The history of cinema in Russia: the main stages of development

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

The history of Russian cinema began quite a long time ago - from the first documentaries by ordinary photographers. The birth of The Great Mute in 1898 is considered to be the beginning of cinema in Russia. 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 prevent photographers from quickly mastering the art of photography and already in 1898 to release the first documentaries. But only 10 years later, director Alexander Drankov created the first Russian film - "The Ponizovaya Volnitsa". It was the birth of the great silent cinema in Russia, the picture was black and white, silent, short, and nevertheless very touching.

Drankov's work launched the film production mechanism, and already in 1910 such masters of directing as Vladimir Gardin, Yakov Protazanov, Evgeny Bauer and others created worthy cinema,filmed Russian classics, filmed melodramas, detective stories and even action movies. The second half of the 1910s gave the world such famous figures as Vera Kholodnaya, Ivan Mozzhukhin, Vladimir Maksimov. The first cinema in Russia is a bright period in the development of Russian cinema.

October coup - 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. Everything started spinning 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 avant-garde cinema. It should be noted such experimental paintings by Sergei Eisenstein as "The Battleship Potemkin" (1925) and "October" (1927). The tapes were widely known mainly in the West. This period was remembered by such directors and their films as Lev Kuleshov - "According to the Law", Vsevolod Pudovkin - "Mother", Dzigi Vertov - "A Man with a Movie Camera", Yakov Protazanov - "The Trial of Three Millions" 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 - sound accompaniment appeared in Russian cinema. The first sound film is Nikolai Eck's Road to Life. The totalitarian regime that reigned at that time controlled virtually every film. That is why, when the famous Eisenstein returned to his homeland, he never managed to release his new painting “Bezhin Meadow”. Directors faced 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.

The following directors successfully adapted their talent to the Soviet regime: The Vasiliev Brothers and their Chapaev, Mikhail Romm and Lenin in October, Friedrich Ermler and The Great Citizen. But in fact, everything was not as deplorable as it might seem at first glance. Stalin understood that “ideological” hits would not get you far. Here came the finest hour of the famous director Grigory Alexandrov, who became the real king of comedy. And his wife Lyubov Orlova is the main star of the screens. Alexandrov's most popular films are "Merry Fellows", "Circus", "Volga-Volga".

The Fatal Forties - 1941-1949

The war changed everything. It was at this time that full-length films appeared, where the war was no longer full of easy victories and romantic events, in the cinema they tried to reflect all the cruelty that took place at the front. The first real war films include "Rainbow", "Invasion", "She Defends the Motherland", "Zoya". At this time, the last picture of S. Eisenstein, the masterpiece tragedy "Ivan the Terrible", saw the light. A second series of this film was supposed to be released, but it was banned by Stalin.

A resounding victory that was wonat 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 "The Oath" and "The Fall of Berlin" ex alted Stalin, presenting him almost as a deity. By the end of the 40s, it was quite difficult to keep track of each painting, so the Soviet government adhered to the principle: better less, but better, in the best traditions of "socialist realism". The following tapes became the masterpieces of that time: “The Battle of Stalingrad”, “Zhukovsky”, “Spring”, “Kuban Tales”. The development of cinema in Russia in those years was based on Stalin's personality cult.

Thaw - 1950-1968

The real film thaw began after Stalin's death. 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 painting "The Cranes Are Flying" by Mikhail Kalatozov and Sergei Urusevsky, which received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Not a single Russian film has managed to outdo the success of the famous director and cameraman and take the “branch” at Cannes. The most notable figures of that period are 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 film "Ordinary Fascism".

Comedy era

Directors began to raise the problems of ordinary people in their tapes, for examplethe melodramas of Marlen Khutsiev - "Spring on Zarechnaya Street" and "Two Fyodors" - were successfully released into wide distribution. The audience got real pleasure from the comedies of the great Leonid Gaidai - "Operation Y", "Prisoner of the Caucasus", "Diamond Arm". It is impossible not to mention Eldar Ryazanov's comedy "Beware of the car!".

In addition to comedies and the Cannes Film Festival, the thaw period in cinema gave the world the Oscar-winning "War and Peace" 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 1950s and 1960s 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 period of time for the 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 spectators watched the comedies of Leonid Gaidai, Georgy Daneliya, Eldar Ryazanov, Vladimir Motyl, Alexander Mitta with great pleasure. The films of these great directors are the real pride of Russian cinema.

V. Menshov's melodrama Moscow Doesn't Believe in Tears, which won an Oscar for the best foreign film, and Boris Durov's action movie Pirates of the 20th Century produced a real boom. And, of course, everythingthis would not have been possible without the most talented actors, such as Oleg Dal, Evgeny Leonov, Andrei Mironov, Anatoly Papanov, Nikolai Eremenko, Margarita Terekhova, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Elena Solovey, Inna Churikova and others.

Perestroika and cinema - 1985-1991

The main feature of this period is the weakening of censorship. After rehabilitation, Elem Klimov and his film "Come and See" became the winner of the Moscow Film Festival in 1985. By right, this movie can be attributed to the merciless realism of the Second World War. The easing of censorship contributed to the appearance of the first Russian film with explicit scenes - "Little Vera" by Vasily Pichula, filmed in 1988.

However, society was moving into the era of television, American films were entering the domestic market, and cinema attendance dropped sharply. Despite the decline in attention to Russian films on the part of the audience, 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.

Few domestic films made it to theaters, but so-called video halls, which screened coveted Western films such as Terminator, gained popularity. The concept of censorship was virtually absent; on the shelves of specialized stores you could find anything you wanted. Domestic cinema was not in demand among people, films for a mass audience were shot unprofessionally, with a poorstaging.

Post-Soviet cinema in Russia – 1990-2010

Of course, the collapse of the Soviet Union affected the domestic cinema, and Russian cinema was in decline for a long time. The 1998 default hit directors hard, and funding for film production was drastically reduced. In order not to ruin the cinema and have at least some chance for development, small private film studios were opened. The highest-grossing films at that time were the comedies Shirley Myrli, Peculiarities of the National Hunt, as well as the films The Thief and Anchor, More Anchor! Cinema in the 90s in Russia experienced hard times.

Crime movie

A real sensation in Russian cinema was made by the picture "Brother", released in 1997 by Alexei Balabanov. The 2000s were also marked by the birth of film companies that produced television films and series. The most popular of them were Amedia, KostaFilm and Forward Film. Crime 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. Melodramatic serials, for example, "Wedding Ring", "Carmelita" were very popular among the female audience.

2003 gave the world wonderful and quite profitable animated films, such as "Smeshariki", "Masha and the Bear", "Luntik and his friends". Cinematography gradually recovered from a long crisis, and already in 2010 98 feature films were released, and in 2011 - 103. The Russian Orthodox Church made efforts to revive Russian cinema, thanks to which such films as "Island", "Pop", "Horde" were released.

Flourishing after the crisis

The first worthy dramatic films after the crisis were "The Voroshilov Shooter", "In August 1944" and "The Island". 2010 should be noted as the year of the creation of a new wave of "urborealism". The roots of this direction go deep into Soviet cinema, where they tried to show the ordinary life of a simple person. Such films include "Exercises in Beauty", "Big Top Show", "Karaki", "What Men Talk About" and so on.

From the 90s to this day, the republics of the Russian Federation have been forming their own cinematography. These films are distributed locally, as they are filmed in the national languages of the republics. And in some regions, the popularity of such local films is higher than that of trendy modern American blockbusters.

Modern cinema in Russia

Today, Russian cinema is entertaining. 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 Russian cinema are crime, comedy and history. Most of the really worthy films are imitations of Hollywood. Recently, there has been a wave of revival of Soviet cinema, but critics mark these projects as unsuccessful.

Most Russian directors are often criticized not only by the audience, but also by professionals incinema area. The most criticized directors are Nikita Mikhalkov, Fyodor Bondarchuk and Timur Bekmambetov. Many critics write that the quality of released films has decreased in Russia, and some experts also note the low ingenuity of screenwriters.

Contemporaries include the following directors: Yuri Bykov, Nikolai Lebedev, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Nikita Mikhalkov, Andrei Zvyagintsev, Sergei Loban, Timur Bekmambetov and others.