12 forgotten masterpieces of the Sverdlovsk film studio, which were filmed in Soviet times

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

The Sverdlovsk Film Studio was created during the difficult war years, in 1943, and a year later released its first film. For 77 years, the film studio has produced more than 200 feature films, many documentaries and cartoons, and a school of cinematography has emerged in it. Unfortunately, some very worthy films are unknown to a wide range of viewers today. But they certainly deserve attention.

"Silva", 1944, director Alexander Ivanovsky

The very first film, shot by the Sverdlovsk Film Studio, deserves attention if only because it became the very first screen version of the famous operetta by Imre Kalman, and the main role was played by the soloist of the theater. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Zoya Smirnova-Nemirovich. Despite the fact that the costumes and scenery are rather modest, the film leaves a bright feeling, it is not for nothing that soldiers at the front watched it with pleasure during the war years.

"Vanya", 1958, directors Anatoly Dudorov, Arkady (Aron) Shulman

A touching and somewhat naive film starring Lev Zhukov and Natalia Zatsepina. The plot is very simple and tells about the fate of a young man who was orphaned early, ended up in prison by his own stupidity, but after his release was able to return to normal life. A kind picture that leaves a good impression after itself.

"The Slowest Train", 1963, directors Vladimir Krasnopolsky, Valery Uskov

Lyric drama with Pavel Kadochnikov and Nonna Terentyeva in the lead roles. Zinaida Kirienko and Ivan Ryzhov, Lyudmila Shagalova, Alla Surkova and many more talented actors starred in the film based on the script by Yuri Nagibin. A poignant story about people and destinies broken by war, about humanity and greed, about love and honor. Filmed more than half a century ago, "The Slowest Train" is still capable of awakening all the best in people.

"Footprint in the Ocean", 1964, director Oleg Nikolaevsky

The script for the adventure film was written by Boris Vasiliev and Kirill Rapoport, and in the roles you can see Ada Sheremetyeva and Yuri Dedovich, Evgeny Vesnik and Daniil Netrebin. The plot of this adventure film may seem complicated and confusing, but many viewers note that the creators, as if on purpose, left some episodes unsaid, leaving the viewer to come up with their own ending.

"Game without rules", 1965, directed by Yaropolk Lapshin

A spy tape set after the end of World War II. In the film, the interests of two intelligence services, the Soviet and the American, collide. The main roles were played by Mikhail Kuznetsov and Viktor Dobrovolsky, and the charming Soviet intelligence officer was played by Tatyana Karpova.

"Strong in spirit", 1967, director Victor Georgiev

The film is based on the books of Dmitry Medvedev, a staff member of the NKVD, a colonel and a writer. The events of the film unfold during the Great Patriotic War on the territory of Ukraine, when the Soviet intelligence officer Nikolai Kuznetsov was able to infiltrate Hitler's headquarters, who kidnapped a high-ranking commander. Brilliant actors were involved in the film: Gunar Tsilinsky, Ivan Pereverzev, Evgeny Vesnik, Luciena Ovchinnikova, Yuri Solomin, Viya Artmane.

"Trembita", 1968, directed by Oleg Nikolaevsky

An absolutely stunning film with subtle humor, vivid characters, captivating plot and talented actors. The former butler returns to the village after the war to find treasures that the count, who had escaped with the Germans, did not manage to take out of the house. The film stars Evgeny Vesnik, Olga Aroseva, Ivan Pereverzev, Savely Kramarov and other famous and beloved actors.

"Gloomy River", 1968, directed by Yaropolk Lapshin

The audience fell in love with the adaptation of the novel by Vyacheslav Shishkov from the moment the first series appeared on television. This small series is about love and passion, friendship and betrayal, hatred and greed. "Gloomy River" is an atmospheric tape in which the actors play so talented that it is simply impossible not to believe them. How impossible it is to forget the images that Georgy Epifantsev, Lyudmila Chursina, Alexander Demyanenko, Givi Tokhadze, Valentina Telegin, Evgeny Vesnik, Ivan Ryzhov and many others have embodied on the screen.

"Privalov Millions", 1973, directed by Yaropolk Lapshin

The film was based on the novel by Dmitry Mamin-Sibiryak, and starred in it Leonid Kulagin, Vladislav Strzhelchik, Lyudmila Khityaeva, Lyudmila Chursina, Grigory Shpigel, Lyubov Sokolova and other incredibly talented actors who made the film so bright, fascinating and loved.

"The Nameless Star", 1978, directed by Mikhail Kozakov

Igor Kostolevsky and Anastasia Vertinskaya, Svetlana Kryuchkova and Grigory Lampe, Mikhail Kozakov and Irina Savina - this is only a small part of the actors involved in the amazing film based on the play of the same name by Mikhail Sebastian. The plot of this romantic tape seems touchingly naive, but the deepest meaning is hidden behind the external simplicity.

"Medicine Against Fear", 1979, directed by Albert Mkrtchyan

The detective drama was incredibly popular during the Soviet era. Many viewers who watched the film based on the Weiner brothers' book of 1979 with Alexander Fatyushin in the title role say that the later film adaptation (2016) is clearly inferior in quality and emotionality to the Soviet tape.

Find and Disarm, 1982, director Georgy Kuznetsov

This film is called one of the best Soviet action films of the early 1980s. An atmospheric, fascinating picture in which good will certainly triumph over evil, and the criminals will be punished. This film is sheer delight in the magnificent performance of Boris Nevzorov, Andrey Gradov, Alexander Voevodin, Nina Ruslanova and many others.

The Lenfilm film studio was founded more than 100 years ago and has undergone several renames during its existence. But regardless of the name, many amazing films have been filmed here that deserve to be watched today.