Nasreddin in Bukhara 1943

Smart Man Nassredin easily penetrates into Bukhara Emir inner circle posing as Wise Man from Damascus. He becomes Emir trusted advisor, and even convinces the tyrant to relax the rule and release a lot of political prisoners (because stars favor this arrangement).

Without Dowry 1937

Ogudolova, unlike her sisters, refuses to obey her mother's wish that she marry a wealthy old man in order to collect a dowry

Marionettes 1934

The Soviet Union wants more influence in Europe and decides to get more power by giving the nation of Boufferia a new king, an easy to handle drunkard, because they don't have enough power over the current king.

Ranks and People 1929

From his early silent works, the great Russian film director, Herr Yakov Protazanov, made literary adaptations from equally great Russian writers, as is the case with "Chiny I Lyudi" ( Ranks And People ) (1929) in which three short stories by Chekhov, "Anna On The Neck", "Death Of A Petty Official" and "Chameleon" were assembled for the silent screen.

Don Diego and Pelagia 1928

The vain station master of a Russian train station out in the sticks has a quarrel with an old peasant woman and has her thrown in jail. The local party youth organisation finally manage to get her released, after having to cut through lots of red tape.

Chess Fever 1925

A young Soviet woman struggles to cope in a society obsessed with chess.

Aelita: Queen of Mars 1924

A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.

Father Sergius 1918

The story of Prince Stepán Kasátsky discovering his fiancée was the mistress of the Czar, so he then becomes a monk.

Jenny the Maid 1918

After the death of Count Chambery his wife and daughter were left without means of subsistence. Seeing no other way out, a young woman settles maid in the house of Baroness Angers.

Dance of Death 1917

A conductor is haunted by hallucinations during a performance of Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse macabre.

Sin 1916

She Seeked Happiness So Madly, So Passionately 1916

The Queen of Spades 1916

While hosting a game of cards one night, Narumov tells his friends a story about his grandmother, a Countess. As a young woman, she had once incurred an enormous gambling debt, which she was able to erase by learning a secret that guaranteed that she could win by playing her cards in a certain order. One of Narumov's friends, German, has never gambled, but he is intrigued by the story about the Countess and her secret. He soon becomes obsessed with learning this secret from her, and he starts by courting her young ward Lizaveta, hoping to use her to gain access to the Countess.

Christmas in Trench Lines 1914

Short film about Russian soldiers during World War I.

Nailed 1913

The Keys to Happiness 1913

Directed by Vladimir Gardin and Yakov Protazanov, this two-part epic was the most expensive Russian film at the time and smashed box office records. It is now considered lost, with only a 4 minute clip surviving.

The Departure of a Great Old Man 1912

A group of peasants comes to see Leo Tolstoy and his wife, the Countess, to request some land. Tolstoy must explain to them that it is his wife who has authority over their land-holdings, and she will not help them. Stung by their negative reaction to him, Tolstoy becomes increasingly preoccupied with the problems of the poor. This leads to a number of conflicts with his wife, and then to a deep despondency, as the noted writer continues vainly to search for answers to the sufferings he sees around him.