Lyudmila Savelyeva Movies

In this intriguing drama, the disenfranchised residents of a small town in Kazakistan in 1946 form the social backdrop for a young boy's awakening to poverty and reality. Vania's father is an artist who came back from World War II with a brain injury and only one arm, both of which take their toll. A woman whom his father loves cannot adjust to a life without her husband (who left her) and succumbs to the effects of depression. Meanwhile, the townspeople have one source of enjoyment: they capture and sell pigeons in a kind of competitive one-upmanship. When Vania finds a white dove, he is especially excited; he has just beat out everyone else with this unusual specimen. But the dove is stolen and the consequences lead to some new lessons for a young boy who is already beset with problems. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Based on a novel by Mayne Reid, (a 19th-century writer whose works were much read in the Eastern Bloc) this very popular (in the USSR) western was filmed in Cuba by a Soviet crew and includes many Cubans in the cast. Morris Gerrold (Oleg Vidov) is a poor Irish cowboy who falls in love with Louise (Ludmila Savelyeva), a girl from a rich Texas family. Not only does the family oppose this relationship, but Morris gets into trouble when he sees something which will identify a reputable local citizen as the leader of a notorious gang. After Louise's brother disappears, people begin seeing a headless horseman, much to their terror. The horseman is in fact the missing brother, killed in a way which will incriminate the Irish cowboy. Accused of the murder, Morris is almost hanged by an angry crowd. He does not take these challenges lying down but seeks out and has a showdown with the gang. Ludmila Savelyeva, who plays the love interest in this film, was partly responsible for the popularity of the film. She established her popularity with Soviet audiences shortly before, in a version of War and Peace. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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

Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk's epic version of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace (Voyna i Mir) was the most expensive European film ever made for many years. It certainly had one of the longest gestation periods, with Bondarchuk spending seven years filming the project (the actors noticeably age from scene to scene). In relating Tolstoy's complex tale of Napoleon's invasion of Russia, Bondarchuk helmed some of the most graphic battle scenes ever seen, one of which runs nearly 45 minutes. So many horses were killed in these sequences that the film was loudly boycotted in some American cities by the ASPCA. While Bondarchuk is slavish to the source material, he does make a few Hollywood-like concessions to popular appeal; his leading lady Lyudmila Savelyeva looks exactly like Audrey Hepburn, the star of King Vidor's 1956 filmization of the Tolstoy novel. Originally clocking in at 507 minutes, War and Peace was pared down to 373 minutes for American consumption. It became a surprise theatrical hit, and a ratings bonanza when it was telecast on the ABC network in four parts from August 12 through 15, 1972. A big film, to be sure -- but few modern critics consider Bondarchuk's War and Peace a great film, citing its many deadly dull passages and its sappy, operatic finale. The dubbed American version is narrated by Norman Rose. The full Russian-language version with English subtitles is now available on video. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi