Important Early Soviet Films
Aelita, the Queen of Mars (Yakov Protazanov, 1925)
An early Soviet science fiction film concerning the story of a young engineer in Moscow and a Martian princess. Click to see more...
Arsenal (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1928)
Ukrainian workers rise up against their parliament in support of the Bolsheviks during the First World War. Click to see more...
Battleship Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
This dramatic retelling of the mutiny aboard the Battleship Potemkin in 1905 quickly became the Soviet montage film par excellence. Click to see more...
Bed and Sofa (Abram Room, 1927)
A man starts an affair with his friend's wife after moving in with them. Click to see more...
Cigarette Girl of Mosselprom (Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, 1924)
A naïve young girl is transformed into a movie star by opportunistic film producers. Click to see more...
Deserter (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1933)
A worker who is doubtful of the power of socialism is shown the error of his ways. Click to see more...
Earth (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1930)
Set in the Ukrainian countryside during the turbulent years of collectivisation. Click to see more...
The Eleventh Year (Dziga Vertov, 1928)
Vertov's ode to the accomplishments of the Soviet state in its first eleven years of existence. Click to see more...
The End of St. Petersburg (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1927)
Pudovkin's famous treatment of the 1917 Revolution, commissioned for the tenth anniversary of that event. Click to see more...
Enthusiasm (Dziga Vertov, 1930)
One of the first Soviet films not only to have sound, but to have sound recorded on location. Click to see more...
The Extraordinary Adventures of Mr. West in the Land of the Bolsheviks (Lev Kuleshov, 1924)
A prejudiced American and his cowboy companion warily visit the Soviet Union. Click to see more...
Fall of the Romanov Dynasty (Esfir Shub, 1927)
The historical precedents of the Russian Revolution are reconstructed using newsreel footage in this documentary. Click to see more...
The Great Consoler (Lev Kuleshov, 1933)
A complex film based on the life of the writer O. Henry. Click to see more...
Happiness (Alexander Medvedkin, 1934)
An absurdist Russian folktale set in the years surrounding the Russian Revolution. Click to see more...
Ivan (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1932)
A farm boy and his father are sent to work on the construction of the Dniepr River Dam. Click to see more...
Katka's Reinette Apples (Fridrikh Ermler, 1926)
A young girl moves to the city to become an apple seller, and falls in with members of the seedy city underworld. Click to see more...
Kino Eye (Dziga Vertov, 1924)
Vertov's meditation on village life and the work of the Young Pioneers. Click to see more...
Kiss From Mary Pickford (Sergei Komarov, 1927)
A humble young theatre usher becomes an idol overnight after a chance encounter with Mary Pickford. Click to see more...
Lullaby (Dziga Vertov, 1937)
A representation of women in the Soviet Union, particularly of mmotherhood in the Far East. Click to see more...
The Man With a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
A documentary film celebrating technology and urban life. Click to see more...
Mother (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1926)
An oppressed woman joins the revolutionary movement in support of her son. Click to see more...
October (Sergei Eisenstein, 1927)
Eisenstein's recreation of the events of October 1917, commissioned for the ten year anniversary of the Revolution. Click to see more...
Old and New (Sergei Eisenstein, 1929)
A depiction of collectivisation and the introduction of technology in the countryside. Click to see more...
Outskirts (Boris Barnet, 1930)
A group of simple and happy countryfolk are sent to fight in the First World War. Click to see more...
Path to Life (Nikolai Ekk, 1931)
Gangs of homeless children wander the streets during the difficult post-Civil War years. Click to see more...
Salt for Svanetia (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1930)
An ethnographic film about a struggling rural community in Georgia. Click to see more...
A Sixth Part of the World (Dziga Vertov, 1926)
Vertov's documentary showcases the vastness and diversity contained within the Soviet Union. Click to see more...
Storm Over Asia (Vsevolod Pudovkin, 1928)
A Mongolian man fighing on the side of the Bolsheviks is found to be the heir to Genghis Khan. Click to see more...
Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, 1924)
Workers go on strike against their cruel managers in the lead up to the 1905 Revolution. Click to see more...
Three Songs of Lenin (Dziga Vertov, 1934)
A tribute to Lenin and his legacy through three songs. Click to see more...
Zvenigora (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, 1928)
An old man tells his grandson about his life
in Ukraine and alerts him to the existence of
buried treasure. Click to see more...
in Ukraine and alerts him to the existence of
buried treasure. Click to see more...