Best Soviet movies (1940-1959)
Listed 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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- DirectorHuseyn SeyidzadehStarsÄliagha AghayevAhmad AhmadovArif MirzaquliyevPopularly 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 old-theme of a beautiful young woman (Gulnaz) who falls in love with a young man (Sarvar) but is obliged to marry someone else. Gulnaz' father, Rustam bey, is bankrupt. He decides that the only way to pay off his creditors is to get money by marrying off Gulnaz to the rich, old, widowed bazaar merchant, Mashadi Ibad. But Sarvar contrives a way to foil the plan by disguising himself as the bride hidden under the thick Muslim veil. When Mashadi Ibad lifts the veil to see his bride's face, he discovers Sarvar who holds him at gun point and makes him write a statement that he really wants to marry the maid, not Gulnaz. This is where the work gets its title, "If Not This One, Then That One." The strategy works and Sarvar succeeds in marrying Gulnaz.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsTatyana SamoylovaAleksey BatalovVasiliy MerkurevVeronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsVladimir IvashovZhanna ProkhorenkoAntonina MaksimovaYoung Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.
- DirectorHebib IsmayilovStarsNajiba MalikovaFateh FatullayevHaqiqat RzayevaThe 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
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsSergey BondarchukPavel BoriskinZinaida KirienkoA 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.
- DirectorVladimir PolkovnikovAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaStarsValentina SperantovaAnatoliy KubatskiyErast GarinA 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.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovSerafima BirmanPavel KadochnikovAs Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
- DirectorSergei YutkevichStarsAkaki KhoravaBesa ImamiAdivie AlibaliThis 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 starts off with how the boy Scanderbeg was taken hostage by the ottoman turks and trained from them until he became one of the most outstanding warriors of the Ottoman Empire, then later returned home to his country to organized the oppressed Albanians into a fierce and heroic resistance for over 30 years. After converting from Islam to Christianity (the religion of ancestors) he managed to keep the greatest empire on earth at the time from invading Albania. His story is an inspiration to generations of Albanians, wherever they lived.
- DirectorSergey GerasimovStarsPyotr GlebovElina BystritskayaZinaida KirienkoAn epic story of shattered lives of the Don Cossacks through chaos of World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the following Civil War.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovLyudmila TselikovskayaSerafima BirmanDuring 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.
- DirectorIsidor AnnenskyStarsAleksey GribovFaina RanevskayaZoya FyodorovaPetty 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 himself to be a fiance, is not going to marry at all. With great difficulty, Dasha's father managed to persuade an ambitious groom to make an offer. The groom agreed, stipulating that the general attend the wedding.
- DirectorTofig TaghizadeStarsNodar ShashigogluYuriy BogolyubovAlasgar AlakbarovPortray the life of the Mehdi Huseynzade, legendary Azerbaijani guerrilla of the WW2, who fought the Nazi forces in the present-day Italy and Slovenia.
- DirectorTatyana LukashevichStarsVeronika LebedevaFaina RanevskayaPyotr RepninOld woman came to have a drink of water. Then apartment owners looked around - no piano. And many other adventures of Natasha and her friends.
- DirectorLev KulidzhanovYakov SegelStarsValentina TeleginaNikolai YelizarovVladimir ZemlyanikinA film about war from the point of view of those left behind.
- DirectorLev AtamanovStarsVladimir GribkovYanina ZheymoAnna KomolovaWhen 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.
- DirectorAnatoliy GranikStarsLeonid BykovNikolay YakovchenkoAleksandr BorisovMaxim 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.
- DirectorNikolay LeshchenkoRza TakhmasibStarsRashid BehbudovLeyla BadirbayliLütfäli AbdullayevIn 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.
- DirectorMikhail TsekhanovskiyStarsMariya BabanovaZhanna BalashovaYulyen BalmusovThe tale about an old, henpecked man whose new friend fulfills all desires of his wife.
- DirectorIvan Ivanov-VanoAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaStarsMariya BabanovaZinaida BokarevaNikolay LitvinovA 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.
- DirectorLev AtamanovStarsMariya BabanovaNikolay BogolyubovOlga ChepurovaNastenka 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.
- DirectorIvan Ivanov-VanoMikhail BotovStarsTatyana BaryshevaYuliya YulskayaLyudmila KasatkinaA 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.
- DirectorNadezhda KosheverovaMikhail ShapiroStarsYanina ZheymoAleksey KonsovskiyErast GarinA young woman forced into servitude by her step-family gets a chance to attend the royal ball.
- DirectorLev AtamanovStarsValentina SperantovaNina NikitinaRuben SimonovA 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.
- DirectorIvan PyrevStarsYuriy YakovlevYuliya BorisovaNikita PodgornyUpon 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 the wanton, Nastasia. The choices all are forced to make lead to great tragedy.
- DirectorMarlen KhutsievFeliks MironerStarsNina IvanovaNikolay RybnikovVladimir GulyaevA newly appointed Russian literature teacher develops a strong connection with one of her flagging students.
- DirectorTengiz AbuladzeRezo ChkheidzeStarsDudukhana TserodzeLiana MoistsrapishviliMikho BorashviliSmall 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.
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsVasiliy MerkurevBoris ChirkovAleksandr BorisovAlexander, 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 river, which turns into a series of comical accidents but also strengthens their friendship.
- DirectorLeonid AmalrikStarsLarisa BukhartsevaMariya VinogradovaGeorgiy VitsinOn 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 to the magic forest. When midnight arrives, under the beat of a clock, the Snowman comes to life and, together with a small yard puppy, nicknamed Druzhok, sets off in search of Father Frost.
- DirectorIvan Ivanov-VanoAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaStarsMariya BabanovaGeorgiy MillyarVera OrlovaWith a help of good nature a young brave girl goes to the dark forest for saving her youngest brother abducted by Baba Yaga.
- DirectorAleksey BatalovStarsRolan BykovYuriy TolubeevAleksandra YozhkinaA 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.
- DirectorAleksandra Snezhko-BlotskayaViktor GromovIvan Ivanov-VanoStarsGeorgi ChernovolenkoAlik KachanovAnatoliy KubatskiyAdventures of Ivan the Fool and humpbacked horse in the world of kind magical creatures and cruel people.
- DirectorStanislav RostotskiyStarsMaya MengletSvetlana DruzhininaVyacheslav TikhonovTake 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.
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsIzolda IzvitskayaOleg StrizhenovNikolay KryuchkovAn unexpected romance occurs for a female Red Army sniper and a White Army officer.
- DirectorEldar RyazanovStarsIgor IlyinskyLyudmila GurchenkoYuri BelovA 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.
- DirectorAleksandr RouStarsGeorgiy MillyarSergey StolyarovLev PotyomkinThe younger brother from the common people intends to fight for a salvation of the exiled princess, suffering from a dark magic curse.
- DirectorSemyon TimoshenkoStarsNikolay KryuchkovVasiliy MerkurevVasili NeshchiplenkoAbout three Russian pilots falling in love during the WWII.
- DirectorGrigoriy KozintsevStarsNikolay CherkasovYuriy TolubeevSerafima BirmanSenor 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 Panza on a mule, to perform valiant deeds. They mistakenly save the Lady Altisidora who is so amused that she invites them to visit the Duke to provide some merriment at court. Among other deeds, Don Quixote frees some prisoners, who then turn upon him, and Don Quixote attacks a windmill that he imagines is a monstrous wizard.
- DirectorVladimir PetrovStarsIgor GorbachyovYuriy TolubeevAnastasiya GeorgievskayaKhlestakov 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. Petersburg. Khlestakov is mistaken for an undercover inspector, and uses the situation for taking bribes from the local governor and flirting with both his wife and daughter. Khlestakov abuses the corruption and hypocrisy of the local authorities until, at the end, the real inspector shows up...
- DirectorLeonid LukovStarsMark BernesBoris AndreyevVera ShershnyovaA 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.
- DirectorYuli RaizmanStarsValentina KaravayevaMikhail KuznetsovD. PankratovaIn 1939, as the air raid sirens sound over Moscow, a young man, Alyosha, falls in love with a telegraph operator called Mashenka.
- DirectorLeonid AmalrikVladimir PolkovnikovViktor GromovStarsViktoriya IvanovaLidiya KazminaFyodor KurikhinDefending a friend, duckling is attacked by fox and must learn to survive.
- DirectorLeonid AmalrikStarsAnastasiya GeorgievskayaViktoriya IvanovaSergey MartinsonA rich and ignorant cat loses her big house in a fire. Only then she realizes that a friend in need is a friend indeed.
- DirectorYuriy ChulyukinStarsNadezhda RumyantsevaYuri BelovAleksey KozhevnikovA 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.
- DirectorBoris DyozhkinMstislav PashchenkoStarsBoris AndreyevYuliya YulskayaYuriy KhrzhanovskiyDuring the night in a toy shop, two teams of toys have a football game. One team respect fair play, another - not at all.
- DirectorNikita KurikhinTeodor VulfovichStarsNikolai KryukovVladislav MuratovMikhail GluzskiyA boy must reach civilization on a plane for saving his wounded father.
- DirectorAleksandr RouStarsSergey StolyarovAleksandr ShirshovGalina GrigorevaAn 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.
- DirectorPavel KlushantsevStarsGeorgi SolovyovLeonid KhmaraGeorgi KulbushA 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.
- DirectorGennadiy KazanskiyStarsNikolay VolkovAleksei LitvinovGennadi KhudyakovA 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.
- DirectorAleksandr IvanovskyNadezhda KosheverovaStarsLyudmila KasatkinaPavel KadochnikovLeonid BykovThe story is about heiress of the circus family who organizes show "Let's get married" right in the cage for the tigers.
- DirectorAleksandr PtushkoStarsVladimir DruzhnikovYekaterina DerevshchikovaTamara MakarovaObsessed 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.