A Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast with Ally Pitts

Lyn Seren, host of  Gentlemen Don't Get Caught: An R.E.M. Podcast , joins Ally Pitts to discuss this appropriately dark exploration of a relationship between two traumatised young women living in Leningrad in the aftermath of World War II. SPOILERS from about 20 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: the film discussed contains many upsetting scenes, including some containing sexual violence ....

Kino Klassika is a UK non-profit organisation that highlights films from Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia. Shortly before the launch of Klassiki, Kino Klassika's new streaming service, Ally Pitts spoke to season manager Olga Doletskaya. Find out more about Kino Klassika: https://www.kinoklassikafoundation.org/ Find out more about Klassiki: https://klassiki.online/ If you enjoyed this episode...

Lyn Seren, host of Gentlemen Don't Get Caught: An R.E.M. Podcast joins Ally Pitts to discuss this suitably epic adaptation of Lev Tolstoy's famous masterpiece. Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at:  ko-fi.com/russophilesunite Listeners in the UK can buy War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy and Bondarchuk's War and Peace': Literary Classic to Soviet Cinematic Epic by Professor Denise J. Youngbloo...

Carrie Pitts, Russian language & literature graduate, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this festive fairy tale adventure featuring winter wizard Ded Moroz and notorious witch Baba Yaga. Listeners in the UK can buy Why the Bear Has No Tail: And other Russian Folk Tales, translated by Netta Peacock and The Story of Synko-Filipko and other Russian Folk Tales, (both Fontanka Press), translated by Dr Lo...

Samantha Berkhead, Moscow Times editor and bad movie enthusiast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this extremely ill-judged pre-teen fish-out-of-water/time-travel comedy which features the doomed Romanov princess as its main character.  Listeners in the UK can support the show by picking up a book via our online affiliate bookshop. 10% of the sale will go towards covering the costs of running the show...

Caroline Ridler, academic and musician , joins Ally Pitts to discuss this musical/drama/biopic which follows the growth of the Leningrad rock scene in the early 1980s, with a particular focus on one of its most famous members, Kino frontman Viktor Tsoi. Listeners in the UK can buy Everything Was Forever, Until It Was No More by Alexei Yurchak from Princeton University Press via our uk.bookshop.org...

Bianca Garner , film critic and editor and founder of In Their Own League , a website focusing on female filmmakers, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this 1960s romantic drama co-starring legendary Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky. Listeners in the UK can buy Kira Muratova by Jane Taubman from Bloomsbury Books via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link . 10% of the sale will go towards covering the costs of r...

Dr Sarah Ifft Decker , professional historian and host of Media-eval: A Medieval Pop Culture Podcast , joins Ally Pitts to discuss an epic drama/war movie based on the early career of one of the most (in)famous military leaders in history. CONTENT WARNING: a character in the film is raped off-screen, there is also several violent battle scenes. This episode also contains some discussion of histori...

Jonny Tickle, Moscow resident and YouTuber, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this meandering, mysterious walk through Russian history and Saint Petersberg's Hermitage Museum, filmed in a single continuous take. Listeners in the UK can buy Alexander Sokurov: Russian Ark by Birgit Beumers via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link . 10% of the sale will go towards covering the costs of running the show and y...

Carrie joins Ally once again, this time to discuss a fantastical rom-com in which Sasha (Anna Starshenbaum), a student, meets Serafim (Artur Smolyaninov), a celestial visitor in Moscow on New Year's Eve. CONTENT WARNING: As we discuss in this episode, this film contains extreme racial insensitivity and also outright racism. Expect SPOILERS from about 17 minutes until the end. My Boyfriend is an An...

Michele Berdy, Moscow Times columnist, translator, and The Word's Worth podcast host, joins Ally to discuss this Brezhnev-era rom-com starring Alisa Freyndlikh and Andrei Myagkov. Listeners in the UK can buy The Russian Word's Worth by Michele Berdy via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link. 10% of the sale will go towards covering the running costs of the show and you'll also be helping out independ...

Martin Kessler , filmmaker and Flixwise: Canada host, returns to discuss this Russian Civil War set proto-action film. It has the dubious distinction of being one of Joseph Stalin's favourite movies, and it stars Boris Babochkin as the eponymous Red Army commander. Listeners in the UK can buy Chapaev by Julian Graffy from Bloomsbury Books, via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link . 10% of the sale w...

Lyn Seren, veteran of the podcast and possible 6th Element, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this slightly Cold War-flavoured espionage/action film  Expect SPOILERS from about 19 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: the film includes depictions of an abusive relationship, self-harm, and suicidal behaviour. Anna stars Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Cillian Murphy, Luke Evans, and Lera Abova. Support th...

Carrie Pitts, Russian language and literature graduate, joins Ally again as World War II casts its long shadow over the podcast once more.  Expect SPOILERS from about 12 minutes in until the end. Sunflower  stars Sophia Loren, Marcello Mastroianni, and Ludmila Savelyeva. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser:  www.podchaser.com/russophilesunitemoviepodcast Support the...

Lyn Seren, occasional watcher of Russian films, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this tense thriller set in the Russian arctic. Expect SPOILERS from about 18 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: the film discussed in this episode contains an off-screen suicide , extremely brief nudity, and violence. This content is mentioned during the show. How I Ended This Summer stars Grigory Dobrygin and Serg...

Alissa Timoshkina, chef, KinoVino supper club founder, and author of Salt and Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen joins Ally Pitts to discuss this somewhat notorious drama from the late 1980s glastnost period a few years before the Soviet Union collapsed. Listeners in the UK can buy Salt and Time  via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link . 10% of the sale will go towards covering cost of running th...

Sasha Ilyukevich , London-based Belarusian singer-songwriter and poet, joins Ally Pitts for this harrowing journey into Nazi-occupied Belarus in 1943, which stars Aleksey Kravchenko and Olga Mironova. CONTENT WARNING: Come and See  contains sustained depictions of atrocities, including rape and mass murder. It's a very, very tough watch. SPOILERS from about 49 minutes in until the end. You can wat...

Jenny Shelton , writer and period drama drama connoisseur, and Carrie Pitts. Russian language & literature graduate join Ally Pitts to discuss this adaptation of Alexander Pushkin's famous verse novel. SPOILERS from about 28 minutes onwards.  CONTENT WARNING: the film contains very brief but fairly graphic violence. Onegin stars Ralph Fiennes, Liv Tyler, Toby Stephens, and Lena Headey. If...

Teegan Johnson, industrial psychology researcher and sci-fi fan, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this alien invasion movie/romance set in contemporary Moscow. Expect SPOILERS from about 13 minutes in onwards. CONTENT WARNING: The film depicts misogynistic violence and consent issues. Attraction stars Irina Starshenbaum, Alexander Petrov, Rinal Mukhametov, Evgeny Mikheev and Oleg Menshikov. If you enjo...

Lyn Seren, film fan and R.E.M. appreciator, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this journey into the depths of Siberia. Expect SPOILERS from about 20 minutes in onwards. Letter Never Sent stars Tatyana Samoylova, Evgeny Urbansky, Vasily Livanov, and Innokenty Smoktunovsky. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser:  www.podchaser.com/russophilesunitemoviepodcast Support the show...

Tanya Lukyanova, TV producer, and stand-up comedian, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this joyous and energetic satire, which was the debut of the director of the notorious war film Come and See. This episode SPOILERS from about 18 mins in until the end. Welcome, or No Trespassing stars Viktor Kosykh, Evgeny Evstignyev, Aleksei Smirnov, Lidiya Smirnova, and Arina Aleynikova.  If you enjoyed this episod...

Carrie Pitts, Russian language & literature grad, foodie, and reluctant veteran of the podcast, joins Ally to discuss possibly the most famous Soviet film of the Khrushchev Thaw. Listeners in the UK can buy The Cranes are Flying by Josephine Woll from Bloomsbury Books, via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link . 10% of the sale will go towards covering the costs of running the show and you'll als...

Olivia Capozzalo & Smith Freeman, hosts of the  She's in Russia podcast , join Ally Pitts to discuss this late 1960s crime caper. Expect SPOILERS from about 39 minutes in until the end. The Diamond Arm stars Yuri Nikulin, Andrei Mironov, Nonna Mordyukova, Anatoly Papanov, Nina Grebeshkova, and Svetlana Svetlichnaya. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser:  www.podc...

Adam Roche of The Secret History of Hollywood, Attaboy, Clarence!, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this Hollywood adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic, which stars Audrey Hepburn. Expect SPOILERS from about 22 minutes in until the end. War and Peace  also stars Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer, Vittorio Gassman, Anita Ekberg, Oskar Homolka, Helmut Dantine, and Jeremy Brett. If you enjoyed this episode, please foll...

Nadia Bee , writer and filmmaker, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this beloved 1960s Soviet comedy. Expect SPOILERS from 15 minutes in until the end. CONTENT WARNING: bride-kidnapping is central to the plot. Kidnapping, Caucasian Style stars Alexander Demyanenko, Natalya Varley, Vladimir Etush, Frunzik Mkrtchyan, Yuri Nikulin, Yevgeny Morgunov, and Georgy Vitsin. If you enjoyed this episode, please fo...