Soviet Cinema Vault

BEHIND THE SCENES OF MIRROR (1974) Andrei Tarkovsky’s film starring Oleg Yankovsky and Margarita Terekhova. Rare photographs from the filming, capturing the actors in relaxed moments between takes. Photo source: MAMM / MDF, via Russia in Photos.

Just rewatched Antichrist (von Trier, 2009) right after Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1975) and I can’t unsee it. The girl in the bathroom scenes looks almost identical in both. Same stillness, same water, same feeling that time just stopped. Not a coincidence either: von Trier dedicated Antichrist to Tarkovsky. Tarkovsky does it gently, like a dream. Von Trier takes the same image and makes it way darker. Left: Antichrist. Right: Mirror. 34 years apart. Do you see it too?

OTHELLO (1956) Director: Sergei Yutkevich On March 3, 1956, Othello, a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy, premiered in the Soviet Union. Directed by Sergei Yutkevich, the film went on to earn international recognition and was regarded as one of the finest screen adaptations of Shakespeare’s play. At the Cannes Film Festival, Yutkevich received the award for Best Director for his work on the film. The leading roles were played by Sergei Bondarchuk, Irina Skobtseva, and Andrei Popov. The film was a magnificent production, with elaborate sets, beautiful costumes, and a powerful musical score. Every detail was carefully considered, particularly the use of color. Red symbolized love, tragedy, and blood, while white represented innocence and purity — qualities associated with Desdemona. Much of the film was shot in Crimea and the Odessa region. Interestingly, the filming also brought Sergei Bondarchuk and Irina Skobtseva together romantically. There was tragedy unfolding on screen, but a complicated love story developing behind the scenes. At the time, both were married to other people. Nevertheless, in 1959 they became husband and wife and remained together for 35 years. Yutkevich had a very particular understanding of the tragedy’s climax. He believed that the most important moment in Othello was not Desdemona’s murder. The true turning point came when Othello discovered that the person he trusted most — his closest friend — had betrayed him. In the director’s interpretation, Shakespeare’s play is about much more than love, jealousy, and revenge. At its heart, it is about faith in another human being. Once Othello loses that faith, he is completely broken and ultimately takes his own life.

REMEMBER YOUR NAME (1975) Director: Sergei Kolosov “Remember, boy, your name is Gena! Your surname is Vorobyov! Your Motherland is the Soviet Union! Genochka, I will come back for you! Your name is Gena Vorobyov!” Everyone should watch this film at least once. Remember Your Name is a Soviet-Polish war drama directed by Sergei Kolosov and based on real events. It tells the tragic story of a mother and her young son, who were separated in Auschwitz, and their reunion many years later. The leading role was played by the outstanding Soviet actress Lyudmila Kasatkina, the director's wife. The role of Zinaida Vorobyova was one of the most difficult of her career. And it wasn't just because she lost 13 kilograms for the part. Years later, Lyudmila Kasatkina recalled: “Many viewers wrote to me after watching Remember Your Name. They said they couldn't hold back their tears whenever they watched it. Some even feared their hearts might not be able to withstand such emotion. Later, I read an article in which doctors shared the conclusions of their long-term observations about the effects of art on human health. A neurologist, a physician and a psychologist all came to the same conclusion: our health suffers from our own anxieties and troubles. But when a person feels compassion and experiences someone else's grief, they feel better the next day. It means their soul is still alive. It means they are capable of empathy.”

HOW TARKOVSKY MADE IVAN’S CHILDHOOD HOW TARKOVSKY MADE IVAN’S CHILDHOOD In 1962, Andrei Tarkovsky directed Ivan’s Childhood, based on a story by Vladimir Bogomolov. Tarkovsky said: “In this film, I wanted to explore how war affects a person. When someone is broken inside, their life can no longer develop normally.” “This is especially true of a child’s mind. I saw Ivan as a boy deeply damaged by the war, cut off from the normal life a child should have.” For this film, Tarkovsky once again worked with cinematographer Vadim Yusov. Filming took five months. The leading role went to 15-year-old Nikolai Burlyaev, who had already appeared in a student film, The Boy and the Pigeon. The film premiered in 1962 and brought Tarkovsky international recognition. That same year, he won the Golden Lion of St. Mark at the Venice International Film Festival.

I love Stalker too. There is something special about the silence in Tarkovsky’s films. His long shots let you notice little details that you might miss in other films.

Yes, you are talking about Andrei Tarkovsky’s Ivan’s Childhood (1962). The boy, Ivan, was played by Nikolai Burlyaev. He is now 80 years old. He went on to become a well-known actor and later a film director. It’s lovely that you remember such details from the film!

On November 8, 1998, the French actor Jean Marais died. On July 7, 1963, he came to Moscow as the guest of honor at the opening of the Moscow International Film Festival. Marais was also a stuntman and an idol to millions of women. Many Soviet actresses wanted to meet the legendary Frenchman, including Elina Bystritskaya. In one interview she admitted that in her youth she really liked Marais’s looks and saw him as a true romantic hero. But she knew that falling in love with an actor was like reading Dumas novels. Years passed. The girl Elya from Kyiv met her idol in person and even offered him a cigarette. It was reportedly a Lucky Strike. Today, both Jean Marais and Elina Bystritskaya are gone, but this photograph remains.

On November 7, 1937, exactly 89 years ago, the film “Lenin in October” was shown at the Bolshoi Theatre. The team was editing it until the very last day. And at the same time, the director was twice detained because of a suitcase of secret documents 🎬 Filming began on August 17. Director Mikhail Romm finished the editing just in time for the premiere. They worked like a conveyor belt: each scene was edited, given sound, and sent to the lab right after it was shot. When the last scene was filmed, the movie was ready. A contest for a film about Lenin was announced in 1936, and Stalin personally supervised it. Alexei Kapler’s script sat unused for seven months, because famous writers were in no hurry. Romm was just over thirty, and he had made only one film before, “Thirteen.” Romm was given rare historical documents for his work, including a text by Trotsky. He had no apartment of his own, so he stayed with colleagues. Arrests were common in the film world. Twice Romm was detained as a guest of people who had been arrested, together with his suitcase of papers. Boris Shchukin first refused to play Lenin. Then he studied recordings of Lenin’s speeches and learned to copy his voice. The makeup team used darker wigs, because Lenin’s real light hair looked different on film from his familiar portraits. There is an interesting trick in the Central Committee meeting scene. There is no wide shot, so we never see the room. We only hear Lenin’s speech, while Vasily, the worker in the story, waits behind the door. Vasily is invented. His real model, Eino Rakhya, was a victim of repression, and it was forbidden to name him. The film was a huge success. Historians estimate that about 21 million people saw it in its first year. In 1938 it was released in France and the US. The famous storming of the Winter Palace was filmed as a staged scene, because no real footage existed. But the scene was shown so often that many people took it for a newsreel. The film was re-edited in 1956 and 1963, and Stalin was removed from it. It is a propaganda film from the time of the Great Terror. But it started the “Lenin” series in Soviet cinema. Have you seen it? Which version? 👇 📷 Photos: stills from “Lenin in October” (Mosfilm, 1937)

Lidia Fedoseyeva-Shukshina, the beloved Soviet and Russian actress, has died at the age of 88. Her family announced the news on November 7. She was the widow of Vasily Shukshin: actor, film director and writer. Pictured: a scene from Pechki-Lavochki (1972). The title, a folksy Russian phrase meaning roughly “this and that,” was Lidia Nikolayevna’s favorite expression. Vasily Shukshin gave his film that name. Rest in peace. 🕊