Russia / USSR

Soviet cinema was shaped by revolution. In the 1920s Eisenstein, Pudovkin, Vertov and Kuleshov developed montage theory and treated editing as the main source of meaning. Stalin's demand for socialist realism narrowed the field, yet directors such as Dovzhenko and later Kalatozov found poetic ways within it. After the Thaw of the 1950s a more personal cinema returned, and national film schools in places like Georgia and Armenia flourished. Post-Soviet Russian cinema had to reinvent itself after the collapse of state funding. Sokurov, Mikhalkov and Zvyagintsev have made some of its best-known work, with a taste for long, painterly images, moral allegory and religious and political themes, drawing on a Tarkovsky-like inheritance. The industry now mixes popular blockbusters with a small art cinema, under changing political pressures.

Famous Directors

AAleksandr Alov & Vladimir NaumovRussia / USSRAleksandr PtushkoRussia / USSRAleksandr ZarkhiRussia / USSRAleksei GermanUSSR / RussiaAleksei MizgiryovRussia / USSRAAlexander AskoldovRussia / USSRAlexander DovzhenkoUSSRAAlexander MindadzeRussia / USSRAAlexander MittaRussia / USSRAlexander RogozhkinRussia / USSRAlexander SokurovRussiaAlexei PopogrebskyRussia / USSRAAlexey BalabanovRussia / USSRAAlexey FedorchenkoRussia / USSRAlexey UchitelRussia / USSRAlina RudnitskayaRussia / USSRAndrei KonchalovskyUSSR / RussiaAndrei KravchukRussia / USSRAndrei SmirnovRussia / USSRAndrei TarkovskyUSSRAndrey ZaytsevRussia / USSRAndrey ZvyagintsevRussiaAngelina NikonovaRussia / USSRBoris KhlebnikovRussia / USSR

See all 95 directors

Daniil KhrabrovitskyRussia / USSRDmitry MeskhievRussia / USSRDziga VertovUSSREduard NovikovRussia / USSREldar RyazanovRussia / USSRElem KlimovUSSRFridrikh ErmlerUSSRFyodor KhitrukRussia / USSRGeorgiy DaneliyaRussia / USSRGleb PanfilovUSSR / RussiaGrigori AleksandrovRussia / USSRGrigori KozintsevRussia / USSRGrigoriy ChukhrayRussia / USSRIgor MaslennikovRussia / USSRIgor TalankinRussia / USSRIlya KhrzhanovskyRussia / USSRIosif KheifitsRussia / USSRIvan DykhovichnyRussia / USSRIvan VyrypaevRussia / USSRKantemir BalagovRussia / USSRKaren ShakhnazarovRussia / USSRKira MuratovaUSSR / UkraineKirill SerebrennikovRussia / USSRLadislas StarevichRussia / USSRLarisa SadilovaRussia / USSRLarisa ShepitkoUSSRLeonid GaidaiRussia / USSRLev KuleshovUSSRLLidiya BobrovaRussia / USSRMark DonskoyRussia / USSRMarlen KhutsievRussia / USSRMikhail KalatozovUSSRMikhail RommRussia / USSRMikheil ChiaureliRussia / USSRMikheil KalatozishviliRussia / USSRNana JorjadzeRussia / USSRNikita MikhalkovRussiaNikolay DostalRussia / USSRPavel LunginRussia / USSRPyotr TodorovskyRussia / USSRRoman BalayanRussia / USSRRoman KarmenRussia / USSRSamson SamsonovRussia / USSRSergei BodrovRussia / USSRSergei BondarchukRussia / USSRSergei EisensteinUSSRSergei ParajanovUSSR (Armenia / Georgia / Ukraine)Sergei SolovyovRussia / USSRSergei VasilyevRussia / USSRSergei YutkevichRussia / USSRStanislav RostotskyRussia / USSRVadim AbdrashitovRussia / USSRValeria Gai GermanikaRussia / USSRValeriy TodorovskyRussia / USSRVVasily PichulRussia / USSRVera StorozhevaRussia / USSRVictor KossakovskyRussia / USSRViktor AristovRussia / USSRVitali KanevskyRussia / USSRVitaly ManskyRussia / USSRVladimir KottRussia / USSRVVladimir MenshovRussia / USSRVVladimir PetrovRussia / USSRVsevolod PudovkinUSSRVytautas ŽalakevičiusRussia / USSRYakov ProtazanovRussia / USSRYuli RaizmanRussia / USSRYuliya SolntsevaRussia / USSRYuri NorsteinRussia / USSRYurii IllienkoRussia / USSRYury BykovRussia / USSR

Top 100 rated films

1. Mother (1990) 1990 · Gleb Panfilov · IMDb 8.4
2. Operation 'Y' & Shurik's Other Adventures 1965 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 8.4
3. Man with a Movie Camera 1929 · Dziga Vertov · IMDb 8.3
4. The Cranes Are Flying 1957 · Mikhail Kalatozov · IMDb 8.3
5. Come and See 1985 · Elem Klimov · IMDb 8.3
6. War and Peace (1965) 1965 · Sergei Bondarchuk · IMDb 8.3
7. I Am Cuba 1964 · Mikhail Kalatozov · IMDb 8.2
8. The Ascent 1977 · Larisa Shepitko · IMDb 8.2
9. Office Romance 1977 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 8.2
10. The Diamond Arm 1969 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 8.2
11. Kidnapping, Caucasian Style 1967 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 8.2
12. Ivan Vasilyevich Changes His Profession 1973 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 8.2
13. Twelve Chairs 1971 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 8.1
14. Stalker 1979 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
15. Ivan's Childhood 1962 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
16. Andrei Rublev 1966 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 8.0
17. King Lear 1970 · Grigori Kozintsev · IMDb 8.0
18. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears 1980 · Vladimir Menshov · IMDb 8.0
19. Mimino 1977 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 8.0
20. The Irony of Fate, or Enjoy Your Bath! 1976 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 8.0
21. Watch Out for the Automobile 1966 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 8.0
22. The Garage 1980 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 8.0
23. White Bim Black Ear 1977 · Stanislav Rostotsky · IMDb 8.0
24. Battleship Potemkin 1925 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.9
25. Solaris 1972 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
26. Mirror 1975 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
27. Nostalghia 1983 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.9
28. Siberiade 1979 · Andrei Konchalovsky · IMDb 7.9
29. The Return 2003 · Andrey Zvyagintsev · IMDb 7.9
30. Film, Film, Film 1968 · Fyodor Khitruk · IMDb 7.9
31. A Cruel Romance 1984 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.9
32. Destiny of a Man 1959 · Sergei Bondarchuk · IMDb 7.9
33. The Sacrifice 1986 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.8
34. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors 1965 · Sergei Parajanov · IMDb 7.8
35. Welcome, or No Trespassing 1964 · Elem Klimov · IMDb 7.8
36. Burnt by the Sun 1994 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.8
37. Tale of Tales (1979) 1979 · Yuri Norstein · IMDb 7.8
38. Kin-dza-dza! 1986 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 7.8
39. Minotaur 2026 · Andrey Zvyagintsev · IMDb 7.8
40. The Island (2006) 2006 · Pavel Lungin · IMDb 7.8
41. A Railway Station for Two 1983 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.8
42. Autumn Marathon 1979 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 7.8
43. Trial on the Road (1986) 1986 · Aleksei German · IMDb 7.8
44. Don't Grieve 1968 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 7.8
45. Say a Word for the Poor Hussar 1981 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.8
46. We'll Live Till Monday 1968 · Stanislav Rostotsky · IMDb 7.8
47. Twenty Days Without War 1976 · Aleksei German · IMDb 7.7
48. I Am Twenty 1965 · Marlen Khutsiev · IMDb 7.7
49. The Cameraman's Revenge 1912 · Ladislas Starevich · IMDb 7.7
50. Brother (1997) 1997 · Alexey Balabanov · IMDb 7.7
51. The Cuckoo 2002 · Alexander Rogozhkin · IMDb 7.7
52. Belorussky Station 1971 · Andrei Smirnov · IMDb 7.7
53. Courier 1986 · Karen Shakhnazarov · IMDb 7.7
54. Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot 1946 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.7
55. Walking the Streets of Moscow 1964 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 7.7
56. Afonya 1975 · Georgiy Daneliya · IMDb 7.7
57. The Beginning 1970 · Gleb Panfilov · IMDb 7.7
58. Seryozha 1960 · Igor Talankin · IMDb 7.7
59. Strike 1925 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.6
60. Ivan the Terrible, Part I 1944 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.6
61. The Barber of Siberia 1998 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.6
62. Leviathan 2014 · Andrey Zvyagintsev · IMDb 7.6
63. Loveless 2017 · Andrey Zvyagintsev · IMDb 7.6
64. One Hundred Days After Childhood 1975 · Sergei Solovyov · IMDb 7.6
65. It Can't Be! 1975 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 7.6
66. Salt for Svanetia 1930 · Mikhail Kalatozov · IMDb 7.5
67. Wings 1966 · Larisa Shepitko · IMDb 7.5
68. The Color of Pomegranates 1969 · Sergei Parajanov · IMDb 7.5
69. Farewell 1983 · Elem Klimov · IMDb 7.5
70. The Tuner 2004 · Kira Muratova · IMDb 7.5
71. Close to Eden 1991 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.5
72. 12 2007 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.5
73. Vassa 1983 · Gleb Panfilov · IMDb 7.5
74. The First Teacher 1965 · Andrei Konchalovsky · IMDb 7.5
75. The Banishment 2007 · Andrey Zvyagintsev · IMDb 7.5
76. Introduction to Life 1963 · Igor Talankin · IMDb 7.5
77. Commissar 1967 · Alexander Askoldov · IMDb 7.5
78. Tishe! 2003 · Victor Kossakovsky · IMDb 7.5
79. The Italian 2005 · Andrei Kravchuk · IMDb 7.5
80. Unbelievable Adventures of Italians in Russia 1974 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.5
81. A Few Days from the Life of I.I. Oblomov 1980 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.5
82. Five Evenings 1979 · Nikita Mikhalkov · IMDb 7.5
83. Business People 1963 · Leonid Gaidai · IMDb 7.5
84. July Rain 1967 · Marlen Khutsiev · IMDb 7.5
85. By the Law 1926 · Lev Kuleshov · IMDb 7.5
86. Forgotten Tune for the Flute 1987 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.5
87. Freeze Die Come to Life 1990 · Vitali Kanevsky · IMDb 7.5
88. The White Bird Marked with Black 1972 · Yurii Illienko · IMDb 7.5
89. Nine Days of One Year 1962 · Mikhail Romm · IMDb 7.5
90. Letters to Elza 2002 · Igor Maslennikov · IMDb 7.5
91. Alexander Nevsky 1938 · Sergei Eisenstein · IMDb 7.4
92. Mother (1926) 1926 · Vsevolod Pudovkin · IMDb 7.4
93. The Steamroller and the Violin 1961 · Andrei Tarkovsky · IMDb 7.4
94. My Friend Ivan Lapshin 1984 · Aleksei German · IMDb 7.4
95. Peace to Him Who Enters 1961 · Aleksandr Alov & Vladimir Naumov · IMDb 7.4
96. Close Relations 2016 · Vitaly Mansky · IMDb 7.4
97. Peculiarities of the National Hunt 1995 · Alexander Rogozhkin · IMDb 7.4
98. Carnival Night 1956 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.4
99. Arrhythmia 2017 · Boris Khlebnikov · IMDb 7.4
100. Gusarskaya ballada 1962 · Eldar Ryazanov · IMDb 7.4