6 Russian films that were awarded the "Oscar"

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

In 2019, the Oscar is celebrating its 90th anniversary. It was established in 1929 and to this day it is awarded to cinematographers. During the entire existence of the film award, domestic films have been nominated more than once for its receipt, but only 6 domestic films were awarded a gold statuette. Moreover, each of the "Oscar-winning" films can be called a real masterpiece of cinema.

The defeat of the German troops near Moscow

For the first time, a Soviet documentary film, which was shot at the initiative of Joseph Stalin, received the prestigious prize. In November 1941, the head of the Soviet Union decided to capture the military blow that the Soviet troops were preparing to inflict on the enemy during the Great Patriotic War near Moscow in memory of the descendants. The directors of the documentary were Leonid Varlamov and Ilya Kopalin, and 15 cameramen filmed the unprecedented feat of the soldiers.

In the morning, the operators went to the front line, and in the evening they had to return to the film studio in the front-line city. There were frequent cases when a studio car brought the body of a deceased operator in the evening. The shooting was carried out in the most difficult conditions, the break in editing and sound recording was done only for the duration of the air raids. The film was released in February 1942. In the same year it was shown in the USA under the title "Moscow Strikes Back". True, for the American viewer, the documentary had to be divided into 4 parts and completely remounted.

In 1943, the film won the Oscar for Best Documentary. Both the unparalleled work of filmmakers in the conditions of hostilities and the heroism of the people shown during the defense of the capital were noted.

READ ALSO: 20 unique archival photographs from the Second World War, from which the blood grows cold >>

War and Peace

The state order for the filming of the epic came after the release of the American version of War and Peace, and the eminent Ivan Pyriev and the young, but already established Sergei Bondarchuk fought for the right to become a director. As a result, Pyryev himself refused to shoot, and Bondarchuk began work on the film, which lasted for 6 years.

At the same time, the shooting was recognized as the most ambitious not only for Soviet, but also for world cinema. And the budget spent on creating the epic seemed simply unthinkable for Soviet cinema. However, the subsequent success of War and Peace was truly deafening. In April 1969, the film won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. True, the award was presented to the performer of the role of Natasha Rostova, Lyudmila Savelyeva, since the director Sergei Bondarchuk did not want to interrupt the shooting of his next film.

READ ALSO: Tons of explosives and roller skates: how the epic "War and Peace" by Sergei Bondarchuk was filmed >>

Dersu Uzala

The film based on the works of the traveler Vladimir Arsenyev was filmed by Japanese director Akira Kurosawa at the invitation of Sergei Gerasimov himself. The shooting could not be called simple, since the director did not know the Russian language, and the actors did not understand Japanese at all, the difference in cultures and mentalities also affected. However, the film turned out to be so sincere and real that it was simply impossible not to celebrate it. In 1976, the film was deservedly awarded an Oscar, and in different years the film received awards from cinematographers of Finland, France, Peru, Spain and Italy.

Moscow does not believe in tears

Even the director of the film, Vladimir Menshov, did not expect that the film he shot would be so popular and loved. At first, film critics reacted very coolly to the picture, and some even expressed the opinion that the picture simply exploits base human feelings.

It should be noted that many famous actresses, including Klara Luchko, Margarita Terekhova, Anastasia Vertinskaya and Inna Makarova, refused to shoot in the film. However, Menshov himself was not particularly impressed with the script. He liked only the moment at which the heroine starts the alarm, and the call that woke her up 20 years later, when she had already become successful and self-sufficient.

Vladimir Menshov even learned about the Oscar from the plot in the Vremya program, and received the coveted statuette 20 years after the film's premiere.

READ ALSO: "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears": the main characters of the cult Soviet film then and now >>

Burnt by the Sun

Nikita Mikhalkov's film, shot in collaboration with French filmmakers, won not only the prestigious Oscar, but also the Grand Prix of the Cannes Film Festival and the State Prize of Russia in 1994. The film shows only one day in the life of a completely prosperous and even happy family. It was this day that became the beginning of the end of both happiness and the whole family. The film leaves an indelible impression and an aching feeling of compassion for those who had a chance to go through the unthinkable horrors of Stalin's repressions.

The Old Man and the Sea

In 2000, he won an Oscar for an animated film by director and screenwriter Andrei Petrov, based on the work of the same name by Ernst Hemingway. The creator of the cartoon has been working on his picture for two and a half years, and all the work was carried out in Canada. He managed to shoot a film in a new technique called painting revived. The artist paints on glass with oil paints using brushes and his own fingers.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, all the former republics of the "great and mighty" went their own way. But of course, the traditions that have been created in the country for decades have made themselves felt for a long time, including professional traditions in cinema. We offer you to get acquainted with the most interesting films, from classics to documentaries, which were filmed by directors from countries from the former Soviet republics.