Best Soviet movies (1940-1959)
by roxen_96 | created - 03 Dec 2020 | updated - 03 Dec 2020 | PublicListed by IMDb user rating. Only movies released during those dates and with 200 or more ratings. As of 03/12/2020.
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1. O Olmasin, Bu Olsun (1956)
87 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Popularly known by the name of the main character, "Mashadi Ibad" was based on a musical comedy by composer Uzeyir Hajibeyov and written in the early 1900s. The story is based on the age ... See full summary »
Director: Huseyn Seyidzadeh | Stars: Äliagha Aghayev, Ahmad Ahmadov, Arif Mirzaquliyev, Tamara Gozalova
Votes: 662
2. The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, Romance, War
Veronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov | Stars: Tatyana Samoylova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Aleksandr Shvorin
Votes: 19,768 | Gross: $0.02M
3. Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama, Romance, War
Young Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
Director: Grigoriy Chukhray | Stars: Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko, Antonina Maksimova, Nikolay Kryuchkov
Votes: 11,285
4. Foster-mother (1958)
82 min | Drama
The film is about the stepmother who tried to be a real mother of a boy. But she could be a real mother only after some difficult events for her and child
Director: Hebib Ismayilov | Stars: Najiba Malikova, Fateh Fatullayev, Haqiqat Rzayeva, Ceyhun Sharifov
Votes: 565
5. The Destiny of a Man (1959)
103 min | Drama, War
A Soviet soldier, Andrei Sokolov, has been separated from his family by World War II. Suffering in German captivity, he dreams of meeting his darlings after the victory. But cruel fate turned out otherwise.
Director: Sergey Bondarchuk | Stars: Sergey Bondarchuk, Pavel Boriskin, Zinaida Kirienko, Pavel Volkov
Votes: 3,708
6. The Bewitched Boy (1955)
44 min | Animation, Short, Family
A naughty boy named Nils is shrunken to a small size after offending a tomte. He has to go on a voyage with geese across Lapland to fulfill the prophecy and turn back to normal.
Directors: Vladimir Polkovnikov, Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya | Stars: Valentina Sperantova, Anatoliy Kubatskiy, Erast Garin, Tatyana Strukova
Votes: 488
7. Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot (1958)
Not Rated | 88 min | Biography, Drama, History
As Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Serafima Birman, Pavel Kadochnikov, Mikhail Zharov
Votes: 8,054
8. Skanderbeg (1953)
95 min | Action, Drama, History
This is the true story of the National Hero of Albanians, George Kastrioti Scanderbeg, from his birth to his death. 1405-1468. Based mainly upon the monk writer Marin Barleti, the movie ... See full summary »
Director: Sergei Yutkevich | Stars: Akaki Khorava, Besa Imami, Adivie Alibali, Semyon Sokolovsky
Votes: 777
9. Quiet Flows the Don (1957)
Not Rated | 330 min | Drama, History, Romance
An epic story of shattered lives of the Don Cossacks through chaos of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the following Civil War.
Director: Sergey Gerasimov | Stars: Pyotr Glebov, Elina Bystritskaya, Zinaida Kirienko, Daniil Ilchenko
Votes: 1,309
10. Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)
Not Rated | 95 min | Biography, Drama, History
During the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman, Mikhail Nazvanov
Votes: 10,864
11. Marriage (1944)
64 min | Comedy
Petty bourgeois Zhigalovs, whose daughter-in-law Dasha is being extradited, find out to their horror that the official Aplombov (Erast Garin), who had lunch with them daily and proved ... See full summary »
Director: Isidor Annensky | Stars: Aleksey Gribov, Faina Ranevskaya, Zoya Fyodorova, Erast Garin
Votes: 370
12. On Distant Shores (1958)
86 min | Biography, Drama, War
Portray the life of the Mehdi Huseynzade, legendary Azerbaijani guerrilla of the WW2, who fought the Nazi forces in the present-day Italy and Slovenia.
Director: Tofig Taghizade | Stars: Nodar Shashigoglu, Yuriy Bogolyubov, Alasgar Alakbarov, Lev Bordukov
Votes: 272
13. The Foundling (1940)
68 min | Comedy, Drama
Old woman came to have a drink of water. Then apartment owners looked around - no piano. And many other adventures of Natasha and her friends.
Director: Tatyana Lukashevich | Stars: Veronika Lebedeva, Faina Ranevskaya, Pyotr Repnin, Rostislav Plyatt
Votes: 804
14. Dom, v kotorom ya zhivu (1957)
100 min | Drama, Romance, War
A film about war from the point of view of those left behind.
Directors: Lev Kulidzhanov, Yakov Segel | Stars: Valentina Telegina, Nikolai Yelizarov, Vladimir Zemlyanikin, Yuri Myasnikov
Votes: 455
15. The Snow Queen (1957)
Unrated | 74 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
When the Snow Queen, a lonely and powerful fairy, kidnaps the human boy Kay, his best friend Gerda must overcome many obstacles on her journey to rescue him.
Director: Lev Atamanov | Stars: Vladimir Gribkov, Yanina Zheymo, Anna Komolova, Mariya Babanova
Votes: 3,022
16. Maksim Perepelitsa (1956)
94 min | Comedy
Maxim Perepelitsa is a cheerful, mischievous and resourceful young man from a Ukrainian village. He loves to make up stories and invent practical jokes. When he is drafted into the Russian Army, he doesn't stop his antics.
Director: Anatoliy Granik | Stars: Leonid Bykov, Nikolay Yakovchenko, Aleksandr Borisov, Georgiy Osipenko
Votes: 1,124
17. Arshin Takes a Wife (1945)
96 min | Comedy, Musical
In XX century young merchant decides to marry. He wants to see the girl before the wedding. And his friend Suleiman helps him in this regard.
Directors: Nikolay Leshchenko, Rza Takhmasib | Stars: Rashid Behbudov, Leyla Badirbayli, Lütfäli Abdullayev, Munavar Kalantarli
Votes: 430
18. The Tale of the Fisherman and the Goldfish (1950)
32 min | Animation, Short, Family
The tale about an old, henpecked man whose new friend fulfills all desires of his wife.
Director: Mikhail Tsekhanovskiy | Stars: Mariya Babanova, Zhanna Balashova, Yulyen Balmusov, Boris Chirkov
Votes: 432
19. The Tale About the Dead Princess and Seven Strong Men (1951)
30 min | Animation, Short, Drama
A cruel queen jealous of her stepdaughter's beauty sends her deep into the woods on the night before wedding. The princess comes across a hut where seven good knights live, while the prince goes on a quest to find his bride.
Directors: Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya | Stars: Mariya Babanova, Zinaida Bokareva, Nikolay Litvinov, Mikhail Nazvanov
Votes: 319
20. The Scarlet Flower (1952)
42 min | Animation, Short, Fantasy
Nastenka asks her good father to bring her a scarlet flower from his journey One thing she doesn't know: the flower belongs to a horrible beast.
Director: Lev Atamanov | Stars: Mariya Babanova, Nikolay Bogolyubov, Olga Chepurova, Vladimir Gribkov
Votes: 1,249
21. The Twelve Months (1956)
55 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A poor girl was given an impossible task by her stepmother: to gather snowdrops in a winter forest. Suddenly she stumbled across twelve brothers who happened to be the twelve months.
Directors: Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Mikhail Botov | Stars: Tatyana Barysheva, Yuliya Yulskaya, Lyudmila Kasatkina, Galina Novozhilova
Votes: 1,501
22. Cinderella (1947)
G | 80 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A young woman forced into servitude by her step-family gets a chance to attend the royal ball.
Directors: Nadezhda Kosheverova, Mikhail Shapiro | Stars: Yanina Zheymo, Aleksey Konsovskiy, Erast Garin, Faina Ranevskaya
Votes: 1,363
23. The Golden Antelope (1954)
31 min | Animation, Short, Fantasy
A poor Indian boy saves a magic antelope that can produce gold with its hooves. After a greedy Raja learns about it, he orders to bring him the antelope - or die.
Director: Lev Atamanov | Stars: Valentina Sperantova, Nina Nikitina, Ruben Simonov, Aleksandr Gruzinsky
Votes: 1,514
24. The Idiot (1958)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama
Upon Prince Myshkin's return to St. Petersburg from an asylum in Switzerland, he becomes beguiled by the lovely young Aglaya, daughter of a wealthy father. But his deepest emotion is for ... See full summary »
Director: Ivan Pyrev | Stars: Yuriy Yakovlev, Yuliya Borisova, Nikita Podgorny, Vera Pashennaya
Votes: 841
25. Vesna na Zarechnoy ulitse (1956)
96 min | Drama, Romance
A newly appointed Russian literature teacher develops a strong connection with one of her flagging students.
Directors: Marlen Khutsiev, Feliks Mironer | Stars: Nina Ivanova, Nikolay Rybnikov, Vladimir Gulyaev, Valentina Pugachyova
Votes: 1,763
26. Magdana's Donkey (1955)
50 min | Drama
Small Georgian village (ca. 1890) Magdana a widow lives in a shack with her 3 children and ekes out a living selling yogurt. When the children find a donkey lying by the road and nurse it to health, it seems the family's troubles are over.
Directors: Tengiz Abuladze, Rezo Chkheidze | Stars: Dudukhana Tserodze, Liana Moistsrapishvili, Mikho Borashvili, Nani Chikvinidze
Votes: 591
27. True Friends (1954)
100 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Alexander, Boris and Vasily are three old friends, who now rarely see each other as they are busy with their professional life. They embark on long-planned voyage on a raft down the Volga ... See full summary »
Director: Mikhail Kalatozov | Stars: Vasiliy Merkurev, Boris Chirkov, Aleksandr Borisov, Aleksey Gribov
Votes: 700
28. The Snowman-Postman (1955)
20 min | Animation, Short
On the eve of the New Year, several children write a letter to Father Frost asking him to send them a Christmas tree for the holiday, and then they make a Snowman who should take the letter... See full summary »
Director: Leonid Amalrik | Stars: Larisa Bukhartseva, Mariya Vinogradova, Georgiy Vitsin, Aleksey Gribov
Votes: 357
29. Geese-Swans (1949)
19 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
With a help of good nature a young brave girl goes to the dark forest for saving her youngest brother abducted by Baba Yaga.
Directors: Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya | Stars: Mariya Babanova, Georgiy Millyar, Vera Orlova
Votes: 349
30. The Overcoat (1959)
G | 75 min | Drama
A story about a government clerk who has his precious new overcoat stolen. No-one seems willing to help him retrieve his prized possession, a fact that continues to concern him even when he is beyond the grave.
Director: Aleksey Batalov | Stars: Rolan Bykov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Aleksandra Yozhkina, Elena Ponsova
Votes: 334
31. The Hunchback Horse (1947)
57 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Adventures of Ivan the Fool and humpbacked horse in the world of kind magical creatures and cruel people.
Directors: Aleksandra Snezhko-Blotskaya, Viktor Gromov, Ivan Ivanov-Vano | Stars: Georgi Chernovolenko, Alik Kachanov, Anatoliy Kubatskiy, Georgiy Millyar
Votes: 1,149
32. Delo bylo v Penkove (1958)
100 min | Drama, Romance
Take care of your husband attentively, even if you are the best woman in your village. Otherwise another woman from a town will take him immediately. And other advice on how to save your husband from the desperate zootechnician Tonya.
Director: Stanislav Rostotskiy | Stars: Maya Menglet, Svetlana Druzhinina, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Vladimir Ratomskiy
Votes: 441
33. The Forty-First (1956)
88 min | War, Drama, Romance
An unexpected romance occurs for a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer.
Director: Grigoriy Chukhray | Stars: Izolda Izvitskaya, Oleg Strizhenov, Nikolay Kryuchkov, Nikolai Dupak
Votes: 1,719
34. Carnival Night (1956)
Not Rated | 78 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A new chief of a "Culture House" is planning to hold a terribly boring New Year concert. A group of young amateur actors are doing their best to liven up the concert.
Director: Eldar Ryazanov | Stars: Igor Ilyinsky, Lyudmila Gurchenko, Yuri Belov, Georgiy Kulikov
Votes: 3,095
35. Vasilisa the Beautiful (1940)
72 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
The younger brother from the common people intends to fight for a salvation of the exiled princess, suffering from a dark magic curse.
Director: Aleksandr Rou | Stars: Georgiy Millyar, Sergey Stolyarov, Lev Potyomkin, Nikita Kondratyev
Votes: 544
36. Nebesnyy tikhokhod (1946)
83 min | Comedy, War
About three Russian pilots falling in love during the WWII.
Director: Semyon Timoshenko | Stars: Nikolay Kryuchkov, Vasiliy Merkurev, Vasili Neshchiplenko, Alla Parfanyak
Votes: 446
37. Don Kikhot (1957)
PG | 110 min | Drama
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 ... See full summary »
Director: Grigoriy Kozintsev | Stars: Nikolay Cherkasov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Serafima Birman, Svetlana Grigoreva
Votes: 937
38. The Inspector-General (1952)
132 min | Comedy, Crime
Khlestakov is a young flamboyant crook, who is broke. He finds himself in a small Russian town, where local authorities are waiting for an undercover inspector from the capital St. ... See full summary »
Director: Vladimir Petrov | Stars: Igor Gorbachyov, Yuriy Tolubeev, Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Tamara Nosova
Votes: 281
39. Two Soldiers (1943)
75 min | Drama, Romance, War
A story of infantry soldiers on the Leningrad front during the German invasion of Russia in WWII, which stresses the importance of friendship between combatants from different regions and ethnicities.
Director: Leonid Lukov | Stars: Mark Bernes, Boris Andreyev, Vera Shershnyova, Yanina Zheymo
Votes: 317
40. Mashenka (1942)
66 min | Drama, Romance, War
In 1939, as the air raid sirens sound over Moscow, a young man, Alyosha, falls in love with a telegraph operator called Mashenka.
Director: Yuli Raizman | Stars: Valentina Karavayeva, Mikhail Kuznetsov, D. Pankratova, Vera Altayskaya
Votes: 299
41. Little Gray Neck (1948)
20 min | Animation, Short
Defending a friend, duckling is attacked by fox and must learn to survive.
Directors: Leonid Amalrik, Vladimir Polkovnikov, Viktor Gromov | Stars: Viktoriya Ivanova, Lidiya Kazmina, Fyodor Kurikhin, Vladimir Popov
Votes: 463
42. The Cat's House (1958)
29 min | Animation, Short, Family
A rich and ignorant cat loses her big house in a fire. Only then she realizes that a friend in need is a friend indeed.
Director: Leonid Amalrik | Stars: Anastasiya Georgievskaya, Viktoriya Ivanova, Sergey Martinson, Vera Orlova
Votes: 424
43. Unamenables (1959)
76 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young, active girl from a factory is assigned to look after her workmates - two idlers who only waste everyone's time. Unexpectedly, they grew attached to each other.
Director: Yuriy Chulyukin | Stars: Nadezhda Rumyantseva, Yuri Belov, Aleksey Kozhevnikov, Vladimir Kozlov
Votes: 487
44. An Unusual Match (1955)
21 min | Animation, Short, Sport
During the night in a toy shop, two teams of toys have a football game. One team respect fair play, another - not at all.
Directors: Boris Dyozhkin, Mstislav Pashchenko | Stars: Boris Andreyev, Yuliya Yulskaya, Yuriy Khrzhanovskiy, Viktoriya Ivanova
Votes: 554
45. The Last Inch (1959)
88 min | Adventure, Drama
A boy must reach civilization on a plane for saving his wounded father.
Directors: Nikita Kurikhin, Teodor Vulfovich | Stars: Nikolai Kryukov, Vladislav Muratov, Mikhail Gluzskiy, Äliagha Aghayev
Votes: 292
46. Kashchei the Immortal (1945)
73 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
An epic tale filmed during the Second World War. Russian heroes Nikita Kozhemyaka and Bulat Balagur save the Russian land from the enemy hordes of Kashchei the Immortal and free the beautiful Marya Morevna.
Director: Aleksandr Rou | Stars: Sergey Stolyarov, Aleksandr Shirshov, Galina Grigoreva, Georgiy Millyar
Votes: 500
47. Doroga k zvezdam (1957)
52 min | Biography, Sci-Fi
A groundbreaking popular science fiction film about the past and future of astronautics, from the first experiments by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky to the manned spaceflight and colonization of the Moon.
Director: Pavel Klushantsev | Stars: Georgi Solovyov, Leonid Khmara, Georgi Kulbush
Votes: 364
48. The Flying Carpet (1957)
G | 86 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A boy finds a special jug and releases an ancient genie. The powerful and kind wizard is ready to fulfill all desires, but he doesn't know anything about the reality of the 20th century.
Director: Gennadiy Kazanskiy | Stars: Nikolay Volkov, Aleksei Litvinov, Gennadi Khudyakov, Lev Kovalchuk
Votes: 1,488
49. Tiger Girl (1955)
101 min | Comedy, Romance
The story is about heiress of the circus family who organizes show "Let's get married" right in the cage for the tigers.
Directors: Aleksandr Ivanovsky, Nadezhda Kosheverova | Stars: Lyudmila Kasatkina, Pavel Kadochnikov, Leonid Bykov, Pavel Sukhanov
Votes: 400
50. The Stone Flower (1946)
89 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
Obsessed with perfecting his craft, young gemcutter Danilo visits the mystical Copper Mountain to uncover the secret behind its infamous attraction - the Stone Flower, a stone carving so captivating that no one can leave after seeing it.
Director: Aleksandr Ptushko | Stars: Vladimir Druzhnikov, Yekaterina Derevshchikova, Tamara Makarova, Mikhail Troyanovskiy
Votes: 508
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