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

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

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 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

Child of the Big City

Child of the Big City 1914

5.55

Seamstress Mary dreams of a better life outside a sweatshop. Her dreams come true when she draws the attention of the bourgeois Victor. She soon tires of him, and thanks to her, his money is almost gone. When he suggests settling down outside the big city, where his money could be enough for a modest living, she leaves him and picks up a new lover. A year later, he is living in a shabby, cold hovel, still pining away for her.

1914

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 Robber Brothers

The Robber Brothers 1912

4.80

Based on the poem by Pushkin. A thief and his gang are at their camp next to the Volga River. He tells them of how his father died in a river, and how his brother and he were thrown out of the house as children by their step-mother…

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

Glory to Us, Death to the Enemy

Glory to Us, Death to the Enemy 1914

5.00

This 1914 drama set in the WWI-era relates a heroic act carried out by a war nurse for the Red Cross (Dora Tschitorina) who has witnessed the death of her husband (Ivan Mosjoukine).

1914

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

Mermaid

Mermaid 1910

4.50

"Rusalka" or "Mermaid" based on Pushkin, an opera by Dargomizhsky, and other sources: A prince and a miller's daughter have been involved in a romance together, but now the prince tells her that he must break it off. After the prince leaves, the distraught young woman attempts to drown herself. When the prince's wedding day arrives, he is tormented by her image, which appears wherever he goes. Eventually, he is compelled to return and to try to find out what happened to her, regardless of the consequences.

1910

The Queen of Spades

The Queen of Spades 1910

4.40

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 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

Snegurochka

Snegurochka 1914

1

Based on Alexander Ostrovsky's "The Snow Maiden"

1914

The In-Law

The In-Law 1912

5.00

Lusha is suffering from her drunken husband. One day her father-in-law rapes her. Of course, she doesn’t dare admit it to her husband. So, unable to move this incident, Lusha commits suicide...

1912

Uncle's Apartment

Uncle's Apartment 1913

5.20

A man rents out his uncle's room to all kinds of people.

1913