The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades 1910

4.50

Based on Pushkin's short story: When his friends play faro, Germann always enjoys watching, but he never gambles himself. One day, as he is watching their game, he learns that an elderly countess staying nearby is said to possess a secret for winning a fortune at the game. Germann is determined to learn this secret from her, and he initiates a romance with her grand-daughter Liza, in order to improve his chances.

1910

The Dying Swan

The Dying Swan 1917

6.35

After being betrayed by her playboy lover, a heartbroken mute young woman joins a ballet company; during a performance of “The Dying Swan,” she enraptures a painter obsessed with portraying death genuinely.

1917

Defence of Sevastopol

Defence of Sevastopol 1911

4.89

First film ever that was shot by two cameras. Set in 1854-1855, in Sevastopol and Yalta during the Crimean War. Admirals Kornilov (Mozzhukhin) and Nakhimov (Gromov) organize the defense during the siege of Sevastopol. Both admirals are killed during the battle, and the city of Sevastopol is taken by the alliance of British, French, Sardinian, and Turkish troops. The legendary feat of Sailor Koshka (Semenov) was staged at original location. The 100 minute-long film was premiered in 1911 at the Livadia, Yalta, palace for the Tsar Nicholas II.

1911

After Death

After Death 1915

6.04

Young scholar Andrei, fascinated by haunting actress Zoia Kadmina, is surprised when she sends him a note. The two have a brief scheduled meeting, then three months later Andrei is shocked to learn she has died. He becomes obsessed with Zoia's memory and decides he must find out all that he can about her.

1915

The Little House in Kolomna

The Little House in Kolomna 1913

5.30

Based on the story by Pushkin. Pretty young Parasha is living with her widowed mother. Parasha diligently takes care of many household tasks, but she also enjoys flirting with the guards's officers who pass by her window, and she has one particular favourite. One day, Parasha's mother asks her to hire a cook, and to do so as cheaply as possible. Parasha and her beau soon see a way to use this situation to their own advantage.

1913

Mirages

Mirages 1916

6.13

Marianna advertises for work as a reader and is employed by the reclusive millionaire Dymov. Appreciative of her sensitive, artistic nature, and of her youthful innocence and purity, Dymov is protective of Marianna and shields her from the attentions of his philandering playboy son. Marianna confesses to her fiancé Sergei that, at times, she feels deeply conflicted, drawn by the seductive lure of wealth and luxury. When her protector Dymov dies, his son begins to pursue her. Can Marianna resist her attraction to the opulent lifestyle that Dymov's son offers?

1916

The Night Before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas 1913

5.10

Based on Gogol's story. It is Christmas Eve, and the town witches’ son, a blacksmith, seeks an honest marriage to his love who wishes for a pair of shoes fit for the Tsarina. A mischievous devil is trapped into providing service to the smith.

1913

The Cameraman's Revenge

The Cameraman's Revenge 1912

6.94

A jilted husband takes his revenge by filming his wife and her lover and showing the result at the local cinema. This was one of Starewicz' first animated films, and stars a cast of animated beetles.

1912

The Kreutzer Sonata

The Kreutzer Sonata 1911

1

The Kreutzer Sonata is a 1911 Russian silent film directed by Pyotr Chardynin. The film is considered lost.

1911

A Revolutionary

A Revolutionary 1917

6.00

In 1907, the Russian authorities learn that a revolutionary known as 'Granddad' is living in hiding with his brother. The revolutionary is soon arrested and sent to Siberia. After ten years of struggling to survive in harsh conditions, he is finally released when the Tsarist government is overthrown in February 1917. He is welcomed home as a hero, but he soon finds that even his own son has different views than he does about the future of Russia.

1917

The King of Paris

The King of Paris 1917

5.90

The lives of two young men-- A virtuous artist who's renounced a background of riches and a debonair swindler proclaimed by many the King of Paris-- intersect when the artist's mother becomes the target of the kingly charlatan.

1917

The Happiness of Eternal Night

The Happiness of Eternal Night 1915

5.80

A blind woman is cured by a doctor, but when her sight is restored she accidently mistakes her kind lover for his wayward younger brother and no one deems to correct her ‘fearing for her psyche’.

1915

In A Lively Place

In A Lively Place 1911

1

Based on the 1865 play of the same name by Alexander Ostrovsky.

1911

Engineer Prite's Project

Engineer Prite's Project 1918

5.40

A man is caught between his friendship with a young engineer wishing to open his peat-powered electric plant and his love for a young woman, whose father owns an oil company.

1918

Boris Godunov

Boris Godunov 1912

1

This film consists of a single dramatized scene from Pushkin's play of the same name.

1912

Sorrows of Sarah

Sorrows of Sarah 1913

5.00

This film captures a stage production at Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, accompanied by the choir of Moscow Synagogue. Brothers Isaak and Borukh are both in love with Sarra, but Sarra chooses Isaac and they got married. However, Sarra could not conceive for ten years, and their Rabbi tells them that according to Jewish law, they must divorce. Isaak's parents push him to sign the divorce paper, then their Rabbi drops the divorce paper to Sarra's feet. She tells Isaac about her grief, and Isaak commits suicide. Soon after-wards, Sore realizes that she is pregnant, but she is now single.

1913