Our independent podcast recommendation of the week is a terrific guide to Russian cinema – here’s a bit more about it.
Russian cinema remains an enigma to most of us. It’s usually a glamorous setting for a spy movie or the bleak, snow-laden setting for a Cold War epic. Rarely do we get to experience Russia as a vast cinematic landscape of movie-making potential.
Having lived in Moscow for five years, Alistair Pitts built up a passion for the city, for the language and the culture. When invited to appear as a guest on a podcast, he chose to discuss Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent film Battleship Potemkin, considered in 2012 by the British Film Institute the eleventh-greatest film of all time. He followed up with another appearance to discuss Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris. By that point he was inspired to start his own podcast dedicated to films made in, set in and related to Russia.
With a title sounding like a Russian superhero film, Russophiles Unite! was assembled.
Russophiles Unite’s passion for Russian cinema is an exploration of not just the serious art house films that Russia is known for, but a multitude of other cinematic genres, including science-fiction, action, westerns and comedy. Although the Russian cinematic output is fewer in number than Hollywood, it’s no less rich and varied.
It helps, of course, to have a host like Ally who knows what he’s talking about and his enthusiasm for Russian and Russian-related cinema is unrivalled. Each episode he is joined by a special guest and they discuss a movie at length, include interesting and varied information on the production, as well as informative discussions on Russian and Soviet history and culture. It highlights the beauty of a country that is often forgotten in mainstream cinema.
Russophiles Unite expertly balances catering for those unfamiliar with Russian cinema and hardcore Russophiles with ease, and its all down to Ally’s sincere, genuine and heartfelt love for what he’s talking about. If you’re not familiar with Russian cinema, Ally would recommend you hunt down the 1964 satirical comedy Welcome, Or No Trespassing as a great entry point.
Russophiles! Unite!
Recommended episode: Episode 21: Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession (13 September 2018) – http://bit.ly/russophilesunite
Russophiles Unite can be found at https://russophilesunite.podbean.com/
And followed at:
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RussophilesU
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/russophilesunite/
All episodes of Russophiles Unite! are available and can be downloaded from Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Podbean or wherever you get your podcasts from.
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