1 ‘The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn’, 1981
Stanislav Govorukhin/Odessa film studio, 1981
The screen adaptation of Mark Twain’s story was filmed by Stanislav Govorukhin, director of the famous multi-part drama ‘The Meeting Place Cannot Be Changed’. The movie strictly follows the story of an orphan named Tom from the town of St. Petersburg on the Mississippi River, who is raised by his aunt. At the same time, the movie is not formulaic, but, in its own way, retains the charm of Twain's prose. The childish pranks of Tom and Huck are successfully diluted with musical inserts and a creepy line from Indian Joe.
Watch the movie online for free here.
2 ‘Rich Man, Poor Man’, 1982
Arunas Jebrunas/Lithuanian film studio, 1982
A four-part drama based on Irwin Shaw's novel of the same name. The story of the immigrant Jordach family and their three children against the backdrop of life in America. Lucky Rudy makes a political career, bully Tom becomes a boxer and daughter Gretchen becomes an actress. But do the chosen paths bring happiness?
Although the movie has discrepancies with the original source, for Soviet viewers, it actually became a window into an unfamiliar world and a quasi guide to American history. The movie also features the song ‘America the Beautiful’ performed by Elvis Presley.
Watch the movie online for free here.
3 ‘The Trust That Burst’, 1982
Alexander Pavlovsky/Odessa film studio, 1982
Soviet filmmakers have repeatedly adapted O. Henry’s works to the screen – there are adaptations of ‘Cabbages and Kings’, ‘The Chief of the Redskins’ and various movie versions of stories from the ‘Noble Crook’ series. One of the most successful is the musical ‘The Trust That Burst’, about two “noble” crooks.
Watch the movie online for free here.
4 ‘Rafferty’, 1980
Semyon Aranovich/Lenfilm, 1980
Lionel White's novel of the same name is based on the true story of Jimmy Hof, the president of a fraternity of truck drivers believed to be involved with the mafia. The Soviet adaptation is framed by the obligatory views of the Capitol and the National Mall, long scenes of a congressional committee meeting and scenes from the protagonist's past. ‘Rafferty’ thoroughly recounts the rise to power and fall of a union boss and the transformation of a working man into a cynic who is only interested in money.
Watch the movie online for free here.
5 ‘Deerslayer’, 1990
Andrey Rostotsky/Soyuztelefilm, 1990
Movies about Indians were especially popular at the Soviet box office. After watching them, boys played the character ‘Chingachgook’ in the street and reread Fenimore Cooper's books including ‘Deerslayer’, in which not only the British and French fight, but also the indigenous tribes of the Hurons and Delawares. Domestic screen adaptations of Cooper's novels were filmed without special effects or computer graphics. The screen featured lyrical landscapes (the Ivanovo and Vladimir regions successfully depicted the northern territories of America), sincere friendship and honesty of the characters.
Watch the movie online for free here.
6 ‘An American Tragedy’, 1981
Marionas Gedris/Lithuanian film studio, 1981
Theodore Dreiser's novel has a long Russian history. Back in the 1920s, Paramount Pictures offered director Sergei Eisenstein to write a screenplay based on it. Dreiser liked it, but the studio considered it too depressing. However, the plot of the novel cannot be called optimistic, either: the main character is so eager to climb the career ladder and take a position in society that he stops at nothing, even murder. The late Soviet movie adaptation turned out to be so lifelike that the Lithuanian Film Studio that released it secured the status as the main producer of films “from foreign life”.
Watch the movie online for free here.
7 ‘Theft’, 1982
Leonid Pchelkin/TO Ekran, 1982
A family tragedy against the backdrop of the confrontation between socialists and capitalists. The main character, Howard Knox, is going to testify in Congress against a financier named Starkweather – he has documents that compromise his opponent. But, the tycoon’s assistant steals them. Starkweather’s daughter, however, who is in love with Knox, takes them from her father’s safe and returns them. The movie opens with a quote from Jack London: “I retain faith in the greatness and nobility of man.” He dreamed of this 1910 play appearing on the stage, but it was received coolly in New York. But, many years later, Soviet filmmakers appreciated it.
Watch the movie online for free here.
8 ‘Armed and Very Dangerous’, 1977
Vladimir Vainshtock/Gorky film studio with the participation of Film studio "Bucureşti", Barrandov Studios, 1977
A Western based on the books by Francis Bret Harte. The movie will be of interest to fans of the Soviet bard Vladimir Vysotsky – his songs are featured in it.
Watch the movie online for free here.
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