Russian Movies with subtitles

There are some great sources online for viewing Russian movies with subtitles, but it can be hard to find them if you don’t know what you’re looking for.  I intend to list ones that I find here to help others!

Cranes Are Flying (1957), directed by Mikhail Kalatozov. This is a beautiful film in every respect.

The Idiot is one of my favorite books by Dostoevsky, and this Russian production from 2003 is superb.  I’m going to upload one episode per week.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Operation Y and Other Shurik’s Adventures (Russian: Операция „Ы“ и другие приключения Шурика) is a 1965 Soviet slapstick comedy film directed by Leonid Gaidai, starring Aleksandr Demyanenko, Natalya Seleznyova, Yuri Nikulin, Georgy Vitsin and Yevgeny Morgunov. The film consists of three independent parts: “Workmate” (Напарник, Naparnik), “Déjà vu” (Наваждение, Navazhdeniye) and “Operation Y”^[1] (Операция „Ы“).^{[verification needed]} The plot follows the adventures of Shurik (alternative spelling — Shourick), the naive and nerdy Soviet student who often gets into ludicrous situations but always finds a way out very neatly.

Operation Y and Other Shurik’s Adventures was a hit movie and became the leader of Soviet film distribution in 1965.

Prisoner of the Caucasus, or Shurik’s New Adventures (Russian: Кавказская пленница, или Новые приключения Шурика, also known as Kidnapping, Caucasian Style is a Soviet-era Russian comedy film dealing with the theme of bride kidnapping. The title is a play on “The prisoner of the Caucasus,” which is a poem by Alexander Pushkin as well as a short story by Leo Tolstoy. It was directed by Leonid Gaidai and is the last film featuring the Three Stooges-esque trio “Coward — Fool — Experienced” (Georgy Vitsin — Yuri Nikulin — Yevgeny Morgunov). The premiere of the film took place on April 1, 1967 in Moscow.

The Diamond Arm (Russian: Бриллиантовая рука, translit. Brilliantovaya ruka) is a Soviet comedy film filmed by Mosfilm and first released in 1968. The film was directed by slapstick director Leonid Gaidai and starred several famous Soviet actors, including Yuri Nikulin, Andrei Mironov, Anatoli Papanov, Nonna Mordyukova and Svetlana Svetlichnaya. Brilliantovaya ruka has become a Russian cult film. It was also one of the all-time leaders at the Soviet box office with over 76,700,000 theatre admissions in the Soviet era.

Gentlemen of Fortune (Russian: Джентльмены удачи, translit. Dzhentlmeny udachi) is one of the best-known Soviet comedies of all time (filmed at Mosfilm). The stars of the film include famous Soviet actors such as Savely Kramarov, Yevgeny Leonov, Georgy Vitsin, and Radner Muratov.

The film was the leader of Soviet distribution in 1972 having 65.02 million viewers.

Another classic Sovient film, Ivan Vasilievich Changes His Profession (  Иван Васильевич меняет профессию) is a Soviet comedy film produced by Mosfilm in 1973. This film is based on a play by Mikhail Bulgakov and was one of the most attended movies in the Soviet Union in 1973 with more than 60 million tickets sold.

This is a version with Russian subtitles, which is excellent practice for language learning.  I like to watch a scene over and over again until I can follow the text.  Of course, the subtitles aren’t always perfect. :-)

I really love this series of Holmes and Watson films. There are more on YouTube, but because of the time limit on YouTube you have to watch them in 10 minutes segments, which is a drag. These from Google video are complete and have optional subtitles.

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The Acquaintance (1979)

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: Tiger Hunt (1980)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: Mortal Fight (1980)

Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: The King of Blackmailers (1980)

The Hound of the Baskervilles Part 1

The Hound of the Baskervilles Part 2