Best Movies Made in the Soviet Union (1922-1991)

The Top Ten
1 Solaris (1972)
2 The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
3 The Needle (1988)
4 Ivan Vasilievich: Back to the Future (1973)
5 The Battleship Potemkin (1925)
6 Alexander Nevsky (1938)
7 Operation 'Y' & Other Shurik's Adventures (1965)
8 Strike (1924)
9 Ivan the Terrible (1944)
10 October: Ten Days That Shook the World (1927)
The Contenders
11 The Diamond Arm (1969)

Another brilliant Gaidai comedy with stunning Yuri Nikulin in the title role.

12 Stalker (1979)

1979 Soviet movie by Andrei Tarkovsky, loosely based on Strugatsky Brothers' 1972 novel "Roadside Picnic".

13 Gentlemen of Fortune (1971)

One of the best Soviet comedies, not inferior to the best films of Leonid Gaidai. The leading roles are played by the best Soviet actors - Yevgeny Leonov, Georgy Vitsin, Savely Kramarov.

14 The Dawns Here are Quiet (1972)

One of the best WWII movies I've seen. A group of anti-aircraft gunner girls will have to confront the German troops that have landed in the rear. They have nowhere to wait for help, they will have to rely only on their own strength...

15 Only Old Men are Going to Battle (1973)

A timeless classic, one of the most popular films in Russia. The action takes place in an air squadron during the Second World War.
The film combines both comedic and dramatic moments. One of those war films after which you just want to live and never see the war. "Old Men" here means "the most experienced ones".

16 They Fought for Their Country (1975)

Another WWII movie. In July 1942, in the Second World War, the rearguard of the Red Army protects the bridgehead of the Don River against the German army while the retreating soviet troops cross the bridge. While they move back to the Russian territory through the countryside, the soldiers show their companionship, sentiments, fears and heroism to defend their motherland.

17 Kin-Dza-Dza! (1986)

Iconic 1986 Soviet Sci-Fi antiutopia. It may seem somewhat weird, but in reality this film is a talented satire on modern reality. Despite the fact that it was filmed at a completely different time in a country that has not existed for a long time, this film has not lost its relevance today.

18 Chapaev (1934)

Iconic 1934 Soviet movie about a hero of Russian Civil War.

19 The Golden Calf (1968)

Soviet 1968 comedy movie, adaptation of 1931 novel by Ilf and Petrov with the same name. The film describes the further adventures of one of the most popular characters in Russian and Soviet literature and cinema - Ostap Bender - after the events of "12 Chairs", a previous book published in 1927.
The adaptations of the works of Ilf and Petrov in the USSR generally came out especially successful (1971 Gaidai's "12 Chairs" and 1975 Zakharov "12 Chairs" were very, very good), but of all of them I like this film the most.

20 The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Hound of the Baskervilles (1981)

In the period from 1979 to 1986, a number of film adaptations of works about Sherlock Holmes were released in the USSR, with the same actors and crew. They gained unprecedented popularity and became a significant cultural phenomenon in Soviet and Russian cinema. Until now, for the inhabitants of 1/6 of the land, there is no better Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, which were played in these films by Vasily Livanov and Vitaly Solomin.
The 1981 adaptation of The Dog of the Baskervilles is probably my favorite of these films.

21 The Twelve Chairs (1976)

There are two film adaptations of the legendary novel "The Twelve Chairs" by Ilf and Petrov, released in the 70s in the Soviet Union - a 1971 film by Leonid Gaidai and a 1976 film by Mark Zakharov. Both turned out to be very successful, each turned out to be different, bearing the imprint of the director's vision. I like both, although perhaps I like Ostap Bender performed by the magnificent Andrei Mironov in the 1976 film more.

22 The Wind (1959)
23 Ballad of a Soldier (1959)

Soviet 1959 WWII movie. Easily among the most emotional WWII movies I've seen. Charlie Chaplin cried while watching this movie. Marlene Dietrich seen this at least 8 times.

24 White Sun of the Desert (1970)

This Ostern movie (Ostern is a film culturally inspired by classic westerns, but which takes place in the southern and southeastern territories of the USSR, usually during the Revolution or Civil War, in the steppes of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, or the Caucasus mountains) gained unprecedented popularity and became a real treasure trove of quotes and aphorisms, as well as just popular scenes and situations.

25 Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears (1979)
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