Must-watch films from Russia and surrounding regions

Starting this thread because I am honestly so annoyed...
😁

There are actually some great people on YouTube who have uploaded huge collections of films and series from the old Soviet bloc. You've got legends like Tarkovsky, Parajanov, Sokurov, Bartas, and other "unsung heroes" from those remote places like Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan...😛

It just pisses me off that you’ll never see stuff like this on American TV. Like, do I need to send a formal complaint to someone to get this changed? Worst part is, most people probably wouldn't even find these movies interesting anyway, since there isn't any Wentworth Miller fighting for justice or Angelina Jolie saving the world...

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If we were to sit down and draft a formal protest letter to PBS, we’d quickly realize that almost every significant historical filmmaker from non-English speaking regions—and honestly, even many from English-speaking ones—is missing from your programming.
Thank you for your years of dedicated effort in ignoring and effectively erasing cinematic history.
Your loyal subscribers.

If nothing else, you should fight back against public broadcasting by refusing to pay your license fees. 🙂

But then again, I suspect we have ourselves to blame. If people actually had an appetite for Russian cinema, there would be more of it on the airwaves.

goldenhound32 said:If all else fails, just fight back against public broadcasting by refusing to pay your license fees.🙂

But honestly? I think we have ourselves to blame. If people actually wanted to watch Russian cinema, there’d be more of it on TV.

I'm with you on that. Those films might pull in a tiny handful of cinephiles, but everyone else would just tune out—complaining about how boring or "pretentious" they are because they're in black and white. Unfortunately, modern audiences have developed this taste for high-end filler—they want endless loops of CSI or glorified music videos instead.

Most decent, high-quality European cinema tends to show up way too late for the mainstream crowd—it’s almost always an afterthought. Honestly, thank God we have the internet and specific streaming sites to dig through, because if it weren't for that, we'd all be stuck watching nothing but pure commercial garbage.

That’s true, there’s also that option, though it might take a while to materialize. For anyone stuck without high-speed broadband, I suppose you could always fall back on recording everything onto VHS using an old VCR.

By the way—if anyone is actually looking for something to watch, I stumbled upon this one site I use to grab movies. Most of the links point toward RapidShare... it’s got a massive selection of European cinema, and according to the list, there are about 200 Russian films on there too. If you're interested, just shoot me a PM and I'll get you sorted.

Jerry Adams71 said:Totally agree. Those movies might pull in a tiny handful of cinephiles, but everyone else would just be like, "What is this nonsense? This is boring, and it's in black and white..." Sadly, these days people with "refined" tastes just want to binge CSI or some other glorified music video.

It’s basically the classic chicken or the egg situation: 😁

Is it the public looking for trash, or did TV just train everyone to crave it?

Jessica Walker said:I'm starting this thread because I am honestly just so frustrated...
😁

There are actually some decent people on YouTube who have uploaded massive collections of films and series from the former Soviet Union. We're talking the legendary Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Parajanov, Alexander Sokurov, Alekas Bartas, and all those other "unsung heroes" from remote corners of the world like Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan...😛

It drives me crazy that you'll never see movies like these on our American television stations. Should I send a formal protest note to someone to get this changed? What's worse is that most people probably wouldn't even find these films interesting anyway, since there isn't a Wentworth Miller fighting for justice or an Angelina Jolie saving the world in them...

☕

Don't be so upset 🙂

Terry Mendoza80 said:btw, if anyone is interested, I know of a site I use to grab movies; the links are mostly RapidShare... there's a huge selection of European films, and the list says it has about 200 Russian ones too, so if anyone wants them, just shoot me a PM.

You don't even need to hunt for those rare & hard-to-find gems anymore; the revolution is officially called: theauteurs.com. Friends, please, take my advice:

New website: "The Auteurs"
Now this is cool:

Not everyone can make it to the Sundance Film Festival—especially if you are a school teacher or you live in Winnipeg (or both)—but that doesn’t mean you can’t recite all of Kubrick’s films in reverse chronological order, or that you are not desperate to watch the latest Kitano film that’s definitely not going to be released in your local multiplex. Thus, this site, which believes firmly in the idea that popular doesn’t always mean good. The site’s film library is brimming with visionary films that wouldn’t fill a single cinema in Belgium for a Week - not even a day.

But if you searched the world (all of it), you might just find an audience of a thousand for these rare cinematic treats. The site founders don’t think a thousand people should be ignored just because they happen to live in different time zones or far away from Belgian cinemas. If someone needed to make such a precise film, it means that someone, somewhere needs to watch it. More importantly, that someone might be you. Or Martin Scorsese (who also happens to be a member). You’ll also find Hollywood favorites, from Annie Hall to The Royal Tenenbaums. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter where films come from, as long as they come from someone’s mind. The Auteurs is not just about discovering wonderful new cinema or classic masterpieces. It’s also about discussing and sharing these discoveries. Heated debates and passionate arguments are welcome.

So, I finally signed up and took a good look around the site. Just to give you an idea of what’s available right now, you can dive into titles like:

L'avventura (Italy - 1960)

The General (United States - 1926)

The Mirror (Soviet Union - 1975)

Harakiri (Japan - 1962)

Cleo from 5 to 7 (France -1962)

Happy Together (Hong Kong - 1997)

The Sacrifice (Sweden - 1986)

Fallen Angels (Hong Kong - 1995)

Plata Quem Rosa (Spain - 1976)

Come and See (Soviet Union - 1985)

Black Orpheus (Brazil - 1959)

After Life (Japan - 1998)

Tropical Malady (Thailand - 2004)

The Son (Belgium - 2002)

Cops (United States - 1922)

The Blue Angel (Germany - 1930)

Faust (Czech Republic - 1994)

Food (United Kingdom - 1992)

And honestly, that’s just the first page of eight. Most of the stuff is free, though some require a five-dollar rental fee. Given how much we all tend to moan and groan about the current state of the movie industry, finding an online community actually dedicated to cinema feels like a win. You get access to fascinating films from all over, daily updates on indie releases, and a place to actually debate movies with people globally...

Seems pretty solid to me.

Basically, there's a massive pile of free movies (the resolution looks decent enough, sound is great, and the stream doesn't stutter even if your internet is acting up). It's perfect for hooking your laptop up to the big screen and chilling (assuming you don't mind English subtitles, obviously). Speaking of which, I actually have The Mirror by Andrei Tarkovsky running on my projector right now (just a heads-up, you might need a VPN for some of those free titles, which is an easy fix, but the rest should work fine without one).

They dropped that series "Saša's Crew" about two years ago. From what I can tell, people actually dug it. I’m not counting Anastasia as part of the whole deal, though. It's just a total scam.😍

But yeah, everything just kind of stalled out there..

Look, I'm not saying Brigade is a bad series. It’s just... it's a stretch to put it in the same conversation as The Sopranos. 🙂

@Christian Taylor3/">@@Christian Taylor3
What exactly is a VPN tunnel?

goldenhound32 said:@Christian Taylor3/">@@Christian Taylor3
What exactly is a VPN tunnel?

Nothing illegal about it, just more info on using a VPN here. It basically means you can binge your favorite shows on Hulu.com or dive into most of the films on The Auteurs without any hassle. In short—it’s pure bliss. Honestly, I don't even pay for a VPN myself (just figure it out, kid 😁).

Jessica Walker said:Is it the people's fault for hunting down trash, or did television just bait them into consuming garbage?

Nah, there’s zero doubt here—the audience is actively hunting for the junk. And honestly, it doesn't even have to be "trash" per se (I mean, not every single indie flick out of the former Soviet Union is going to be a masterpiece), but let's be real: it's obvious that only very specific types of programming actually manage to hit that sweet spot and find an audience.

There was a time when television actually showcased true European masterpieces, but those days seem long gone. It’s honestly nauseating to see what passes for "top-tier" cinema these days. Most people, especially the younger generation, seem completely oblivious to actual artistry. When I look at an IMDb list and see nothing but junk like Harry Potter, The Matrix, X-Men, Batman, or Iron Man sitting there with high ratings, it’s genuinely appalling. I find it difficult to wrap my head around how anyone could consider these glorified video game adaptations superior to the genuine classics.
Roughly 90% of what airs on TV is absolute garbage. I assume they just cycle through them because they're cheap to license. Personally, I prefer downloading the real gems from the internet—the stuff you won't find anywhere else—and actually enjoying some quality.