Cosmic Voyage (1936)
Apr 3, 2024Soviet Moon Launch
An early Soviet-made film that does an extraordinary job in depicting the launch of a rocket to The Moon. Fascinating to see in terms of its incredible ambition and the things it gets right
Mosfilm
Viy (1967)
Jan 28, 2013Soviet Horror Film/Monk Fights the Forces of Hell
The only horror film ever made in Communist Russia. Adaptation of a classic story about a monk sequestered with the body of a woman for three nights, the film creates an undeniable atmosphere and mounts to a wildly fantastical climax where he must face all the minions of Hell
Solaris (1972)
Jun 14, 2002Enigmatic Alien Planet/Ghosts of Memory
Called the Russian 2001. Andrei Tarkovsky makes one of the great SF films, a haunting ghost story set on a space station as an alien planet below drives the crew mad with recreated doppelgangers of their loved ones
Stalker (1979)
Oct 7, 2024Alien Affected Zone
One of the greatest of all SF films from Andrei Tarkovsky about a mysterious zone filled with enigmatic alien phenomena at the centre of which exists a room that can grant one’s heart’s desire
Moon Rainbow (1983)
May 19, 2016Soviet SF/Mysterious Alien Zone
Obscure work of Soviet era SF. Clearly influenced by Stalker, this concerns an investigation into a mysterious alien zone that has left astronauts with psychic powers. Most of the film drowns in endless discussion and an almost complete lack of drama
Marquis de Sade (1996)
Dec 31, 1996Marquis De Sade Biopic
A biopic of the Marquis de Sade that is not uninteresting but suffers from being produced by Roger Corman on one of his usual B-budgets