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The Anna Akhmatova File Semyon Aranovich A moving portrait of the extraordinary Soviet poet, Anna Akhmatova. Although her work was banned and went unpublished for 17 years, her poem "Requiem" became the underground anthem for the millions who suffered under Stalin. This unique film, which uses Akhmatova's diaries for text, also includes portraits of Akhmatova's friends and contemporaries--Boris Pasternak, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Sostchenko. Russian with English subtitles. USSR, 1989, 65 mins. Videocassette | $44.95
The Fall of Berlin Yuli Raizman Although precious few of his films are available on video and he is too often overlooked in film histories, Yuli Raizman was a major figure of Russian cinema, with a career that spanned 57 years. The Fall of Berlin is Raizman's masterful assemblage of footage taken by Soviet army cameramen, and captured German film, of the final chapter in the collapse of the Third Reich. Essential viewing for students of World War II history, Russian film, and the documentary form. English narration. USSR, 1945, 72 mins. Videocassette | $44.95
I Was Stalin's Bodyguard Semyon Aranovich A controversial film that created a storm in Russia by taking the cloak off a violent, repressive era of Soviet history. Filmmaker Semyon Aranovich found the last surviving personal bodyguard of Josef Stalin, who began to work for him in the 1930s. I Was Stalin's Bodyguard weaves together unprecedented, first-hand testimony with rare footage, including Stalin's home movies. What emerges is a singular portrait of a violent and complex era during which Stalin consolidated his power through brutal repression, yet led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II. Russian with English subtitles; USSR, 1990, 73 mins. Videocassette | $44.95
I Worked for Stalin Semyon Aranovich Semyon Aranovich's documentary is a brilliant assembly of eyewitness testimony and rare archival photographs and materials. The film records the Machiavellian power plays between Zhdanov, Andreyev, Khrushchev, Malenkov, Suslov and Molotov as they maneuvered for power and prestige to gain the inside track of becoming Stalin's successor. The film is a chilling record of the inner workings of an authoritarian state. Russian with English subtitles; USSR, 1990, 67 mins. Videocassette | $44.95
