On July 31, 2013 I posted the following query to SEELANGs:
Dear Colleagues:
I’m putting together a series of US and Russian films that depict both cultures. I have a couple of Russian films to start with – Brat 2, American Daughter, Barber of Siberia – but I’d appreciate suggestions of more Russian films that depict Americans and American films that depict Russian characters and Russian culture. All I’m coming up with are these:
Rocky 4
Russia House
Sneakers
Moscow on the Hudson
Red Dawn
The Russians Are Coming
Dr Strangelove
Thanks for any suggestions you may offer.
Sincerely,
Ben Rifkin
In the week that followed more than 40 SEELANGers suggested more than 90 films and provided additional information as well. I have compiled that information and it is listed below. I thank all those who wrote in to suggest a title (or two or three or more). Special thanks to Helena Goscilo, who provided an extraordinary list she and her sister compiled for another project. Dates are listed next to film titles when those dates were provided with the film suggestion. – BR
American Films with Russian Characters (98)
15 Minutes 2001
5 Days of War
Air Force One 1997
Americans, The (TV series – current)
Amerika (TV series)
An American Tail
Anastasia (1956)
Anastasia (animated version)
Anna Karenina
Armageddon 1998
Balalaika
Birthday Girl
Black and White
Bourne Supremacy
Boy from Stalingrad, the
Broken Promises
Brothers Karamazov
Cast Away 2000
Chernobyl Diaries (Ukraine)
Company Business 1991
Comrade X
Cossacks, The
Crimson Tide 1985
Days of Glory
Deep Impact 1998
Defiance (Belarus)
Despicable Me 2
Doctor Zhivago
Eastern Promises
Enemy At the Gates
Everything Is Illuminated (Ukraine)
Felix All Puzzled (available on youtube)
Fiddler on the Roof
Firefox
From Russia with Love
Girl from Petrovka, The
Glass Bottom Boat, The
Golden Eye
Good Day to Die Hard, A
Gorky Park
Great Catherine
In Plain Sight (TV series – some episodes)
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Inspector General
Iron Man 2
Iron Petticoat, The
Jackal, The 1997
Journey, The
K-19, The Widowmaker 2002
Knock on Wood
Last Station, The
Law & Order (TV series – some episodes)
Little Odessa
Local Hero (British)
Love and Death
Luzhin Defense, The
Miracle 2004
Mission to Moscow
Mission Impossible IV: Ghost Protocol
Money Pit, The
Moonraker
Moscow on the Hudson
Mute Witness
Ninotchka
Northstar
Onegin (Ralph Fiennes and Liv Tyler)
Peacemaker, The 1997
Red Heat
Red Nightmare (Department of Defense Production: on youtube)
Red October
Red Planet Mars (1952)
Reds
Russia House
Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming!, The
Saint, The 1997
Scarlet Empress
Silk Stockings
Snatch
Song of Russia
Space Cowboys 2000
Spies Like Us
Spinning Boris 2003 — very good for showing American smugness; it’s about Yeltsin’s election
Taras Bulba
Telefon
Third Man, The
Three Russian Girls
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
To Russia With Love
Topaz
Tovarishch
Transsiberian
Twelve Chairs, The (Mel Brooks version)
Virus 1999
Wanted
War and Peace
Wartime
What a Country (TV series with Yakov Smirnov)
White Nights
Wonder Man
X-Men
Russian Films with American Characters (31)
10 Days that Shook the World
Amerikan boi 1992
Amerikanskaia doch’ 1995
Amerikanskii dedushka 1993
Amerikanskii shpion 1991
Brat 2 2000
Chelovek s bul’vara Kaputsinov
Dikaia liubov’ 1993
Diuba-Diuba 1992
Garri Barden, Kot v sapogakh
Jack Vos’merkin – Amerikanets
Kapitan Vrungel
Miss Mend
Mr. West in the Land of the Bol’sheviks
Na Deribasovskoi khoroshaia pogoda, ili na Braiton Bich opiat’ idut dozhdi
Na Granatovykh ostrovakh
Odinochnoe plavanie
Ograblenie po … (Gamburg)
Oligarkh 2003
Ostrov (Khitruks animation) – on youtube
Priiatel’ pokoinika 1997
Reis 222
Sibirskii tsiriul’nik 1998
Sluchai v kvadrate 36-80
Stereotypes (by Gamburg) – on youtube
Taksi-bliuz 1990
Tsirk
Ty u menia odna 1993
Voroshilovskii strelok 1999
Vse budet khorosho 1995
Ya – Kuba
Readings:
Harlow Robinson’s Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood’s Russians: Biography of an Image
Article on cold war films by Andrey Shcherbenok in Kinokultura : http://www.kinokultura.com/2010/28-shcherbenok.shtml
Special Issue of Russian Review, April 2005 dedicated to Holywood Russia with essays by Olga Matich, Oksana Bulgakova and Beth Holmgren
Shadows of Russia Festival on Turner Classic Movies: http://selfstyledsiren.blogspot.com/2009/11/shadows-of-russia-tcm-lou-lumenick-and.html
SEELANGs Members Who Contributed to This List (45)
Beale, James
Beattie, Simon
Besserglik, Bernard
Blake, Elizabeth
Bliss, Liv
Brostrom, Ken
Carr, Christopher
Dunn, John
Eubanks, Ivan
Fusso, Susanne
Gallagher, Paul
Goldberg, Stuart
Goscilo, Helena
Graber, David
Harris, Adrienne
Harte, Tim
Holmgren, Beth
Hurst, Sarah
Juric, Dorian
Kalbouss, George
Kirjanov-Mueller, Daria
Kononenko, Natalie
Kovalevskaya, Tatyana
Lavine, Ludmila
Lyles, John
Mills, Charles
Nola (oothappam@earthlink.net)
Olenina, Ana
Pontieri, Laura
Rivers, William
Robinson, Harlow
Ryan, Chris
Ryan, Will
Saunders, Emily
Smith, Melissa
Soglasnova, Lana
Spektor, Sasha
Srebrianski-Harwell, Xenia
Stefani, Sara
Stone, Jon
Timko, Karen
Townsend, Charles
Urbaszewski, Laura
Vadim (Sentinel76 Astrakhan)
Vanchu, Anthony
Verkade, Thalia
Vivaldi, Giuliano
Wilmes, Dusty
Woodsworth, John
Yoffe, Mark