The history of Russian cinema began a long time ago - from the first documentaries of ordinary photographers. The beginning of cinema in Russia is considered to be the birth of the "Great Mute" in 1898. The history of domestic films has come a long way, proudly overcoming strict censorship.
How did it all start?
History says that cinema appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century and was brought by the French. But this did not stop photographers from quickly mastering camera art and already in 1898 release the first documentaries. But only 10 years later, the director Alexander Drankov created the first Russian film - Ponizovaya Volnitsa. It was the birth of the great silent cinema on the territory of Russia, the picture was black and white, dumb, short and nonetheless very moving.
Drankovâs work launched the mechanism for the production of cinema, and already in 1910, such masters of directing as Vladimir Gardin, Yakov Protazanov, Yevgeny Bauer and others created worthy films, filmed Russian classics, filmed melodramas, detective stories and even action films. The second half of the 1910s gave the world such famous figures as Vera Kholodnaya, Ivan Mozhuhin, Vladimir Maximov. The first cinema in Russia is a bright period in the development of domestic cinema.
October Revolution - the period from 1918 to 1930
The October Revolution of 1917 became a real guide for Russian filmmakers to the West. And wartime was not at all the best for the development of cinema. It started spinning all over again in the 1920s, when creative youth inspired by the revolution left a new word in the development of Russian cinema.
The Silver Age was replaced by the Soviet cinema avant-garde. It should be noted such experimental paintings by Sergei Eisenstein as âBattleship Potemkinâ (1925) and âOctoberâ (1927). Ribbons were widely known mainly in the West. This period was remembered by such directors and their films as Lev Kuleshov - âBy Lawâ, Vsevolod Pudovkin - âMotherâ, Dzigi Vertov - âA Man with a Movie Cameraâ, Yakov Protazanov - âThe Process of Three Millionâ and others. Cinema of the 20th century in Russia is the brightest period in the history of Russian cinema.
The times of social realism - 1931-1940
The history of cinema in Russia of this period begins with a great event - soundtracks appeared in Russian cinema. The first sound film is considered a "ticket to life" by Nikolai Ekk. The totalitarian regime that prevailed at that time controlled virtually every film. That is why, when the famous Eisenstein returned to his homeland, he did not manage to rent his new painting "Bezhin Meadow". The directors were faced with strict censorship of cinema in Russia, so the favorites of the 30s were those who managed not only to master sound cinema, but also to recreate the ideological mythology of the Great Revolution.
Such talents were successfully adapted to the Soviet regime by the following directors: The Vasiliev Brothers and their Chapaev, Mikhail Romm and Lenin in October, Friedrich Ermler and The Great Citizen. But in reality, everything was not as deplorable as it might seem at first glance. Stalin understood that you couldnât get far on "ideological" hits. Here came the finest hour of the famous director Grigory Alexandrov, who became the real king of comedy. And his wife Lyubov Orlova - the main star of the screens. The most popular films of Aleksandrov are âFunny Guysâ, âCircusâ, âVolga-Volgaâ.
The fateful fortieth years - 1941-1949
The war has changed everything. It was at this time that feature films appeared, where the war was no longer full of easy victories and romantic events, in the movies they tried to reflect all the cruelty that was happening at the front. The first real military films include Rainbow, Invasion, She Defends the Homeland, Zoya. At this time, the last picture of S. Eisenstein saw the light - the masterpiece of the tragedy "Ivan the Terrible." It was supposed to release the second series of this film, but it was banned by Stalin.
The loud victory, which was won at the cost of tens of millions of people, caused a wave of cinema and a new round in the history of cinema in Russia, it was based on the personality cult of Stalin. For example, the Kremlin director M. Chiaureli in his films âThe Oathâ and âThe Fall of Berlinâ exalted Stalin, representing him almost as a deity. By the end of the 40s, it was quite difficult to track every picture, so the Soviet government adhered to the principle: it is better less, but better, so that in the best traditions of âsocialist realismâ. The following tapes became the masterpieces of that time: âThe Battle of Stalingradâ, âZhukovskyâ, âSpringâ, âKuban Talesâ. The development of cinema in Russia in those years was based on the personality cult of Stalin.
Thaw - 1950-1968
The real film thaw began after the death of Stalin. The second half of the fifties became a real film boom not only in terms of a sharp increase in film production, but also in the emergence of new directorial and acting debuts. This period was very successful for Russian cinema. It is worth noting the picture of Mikhail Kalatozov and Sergey Urusevsky âCranes are Flyingâ, which received the âGolden Palm Branchâ at the Cannes Film Festival. Not one Russian film managed to beat the success of the famous director and cameraman and take the âbranchâ in Cannes. The most notable figures of that period - Grigory Chukhrai with his Ballad of a Soldier and Clear Sky, Mikhail Romm showed that he was still able to make a decent movie, and showed the world the masterpiece âOrdinary Fascismâ.
The Age of Comedy
The directors began to raise the problems of ordinary people in their films, for example, Marlen Khutsiev's melodrama - "Spring on Zarechnaya Street" and "Two Fyodor" - successfully went to wide distribution. The true pleasure was received by the audience from the comedies of the great Leonid Gaidai - âOperation Yâ, âCaucasian Captiveâ, âDiamond Armâ. One can not help but mention the comedy of Eldar Ryazanov âWatch out for the car!â.
In addition to comedies and the Cannes Film Festival, the thaw in the cinema gave the world the Oscar-winning âWar and Peaceâ by S. Bondarchuk, the picture caused a real stir. But this period gave us not only great directors, but also no less talented actors. The 50-60s became a high point for Oleg Strizhenov, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Lyudmila Savelyeva, Anastasia Vertinskaya and many other talented actors.
The end of the thaw - 1969-1984
This time period for Russian cinema was not easy. Strict Kremlin censorship did not allow many talented directors to share their work. But, despite the difficulties in the development of cinema, in those years cinema attendance in Russia occupied a leading position throughout the world. More than a dozen million viewers with great pleasure watched the comedies of Leonid Gaidai, George Danelia, Eldar Ryazanov, Vladimir Motyl, Alexander Mitta. The films of these great directors are the real pride of Russian cinema.
A real boom was made by V. Menshovâs melodrama âMoscow Doesnât Believe in Tearsâ, which took Oscar for the best foreign film, and Boris Durovâs action movie âPirates of the 20th Centuryâ. And, of course, all this would not have been possible without the most talented actors such as Oleg Dal, Evgeny Leonov, Andrey Mironov, Anatoly Papanov, Nikolai Eremenko, Margarita Terekhova, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Elena Solovey, Inna Churikova and others.
Perestroika and the cinema - 1985-1991
The main feature of this period is the weakening of censorship. After rehabilitation, Elem Klimov and his picture âGo and Seeâ became a laureate of the 1985 Moscow Film Festival. By right, this movie can be attributed to the ruthless realism of World War II. The relaxation of censorship contributed to the appearance of the first Russian film with explicit scenes - âLittle Faithâ by Vasily Pichula, filmed in 1988.
However, society was moving into the era of television, American films entered the domestic market, and movie theater attendance declined sharply. Despite the decrease in the audienceâs attention to Russian films, in the West Russian directors have become welcome guests of many international festivals. 1991 was the final stage in the existence of the Soviet Union, and this was reflected in the cinema.
Only a few of the domestic films reached the box office, but the so-called video halls, in which such coveted Western films like âThe Terminatorâ were broadcast, gained popularity. The concept of censorship was virtually absent, on the shelves of specialized stores you could find anything. Domestic cinema was not in demand among people, films for the mass audience were made unprofessionally, with poor production.
Post-Soviet cinema in Russia - 1990-2010
Of course, the collapse of the Soviet Union influenced domestic cinema, and Russian cinema was in decline for a long time. The 1998 default hit the directors painfully, funding for film production fell sharply. In order not to ruin the cinema and have at least some chance of development, small private film studios were opened. The highest-grossing at the time were the comedy Shirley-Myrli, Features of the National Hunt, as well as the films The Thief and Anchor, Another Anchor! Cinema in the 90s in Russia was going through hard times.
Crime movie
The film âBrotherâ, released in 1997 by Alexei Balabanov, made a real sensation in Russian cinema. Zero ones were marked by the birth of film companies that produced television films and series. The most popular of them were Amedia, CostaFilm, and Forward Film. Criminal series such as Streets of Broken Lights, Gangster Petersburg and so on enjoyed particular success with the audience. Such series reflected the realities of the difficult 90s. The female audience enjoyed great popularity melodramatic series, such as "The Engagement Ring", "Carmelita".
2003 gave the world wonderful and quite profitable animated films, such as Smeshariki, Masha and the Bear, Luntik and his friends. Cinema was gradually recovering from a long crisis, and already in 2010 98 feature films were released, and in 2011 - 103. Considerable efforts were made by the Russian Orthodox Church to revive Russian cinema, thanks to which such films as âThe Islandâ were released, "Pop", "Horde".
Heyday after the crisis
The first worthy dramatic scenes after the crisis were âVoroshilovsky shooterâ, âIn August 44thâ and âIslandâ. 2010 is worth noting as the year of the creation of a new wave of "urbanism." The roots of this direction go deep into Soviet cinema, where they sought to show the ordinary life of a simple person. Such films include Exercises in Beauty, The Big Top Show, Karaki, What Men Talk About, and so on.
Already from the 90s to this day in the republics of the Russian Federation has formed its own cinema. These films are locally distributed since they were shot in the national languages ââof the republics. And in some regions, the popularity of such local films is higher than that of modern fashionable American blockbusters.
Modern cinema in Russia
Today, Russian cinema is entertaining in nature. In fact, 95% of films are released in this genre. This trend is explained simply - high profits and ratings on television. The most popular genres of domestic cinema are crime, comedy and history. Most really worthy films are imitations of Hollywood. Recently, a wave has begun to revive Soviet cinema, but critics note these projects as unsuccessful.
Most Russian directors are often criticized not only by viewers, but also by film professionals. The most criticized directors are Nikita Mikhalkov, Fedor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov. Many critics write that in Russia the quality of the paintings produced has declined, and some experts also note the low inventiveness of the scriptwriters.
Contemporaries include the following directors: Yuri Bykov, Nikolai Lebedev, Fedor Bondarchuk, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrey Zvyagintsev, Sergey Loban, Timur Bekmambetov and others.