Yuri Solomin Movies
- 1966
The formative years of Bolshevist leader Vladimir Ulyanov (aka Lenin) provides the basis of this Russian biopic that begins in a provincial town in the late 19th-century where a widow contends with her six socially-conscious and politically active children. Her husband had also been a staunch supporter of peasant rights. Her eldest daughter and son are studying in the university and trouble ensues when they are arrested for conspiring to murder the czar. Because the son refuses to deny his desire to kill the czar, he is executed. The daughter is then exiled and the widow moves her family to remain close to her. The youngest boy, Vladimir, was terribly impressed by his older brother's heroism and vows to follow his footsteps. He becomes a lawyer and sets up a practice near his mother, but in his heart, Vladimir wants to be in the thick of things in Moscow. The mother gives in and sends the rest of the children to the great city. She and Lenin then take off on a crusade across the entire country. The film was followed by the sequel, Vernost Materi/A Mother's Devotion in 1967. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yelena Fadeyeva, Daniil Sagal, (more)
- 1966
This biographical drama is the sentimental sequel to A Mother's Heart. Elena Fadeyeva plays the beloved mother of Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin (Rodion Nakhapetov). She raises six children after the death of her husband, sacrificing her own needs for those of her offspring. The story takes place between 1900 and 1917, stopping just before the October revolution led by the heroic Lenin, and is one of literally hundreds of Soviet films about Lenin -- with an emphasis on the devotion of his sainted mother being the main theme. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nina Menshikova, Rodion Nakhapetov, (more)
The true story of a tragic 1928 arctic expedition provides the basis for this adventure drama that was a joint Italian and Russian co-production. Peter Finch stars as General Umberto Nobile, who is visited in Rome by the ghosts of those whose lives were taken in his ill-fated mission forty years earlier. In flashback, Nobile recalls the attempt to cross the North Pole by flying dirigible, the Italia. When the airship crashes, Nobile and his crew are scattered across the ice, left to struggle against the freezing cold elements and local polar bears, among other hazards. In an effort to save the expedition, the great explorer Roald Amundsen (Sean Connery), the first man to reach the South Pole, is dispatched to rescue Nobile. When Amundsen disappears (never to be heard from again), an icebreaker is launched to bring national hero Nobile home, but at the expense of his crewmates. Although The Red Tent (1971) was considered a costly box office failure, the film did win a Golden Globe for Best English Language Foreign Film. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sean Connery, Claudia Cardinale, (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)
A few months after his notorious suicide attempt, Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa was regenerated by the notion of helming the first Russian/Japanese co-production. Co-scripted and directed by Kurosawa, Dersu Uzala is the story of an elderly guide and Goldi hunter (Maxim Munzuk), who, at the turn of the century, agrees to shepherd a Russian explorer (Yuri Solomin) and a troop of soldiers through the most treacherous passages of the Far East. The guide has been "one" with the land almost from birth, and is thus able to save his party from perishing. Four years in the making, Dersu Uzala won the 1976 Best Foreign Film Oscar and restored the flagging Akira Kurosawa to the top ranks of the Japanese film industry. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maxim Munzuk, Yuri Solomin, (more)
- 1978
Adapted from a fairy tale by Yevgeny Shvarts, this story is about a magician (Oleg Yankovsky) who is concerned because his wife (Irina Kupchenko) has become rather bored -- and he decides to do something about it. He goes out and finds a bear, and with some "abracadabra," he changes the bear into a handsome young man (Alexander Abdulov). Then he says to his wife that "It has been foretold that a bear (in the guise of a handsome young man) will meet a princess and fall in love with her -- but as soon as they have their first kiss, it will change him permanently back into his bear form." After which he tells her that the king (Yevgeny Leonov), his daughter the princess (Yevgeniya Simonova), and their court will come to the magician's house and meet the young-man-cum "bear." Sure enough, the entire troupe shows up, and the princess falls in love with the man/bear -- who knows the truth about the effect of only one kiss with the princess. Desperate to save her feelings, he leaves rather than kiss her. The princess is disheartened at his behavior and leaves too -- but the pair is destined to meet again in spite of the machinations of the Prime Minister (Andrei Mironov) who wants to marry the princess himself. Now the magician needs a real miracle to bring everything to a desired happy ending. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Oleg Yankovsky, Irina Kupchenko, (more)
