Don Quixote (Russian: Дон Кихот, translit. Don Kikhot) is a 1957 Soviet drama film directed by Grigori Kozintsev. It is based on Evgeny Shvartz’s stage adaptation of Miguel de Cervantes’s classic novel of the same name. It was entered into the 1957 Cannes Film Festival. It opened in the United States in 1961, beginning its U.S. run on January 20.

The film was exhibited in the mid-1960s by Australian University film clubs receiving the productions of Sovexportfilm. It was the first film version of Don Quixote to be filmed in both widescreen and color.

Summary:
Senor Quexana has read so many books on chivalry that he believes that he is the knight Don Quixote de la Mancha. So Don Quixote sets off on his horse, accompanied by his squire Sancho Panza on a mule, to perform valiant deeds. They mistakenly save the Lady Altisidora who is so amused that she invites them to visit the Duke to provide some merriment at court. Among other deeds, Don Quixote frees some prisoners, who then turn upon him, and Don Quixote attacks a windmill that he imagines is a monstrous wizard.

Don Kikhot.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1h 41mn
Size: 	1.32 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	720x328 ~> 770x328
Aspect ratio:  	2.35:1
Frame rate: 	25.000 fps
Bit rate: 	1 650 Kbps
BPP: 	0.279
Audio
#1:  	Russian 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 Kbps

https://nitro.download/view/3742E16C34BEB2D/Don_Kikhot.mkv

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:Russian English French German Spanish Italian

The post Grigori Kozintsev – Don Kikhot AKA Don Quixote (1957) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
In 1547, Ivan IV (1530-1584), archduke of Moscow, crowns himself Tsar of Russia and sets about reclaiming lost Russian territory. In scenes of his coronation, his wedding to Anastasia, his campaign against the Tartars in Kazan, his illness when all think he will die, recovery, campaigns in the Baltic and Crimea, self-imposed exile in Alexandrov, and the petition of Muscovites that he return, his enemies among the boyars threaten his success. Chief among them are his aunt, who wants to advance the fortunes of her son, a simpleton, and Kurbsky, a warrior prince who wants both power and the hand of Anastasia. Ivan deftly plays to the people to consolidate his power.

Ivan the Terrible, Part 1.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 35 min
Size: 	1.97 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	790x576 
Aspect ratio:  	1.370
Frame rate: 	25.000 fps
Bit rate: 	2 709 kb/s
BPP: 	0.238
Audio
#1:  	Russian 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/F0A7A48DB6C2068/Ivan_the_Terrible,_Part_1.mkv

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English, French

The post Sergei M. Eisenstein – Ivan Groznyy AKA Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1944) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:
His wife dead from poisoning and his chief warrior, Kurbsky, defected to the Poles, Ivan is lonely as he pursues a unified Russia with no foreign occupiers. Needing friendship, he brings to court Kolychev, now Philip the monk, and makes him metropolitan bishop of Moscow. Philip, however, takes his cues from the boyars and tries to bend Ivan to the will of the church. Ivan faces down Philip and lets loose his private force, the Oprichniks, on the boyars. Led by the Tsar’s aunt, Euphrosyne, the boyers plot to assassinate Ivan and enthrone her son, Vladimir. At a banquet, Ivan mockingly crowns Vladimir and sends him in royal robes into the cathedral where the assassin awaits.

	
Ivan the Terrible, Part 2.mkv

General
Container:  	Matroska
Runtime: 	1 h 21 min
Size: 	1.71 GiB
Video
Codec: 	x264
Resolution: 	790x576 
Aspect ratio:  	1.370
Frame rate: 	25.000 fps
Bit rate: 	2 742 kb/s
BPP: 	0.241
Audio
#1:  	Russian 2.0ch AC-3 @ 192 kb/s

https://nitro.download/view/36F5A5639B411B5/Ivan_the_Terrible,_Part_2.mkv
https://nitro.download/view/0EE0F6576933E0C/Ivan_the_Terrible,_Part_2.eng.srt

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English, French

The post Sergei M. Eisenstein – Ivan Groznyy. Skaz vtoroy: Boyarskiy zagovor AKA Ivan the Terrible Part 2 (1958) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

IMDB:
A drab woman scientist, working on machine to harness solar energy, and a pert concert singer look-alike being courted to play her in a movie swap identities and find personal growth, professional success, love, and happiness.

1.37GB | 1h 42mn | 688×512 | avi

http://nitroflare.com/view/57B45C908557494/Vesna_DVDRip.1947.part1.rar
http://nitroflare.com/view/40FC7C3361BC675/Vesna_DVDRip.1947.part2.rar
http://nitroflare.com/view/8844E43AE23F9A4/Vesna.1947.ENG.2.srt

Language:Russian
Subtitles:English

The post Grigoriy Aleksandrov – Vesna AKA Spring (1947) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

DVDRip from print restored by Mosfilm in 1965 according to the credits, it still looks grey. After having read the descriptions below I found it be easy to follow the film without subtitles, the acting, the mise en scène and the cinematography are excellent. There is very little music though, two or three church choruses and folk songs, bits of post romantic orchestral music here and there. And, as been said below, no obvious propaganda.
…
IMDB user Denis888 from Russia (slightly corrected): Forget about the terrible Stalin’s purges that were going on in the Soviet Union when this film, or rather its first episode, was shot. The film has none of the Stalinist propaganda or dull Soviet ethics. This is a great, bright and powerful work. The role of the great Russian tzar Pyotr I is played by a brilliant Nikolay Simonov and he did a wonderful job. His Pyotr is wild, often terribly cruel, loud and unbearably ferocious to his enemies. He never hesitates and he breaks through like a wild bull. The first episode tells about the terrible beginning of the Northern War with Sweden, the Russians are shamefully defeated and thus the tzar starts his bloody reforms. He reorganizes the weak old army, he takes down the church bells for military purposes, he is even ready to arrest his own weak and sickly son Aleksey who is in fact his terrible rival. The second excellent role here is Aleksander Menshikov, the tzar’s favorite aid, played by an enigmatic Mr. Zharov. His part is cute, sly and so great that it provokes a grand smile. The first episode is also about the first military victories, the beginning of the Russian fleet and the foundation of the city of St. Petersburg, exactly 300 years ago…

The second part of this excellent film is more tragic. Here we see the plot against tzar Pyotr going on in full swing. His own son, Aleksey, played admirably by a somewhat psychotic Aleksey Cherkasov, started a coup against all that his father had done. Aleks hates the new Russia, the new capital, the new army and the new fleet. He dreams of an old, religious Russia with all the weak and infantile rulers. The plot is smashed, Aleks is tricked into returning to Russia from Italy, he is interrogated, tortured and executed by his own dad’s order. Here, we witness a deep and very personal tragedy of tzar Pyotr who managed to change the whole state, but failed to change his own son. This episode also depicts the Cossacks’ riots in the Ukraine, the peasantry unrest and the rise of the tzar’s wife, Catherine, to power. We also see the triumph of Russia over Sweden and the start of the strong Russian fleet. Watch this marvelously done historical film and you will never be sorry for that.

1.18GB | 1h 57mn | 688×512 | avi
https://nitro.download/view/157517C8CC2AF86/Pyotr_Pervyy_1938_part_2.avi
http://nitroflare.com/view/0CAF751AA4FE8E7/pyotr_pervyy_1938_part_2.ENG.13.srt

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English

The post Vladimir Petrov – Pyotr pervyy II AKA Peter the First [Part 2] (1938) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

Quote:PYOTR PERVY I AND II 1937-1938

Also known as “Peter I, Parts I and II,” and “The Conquests of Peter the Great, Parts I and II.” Soviet Union, 1937 (Part I) and 1938 (Part II). Black and white; Russian language; Running time: 96 minutes (Part I), 96 minutes (Part II). Directed by Vladimir Petrov. Screenplay by Vladimir Petrov, based on a book by Alexei Tolstoy. Starring Nikolai Simonov as Peter I, Nikolai Cherkasov as Tsesarevich Alexei, Alla Tarasova as Empress Catherine I, and Mikhail Zharov as Alexander Menshikov.

This, the first Soviet depiction of Peter the Great, set the stage for what would become the post-Revolutionary line concerning the early Romanovs. Rulers like Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great were widely admired for their dedication to Russia and their absolute determination to enhance her position in the world. But praise for the hated later Romanovs conflicted too heavily with the very beliefs that had brought about the Revolution in 1917. The 1929 film “Rasputin: Prince of Sinners,” co-produced between Germany and the USSR, had been permitted as it presented a completely negative portrayal of Nicholas II. “Pyotr Pervy,” on the other hand, suffered from Soviet expectations. The film, like Sergei Eisenstein’s later “Ivan the Terrible,” celebrated not so much the personality and reign of the individual sovereign it depicted as much as it glorified his deeds and struggle to overcome his enemies.

The film, which was shot at the Lenfilm Studios in Leningrad, opens at the Battle of Narva, and is essentially a chronicle of Russia’s struggle against Sweden in the Great Northern War. Peter is shattered at his army’s defeat, and reluctantly retreats. Determined to obtain a victory, he has the bells of a local monastery melted to make cannonballs, and orders the priests and monks into battle to preserve Russia against the invader. Subsequent scenes depict the opposition of both the boyars and certain members of the Orthodox Church to Peter’s plans. The historical conflict his western ideas brought about, and the widely-held belief that Peter was indeed the Antichrist, are portrayed as the common people struggle to come to grips with his unconventional ideas.

Peter triumphs, and leads his army in battle. His historical determination is shown in a scene where Peter himself takes command of an artillery mount, and loads a cannon himself, declaring to his men, “That’s the way to do it!” The fortress falls and is triumphantly stormed by the Russians.

The film delves briefly into Peter’s personal life, exploring his friendship with Alexander Menshikov, and his meeting, and subsequent relationship with, his future wife Catherine. His decision to found St. Petersburg is also shown, as is the toil of the workers forced to construct his new city-fortress on the banks of the Neva. While the city is built, Peter is shown supervising the shipyards, himself manning a forge to help with the construction. Peter’s quest to drag his country toward Western ideals is shown when he confronts a man who, in opposition to his orders, has kept his beard; the Emperor grabs a razor and cuts it off himself. Such episodes alienate the people from their ruler, and, when St. Petersburg suffers a flood, it is whispered that it is the wrath of God against the Tsar.

An illness of the Tsar causes members of the boyar families to conspire with his son Tsesarevich Alexei. He, in turn, assures them that when his father dies he will disband the Army, stop the war with Sweden, and return the capital to Moscow and restore the lost traditions of the Court. The Emperor, however, recovers, and, after a confrontation with his son, the Tsesarevich flees, fearing that his father will replace him in the line of succession.

Part II opens with the Battle of Poltava, an immense scene with thousands of extras portraying Russian and Swedish soldiers. As the war continues, Peter’s attention is gradually focused on the growing troubles with his son, who has fled to Europe. When Alexei returns to Russia and begs forgiveness of his father, Peter confronts him with details of his various plots. Alexei is imprisoned in the Fortress of St. Peter and St. Paul, and is shown being interrogated and questioned by his father. Peter, convinced of his son’s traitorous behavior, nonetheless refuses to pass sentence and turns the matter over to the Senate, telling its men that he will abide by their decision. The Senators unanimously sentence the Tsesarevich to death and Peter signs the order. The film ends on a triumphant note, with an impressive naval victory over Sweden.

Overall, the film is historically fairly accurate, with dramatic license taken rarely. The set design, by Nikolai Suvorov, appropriately portrayed both the old Muscovite Court and the European-influenced architecture of St. Petersburg, with costumes likewise reflecting the mixture of Russian and European cultures during the last half of the Emperor’s reign. If the film is somewhat conventional, and has little of the cinematic brilliance of Eisenstein’s motion pictures, it nonetheless a more approachable work than Ivan the Terrible, whose incessant stylistic elements often overwhelmed the pure dramatic lines of the story. While the film was only briefly shown in the West, it achieved a glowing reception in the Soviet Union.

0.99GB | 1h 38mn | 688×512 | avi
https://nitroflare.com/view/05C3714843A3738/Pyotr_Pervyy_1937_part_1.avi
http://nitroflare.com/view/63D72BEA6A89D71/pyotr_pervyy_1937_part_1.ENG.11.srt

Language(s):Russian
Subtitles:English

The post Vladimir Petrov – Pyotr pervyy I AKA Peter the First [Part 1] (1937) first appeared on Cinema of the World.

From Turner Classic Movies:
On the day of his coronation as the first Tsar of Russia, the former archduke of Moscow, Ivan IV (Nikolai Cherkasov), finds himself inheriting a deeply troubled empire. The Russian people are divided into estranged clans including the Tartars and the aristocratic boyars, led by the evil, black-cloaked princess and Ivan’s aunt Euphrosinia Staritskaya (Serafima Birman).

Ivan’s enemies are legion and also include a traitorous ally Kurbsky (Mikhail Nazvanov), who invites Ivan’s trust but lusts for power, and for the hand of the tsar’s wife Anastasia (Lyudmila Tselikovskaya). Ivan’s desire to create a united Russia, announced on the day of his coronation, is met with fury from his subjects. Ivan’s one confidant is his beautiful wife Anastasia, whom Ivan marries soon after his coronation in a lavish ceremony and wedding feast soon invaded by masses of contentious Russians.

Anxious to teach his rebellious new citizens a lesson about the necessity of a consolidated country, Ivan and his army march to Kazan to violently suppress the Tartars. But when Ivan returns to his wife and small child, he is struck down by illness and unable to suppress a bitter power struggle for his throne.

In many ways, despite its 16th century setting, Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1945) is a very contemporary political parable with its telling glimpse at how treacherous the road to power and privilege can be, but also for showing a Russia not unlike the one seen in today’s newspapers. Like the divided former-Soviet republic of today, the Russia of Ivan’s time is a huge territory defined by enormous cultural and religious differences.

For Ivan the Terrible, Sergei Eisenstein took a remarkable detour from the revolutionary subject matter of his previous films like The Battleship Potemkin (1925) and October (1927) which focused upon the bravery, nobility and suffering of the Russian citizenry under the decadent, corrupt tsar. His revolutionary film language of “montage” in which clashing images are combined to create new, more meaningful implications was also drastically altered in Ivan’s more theatrical, operatic style. Ivan also presented a tsar who was not some despotic, abstract figurehead, but a flesh and blood person daily battling infidelity within his ranks. As a remedy to his lack of allies, Ivan forms a contingent of young, loyal bodyguards around him to protect his interests.

Even after having completed the scenario for Ivan the Terrible in 1941, Eisenstein devoted two more years to historical research, an analysis of Ivan’s character and over two thousand drawings of the future production. The result is a singular, artistic vision. The actors in Ivan perform in an exaggerated, often halting style that often brings to mind a combination of silent film, ballet and the Kabuki theater. As in his previous films, Eisenstein favors gorgeously shot close-ups of his actors whose frozen gestures of rage or joy often gives them the appearance of statues, or gargoyles.

Ivan the Terrible has been praised for its formal beauty greatly aided by a Sergei Prokofiev score, though others have called it stagey and mannered. The operatic tone might be explained by an opera of War and Peace Prokofiev was completing at the time Ivan was in the planning stages, and for which Eisenstein offered some production sketches. Many of those designs were eventually used in the staging of the opera of War and Peace in Leningrad in 1946.

Ivan was created under tumultuous conditions that may have intensified the film’s gravity. At the time of its production, Russia was being bombed by the Nazis and for safety’s sake, filmmakers including Eisenstein were evacuated to Alma Ata, the capital of Kazakhstan. In the biography Eisenstein by Ion Barna, actress Serafima Birman (she plays Euphrosinia) describes the dedication of the cast and crew in bringing Eisenstein’s vision to life: “We agreed to do the most extraordinary things for him; for instance Cherkasov, in the Kazan sequence, had to wear a very heavy metal costume, and he willingly stood in it on the edge of precipice, for take after take, in a temperature of sixty degrees centigrade. Poor Lyudmila Tselikovskaya once spent a whole night in a coffin because Eisenstein refused to let her get out of it. Why did we do these things without protest? I have already suggested one reason in our deep professional respect for Eisenstein as an artist. But another case, and of equal importance, was a reflection of the war. Elsewhere in a country, people were fighting and being maimed for something they believed in, and perhaps the only way we could compensate for the privilege of our own safety was to fight a battle for what we regarded as serious and lasting art.”

The film opened to mixed reviews upon its 1945 release and to this day is seen as a failure by some and as a masterpiece by others, including Charlie Chaplin who called it “the greatest historic film that has ever been made.” Bosley Crowther of the New York Times called it “a film of awesome and monumental impressiveness in which the senses are saturated in medieval majesty.”

Producer/Director: Sergei Eisenstein

Ivan1-Extras.avi Multimedia essay on the history of Ivan the Terrible by Joan Neuberger, director of the Center for Soviet Studies at the University of Texas at Austin.

Ivan1-Extras2.avi
Ivan1-Extras2.srt The Unknown Ivan the Terrible – A Russian made documentary about Eisenstein’s troubles during the making of Ivan the Terrible, including the scenes that Stalin’s censors removed. (This is excellent, btw.)

https://nitro.download/view/D01ED1A58771A6C/Ivan_I.avi
https://nitro.download/view/7937ECC1090D542/Ivan_I.idx
https://nitro.download/view/625D25B57B9B66F/Ivan_I.srt
https://nitro.download/view/B5C12E9FDDFFD1E/Ivan_I.sub
https://nitro.download/view/39003AD19564826/Ivan1-Extras.avi
https://nitro.download/view/C928102BAC27FE5/Ivan1-Extras2.avi
https://nitro.download/view/8894488C63FFE93/Ivan1-Extras2.srt

https://rapidgator.net/file/72b8311775026900c4c2a35dafe291a1/Ivan_I.avi
https://rapidgator.net/file/766637d37979665200eb3f24e4adc340/Ivan_I.sub
https://rapidgator.net/file/616f9cf4baef6f47105357d56aa1b270/Ivan_I.srt
https://rapidgator.net/file/bcfd2c952bc0a49c2d164deb60b086e6/Ivan_I.idx
https://rapidgator.net/file/20b2df906490ba93366604cd6bc881c9/Ivan1-Extras.avi
https://rapidgator.net/file/67f37b64ca38291ea503c461b30e8a84/Ivan1-Extras2.avi
https://rapidgator.net/file/542a4c625e42ad3acb3561722dc71214/Ivan1-Extras2.srt

Language:Russian
Subtitles:English, srt and vobsub

The post Sergei M. Eisenstein – Ivan Groznyy I (Иван Грозный) AKA Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1944) first appeared on Cinema of the World.