Sergei M. Eisenstein - Ivan Groznyy I (Иван Грозный) AKA Ivan the Terrible Part 1 (1944)

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).

Elem Klimov - Sport, sport, sport aka Спорт, спорт, спорт (1970)

From allmovie.com

What makes an athlete compete? How can he be made to endure the gruelling training most sports require? In this image-rich combination documentary and poetic drama, participants in sports including foot-racing, wrestling, speed-skating, swimming and gymnastics are seen in their daily lives and in all stages of training and competition. Their regimens are contrasted with the efforts of ordinary people to train some life into their limbs as they exercise to lose weight, or, as aging people, in order to stay active. In one episode, a marathon runner competing on a hot summer day in Philadelphia literally runs himself to death, and in a later dramatic re-enactment, medieval warriors hold a competitive joust. As one image piles upon another in this unique film, answers to questions about competition begin to suggest themselves.

Georgi Kropachyov & Konstantin Yershov - Viy AKA Viy or Spirit of Evil (1967)

This Russian film adaptation of Nikolai Gogol's story was for a long time the only horror film made in the Soviet Union. Khoma (Leonid Kuravlev), a young novice, travels across the countryside and stays for a night in a barn that belongs to an ugly old woman. When she attacks him at night and takes him for a broom ride, the scared novice fatally wounds her, and before she dies, she turns into a beautiful young noblewoman (Natalya Varley). The latter leaves a will, according to which Khoma should pray for her for three nights in the chapel until her body is buried. At night, the witch rises from the coffin and tries to catch Khoma. She flies around but she can't reach him or see him because he stays inside the circle that he has drawn around himself. During the third and last night, the witch makes the last attempt to scare him out of the circle, and she calls all sorts of ugly creatures to help her... Gogol wrote several stories based on Ukrainian folklore, many of them dealing with the Devil and the supernatural. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

Ivan Pyryev - Partiinyi bilet AKA The Party Card (1936)

Everything seems swell when a young Siberian moves to Moscow, finds work in a factory, joins the Communist Party, and marries a beautiful young Bolshevik girl. But when the girl loses her all-important party card (i.e. identification papers), the Siberian's dark past comes to light...Commissioned in the wake of Kirov's assassination (in which an assassin got access to Kirov's office with a stolen party card), this is both a fantastic melodrama and a chilling work of propaganda.

Mikhail Kalatozov - Vernie Druz'ya AKA True Friends (1954)

Quote:

Like many Russian films of the mid-1950s, True Friends sings the praises of collectivism. V. Merkuryev stars as Nestratov, who while rising to success as an architect becomes an insufferable boor -- and even worse, an individualist. Two of his old friends, one a surgeon and the other a horse trainer for the state, show Nestratov the folly of his ways. In the end, our hero is more than happy to embrace the edicts of working together for the common good. Saving True Friends from wallowing in its own propagandas are the engaging performances of its cast and the sprightly direction by Mikhail Kalatozov.

Nadezhda Kosheverova & Mikhail Shapiro - Zolushka AKA Cinderella (1947)

Based on the traditional story about the hard working Cinderella, her wicked step-mother and lazy sisters. The film was restored at ''Mosfilm'' in 1967.

imdb user comment

8 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
Old Story of Never Aging Charm, 19 February 2005

Author: Galina from Virginia, USAThe film starts with the words, "This is a very old fairy tale that was first told many centuries ago and still lives, and everybody tells it in a different way". The creators of the film "Zolushka", 1947 ("Cinderella"), told this old story with so much tenderness, humor, kindness, and style that it will be loved and watched by spectators of many generations, past and future, children and adults alike. "Cinderella" is the film of lasting and never aging charm. Its directing is effortless, the familiar plot never fails to captivate, the music by Antonio Spadavekkia is enchanting and absolutely fits the magic of the film. The old story is retold by Yevgeni Shvarts (who also wrote the screenplays to the masterpieces of Russian Cinema "To Kill a Dragon" (1991), "Ordinary Wonder" (1978), "Twelve Chairs" (1977), and "Don Quixote" (1957)), and he added the jokes that are still funny and biting after all these years. I just have to say a couple of words about acting. The best Russian actors of the time participated in the "Cinderella". I would never forget a touchy but kind King (Erast Garin), tender and loving Zolushka (Yanina Zhejmo, who was 38 when she took a role but she was absolutely believable as 16 year old Zolushka), and one of my favorite actresses of all time, one and only Faina Ranevskaya as an evil but unforgettable Stepmother who believes that with her powerful connections she will rule the Magic Kingdom.

Abram Room - Strogiy yunosha AKA A Severe Young Man AKA Le Jeune Sérieux (1935)

A contemplation of the New Soviet Man runs head-first into a romantic comedy with music in this film from the Soviet Union, which was highly controversial upon initial release. Dr. Stepanov (Yuri Yurev) is a well-known and gifted surgeon whose talent is matched only by his arrogance; he constantly bosses around his assistant, Fydor (Maksim Straukh), and his wife, Masha (Olga Zhizneva). Masha is beautiful and a great deal more charming than her husband, and she soon attracts the attentions of Grisha Fokin (Dmitri Dorliak), a young man who is quite infatuated with her. As Grisha pursues Masha, the characters debate the role of free love and free will within the Soviet social and political economy, as well as the juncture of the body and the mind. Strogiy Yunosha ran into considerable oposition from government censors once it was completed, and was banned by Soviet authorities after only two months of release, which led to director Abram Room's banishment from Ukrainfilm Studio. The film was later revived as part of the retrospective "Another History Of Soviet Films 1926-1968," which was presented at the 53rd Locarno Film Festival in August, 2000. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Andrei Konchalovsky - Asya's Happiness AKA The Story of Asya Klyachina (1966)

Asya Klyashina is a cook in a small Russian village, lame and unmarried. During harvest time she works at a field camp where she renews acquaintance with Sasha, a driver returned from the city, who announces that he loves her but has no thought of marriage. Mothers look after their children amid the harvest; the men reminisce about the Patriotic War ("fighting for the Motherland, for Stalin") and about the prison camps after the war. But complications to her life start when Asya discovers she is pregnant by another youth, Stephan.