movies

This Russian adaptation of Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment packs nearly every pivotal event from the mammoth novel into its 200 minute running time. Georgi Taratorkin stars as Raskolnikov, the impressionable student who believes himself to be above the law-and commits murder to prove his theory. Innokenti Smoktunovskiy, best known for his brilliant interpretation of the title character in the Russian Hamlet (1964), costars as police inspector Porfiry, who humbly but diligently wears down Raskolnikov's alibi. Most cinemadaptations of Crime and Punishment end with the protagonist's arrest; this one retains Dostoyevsky's lengthy post-prison epilogue, in which Raskolnikov learns at long last how to be a human being. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Shy clerk Vitsin concocts daydreams about becoming a general, a czar or a great lover and meeting a beautiful woman in this comedy. When he does finally marry a large, old, rich woman he realizes his dreams may never come true. ~ Rovi

With a lively star performance by Nadezhda Rumiantseva as an attractive and independent-minded cook in a logging company, this Russian comedy about love and its foibles is on stronger footing. Locked in by miles of forest and snow, the lumberjacks naturally focus on the pretty cook as a point of interest. Among them is the local lothario who makes a bet with the others that she will give in to his irresistible charms. Once the bet is on, the cook shows she has her own ideas of how a romance should be conducted. Aside from this main story are sub-plots about two unhappy women who manage to resolve the issues that are keeping them down. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The Russian Ebicot (High Up) is based on a novel by E. Vorobiev. As was typical with Soviet films of the era, there is no individual hero or heroine: collectivism is the order of the day. The plot involves the construction of a huge blast furnace that will supply thousands of jobs in a depressed community. As the local citizenry pulls together to assemble the furnace in record time, several romances develop. As a contrast, one of the workers is derelict in his duty, suffering mightily as a result. Ebicot was Russia's entry in the Karlovy Vary Film Festival of 1957. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi