Russian and Eurasian Studies

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A great way to find Russian movies in both English and Russian.

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Anna Karenina on Russian Stage.
This multiple award-winning Vakhtangov Theatre production of Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece, Anna Karenina tells the story entirely in contemporary dance. In this way, Cholina succeeds in finding the equivalent of Tolstoy's words in harmony and movement, with every gesture holding meaning. The music of Alfred Schnittke helps to reveal the characters and their depth, together with elegance and mood.

Eugene Onegin on Russian Stage.
Eugene Onegin has often been referred to as an encyclopedia of 19th century Russian life. Rimas Tuminas' reimagining unfolds in the memory and imagination of Pushkin's characters. The images are split between past and present, between reality and imagination.The scale of the production constantly shifts from noisy celebrations to secluded contemplation, from crowd scenes to lonely recollections, all of which are drawn together from the past just like the fragments of Tatyana's love letter, framed and hung on the wall, looming next to and above Onegin's arm-chair.

Excerpts from Russian fiction, theatre and biography augment historical background to create a portrait of Russian social and literary development in the 19th and 20th centuries. This discussion is illuminated by photography, Russian art and sculpture. The program traces early 19th century Russian history and culture through Pushkin and Gogol. Profound changes in 19th century Russain life are reflected in excerpts from the works of Turgenev, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky and Yarmolinsky.

This film follows Anna Akhmatova's story reminiscent of an antique tragedy. Its participants, aside from the heroine, include Apollo and the muses, Dido and Aeneas from her beloved record of Purcell, Amedeo Modigliani, witches and visitors, statues and sovereigns, portraits and artists, armies and gardens, Paris and Leningrad, the storyteller and eternal chorus of milling crowds.

The film is made as a concert which is composed of unique fragments of dances from the famous performances of the great ballet dancers of the XX century, who brought fame to the Bolshoi theatre.