Mosfilm

Mosfilm (pic. 5) is a film studio, which is often described as the largest and oldest in Russia and in Europe. Its output includes most of the more widely-acclaimed Soviet films, ranging from works by Tarkovsky and Eisenstein (commonly considered the greatest Soviet directors), to Red Westerns, to the Akira Kurosawa co-production Dersu Uzala and the epic  War and Peace.

The Moscow film production unit with studio facilities was established in November 1923 by the motion picture mogul Aleksandr Khanzhonkov ("first film factory") and I. Ermolev ("third film factory") as a unit of the Goskino works. The first movie filmed by Mosfilm was On the Wings Skyward (directed by Boris Mikhin). In 1927 a new film studio complex was started to be built on Mosfilmovskaya Street in Sparrow Hills of Moscow. This film studio was named after Moscow amalgamated factory Soyuzkino the Tenth Anniversary of the October. In 1934 the film studio was renamed to Moskinokombinat, and in 1936 – to Mosfilm. During theWorld War II the film studio personnel were evacuated to Alma-Ata(August 1941) and merged with other Soviet production units into theCentral United Film Studio (TsOKS). The Mosfilm personnel returned to Moscow at the end of 1943.

The famous Mosfilm logo, representing the monument "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" by Vera Mukhina and Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin, was introduced in 1947 in the musical comedy, Spring directed by Grigori Aleksandrov and starring Lyubov Orlova and Nikolai Cherkasov.

By the end of the Soviet Union, Mosfilm had produced more than 3,000 films. Many film classics were shot at Mosfilm throughout its history and some of these were granted international awards at various film festivals.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Mosfilm continued operations as a quasi-private production company, led by the film director Karen Shakhnazarov. As of 2005, the company embraced ten independent studios, located within thirteen pavilions occupying the area of 13,000 sq. meters. Tours through this "Russian Hollywood" become increasingly popular, as they allow to view Mosfilm's enormous depot with 170 tanks and 50 vintage cars. The main pavilion is leased annually to hold the Golden Eagle Awards. In 2011 Mosfilm released a selection of its classic films online for free viewing.

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(The logotype of Mosfilm)

IV. Russian Cinema Before and After Hollywood Influence

When people think of Russia, often they first think of the Soviet Union, the Cold War, communism and how many freedoms that Americans enjoy today were taken away from the Russians during this period of time.  

If you asked people about how they would characterize Russian cinema during that time period even if they had never seen a Russian film, they would most likely tell you that it was probably heavily censored to prohibit any sort of Western influences. However, even though this is true in a sense, the fact is that Russian cinema flourished to its peak during the Soviet Regime and during the time of Tsars, but as the Soviet Union began to collapse, even though Western influence infiltrated itself into Russian cinema, not only did the Russian style films die, the majority of film-making in Russia died along with it.

  Cinema was first brought to Russia by the Lumiere Brothers in May of 1896.  Soon after the first Russian film, Stenka Razin, was made by Aleksandr Drankov.  Several other notable films were also made such as Oborona Sevanstopolya (The Defense of Sevastopol) and Ukhod Velikovo Startsa (Departure of the Grand Old Man).  

The film industry boomed to produce almost five hundred films during World War I as the Russians began making anti-German films.  After World War I and the Russian Revolution, the Soviet Union was formed which brought about a huge change in film production.  The content of all films produced was subject to much censorship and control by the state government.  However, this did not keep the Soviet Union’s films from gaining significant success, especially after World War II.  Notable films that were produced areBattleship Potemkin, Mother, as well as Ballad of Siberia.  

After the 1950’s the censorship of movies was relaxed, which gave Soviet films more international recognition.  Notable films are Ballada o Soldate (Ballad of a Soldier), The Cranes are Flying, Solaris, Seventeen Instants of Spring and White Sun of the Desert.  Beginning in the mid 1980’s is when the censorship began to collapse as the Soviet regime came to a close, which is when most of the Western influences began to immerge in Russian films.  These Western films were called Ostern, followed by other films dealing with drug addiction, and sexuality.

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