Lyubov Malinovskaya Movies
- 1962
A boy from Leningrad has his world turned upside down by his parent's separation and World War II. He leaves town amidst the fighting and returns to find a friend in his step-brother. The war is seen through the eyes of children and told in flashback form. The film was a special prize winner at the Venice Film Festival. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Tokarev, Nina Urgant, (more)
- 1966
Katerina Izmailova is a filmization of Dmitry Shostakovich's long-suppressed 1936 opera. Galina Vishnevskaya stars as Katerina, a bored 19th century farm wife. At the behest of her grungy lover, Katerina murders her husband and her father-in-law. She and her new beau are both sent to Siberia, where the lover almost immediately takes up with a younger woman. Banned by Stalin for its bleak portrait of Soviet life, Katerina Izmailova was not given a Russian staging for over 40 years; its Metropolitan Opera debut did not occur until 1994. Dmitri Shostakovich also wrote the screenplay for the screen version of Katerina Izmailova. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Galina Vishnevskaya, Artem Inozemtsev, (more)
- 1969
A Russian peasant girl barely survives on the occasional work she gets as an artist. She falls in love with a soldier, but he leaves her when the revolution starts. Finding work with supporters of the Red Army, she is arrested by soldiers in the White Army. When they fail to get her to renounce the communist propaganda on the signs she has created, she is sentenced to death. Irina Tchourikova plays the heroine who is willing to die for her beliefs. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Inna Churikova, Anatoli Solonitsin, (more)
This fanciful film from director Pavel Kadochnikov, adapted from the play The Snow Queen by Russian writer A.N. Ostrovsky (which also became an opera by Rimsky-Korsakov), weaves the classic tale of The Snow Maiden (Yevghenia Filonova), who asks permission of her parents -- Father Frost and Spring -- to live among the mortals so she may experience the joys of love. They grant her request, and she goes to live with the villagers. She then falls for Lel. Vladislav Kladnitsky wrote the score for this motion picture. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yevgenya Filonova, Yevgeny Zharikov, (more)
A young and carefree Cossack competing with a neighborhood rival for the love of a beautiful girl is forced to grow up faster than expected when World War I breaks out in this romantic Russian war drama from director Viktor Tregubovich. Roman is a reckless adolescent living in the Baikal region in the waning days of the October Revolution. Thus far, Roman's biggest concern in life was whether he or his neighbor would win the love of ethereal village beauty Dashutka. When news of the war breaks out and Roman is forced to choose a side on which to fight, he soon finds out just how big of a place the world truly is. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arkadiy Trusov, Petr Shelokhonov, (more)
- 1973
The Russian-language title of this film based on Chekhov's short-story The Duel, translates as "The Bad Good Man." This film is treasured by Russian audiences because it contains one of the very few screen appearances of the beloved star Vladimir Vysotsky (he plays Von Koren). Boasting a fine cast, including Oleg Dal as Ivan Andreevich Laevsky and Anatoli Papanov as Samoilenko, the film concerns two intellectuals: Layevsky, a high-minded individual, full of love and ideals, who is all talk and no action; and Von Koren, a driven, ambitious zoologist who espouses a grim creed of Darwinian eugenics. Their encounters rob them of faith in their creeds, which were shallow enough to begin with. The director, Joseph Heifitz, is probably best known for his film The Lady With the Little Dog. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oleg Dal, Vladimir Vysotsky, (more)
