The Armchair and the Grand Duchess

Animal Farm

October 1999 •English

Animals on a farm lead a revolution against the farmers to put their destiny in their own hands. However this revolution eats their own children and they cannot avoid corruption.

Heart of a Dog

November 1988 •Russian

"Heart of a Dog" is a Soviet film adaptation of Mikhail Bulgakov’s iconic novella. Set in 1920s Moscow, it tells the satirical and darkly humorous story of a stray dog named Sharik, who is transformed into a human by Professor Preobrazhensky through a daring medical experiment. The resulting man, Poligraf Poligrafovich Sharikov, embodies the social and ideological tensions of early Soviet society. With its sharp critique of class struggle, human nature, and the perils of radical change, the film is celebrated for its faithful adaptation, brilliant performances, and rich allegorical depth.

Fancy Pants

July 1950 •English

An American actor, impersonating an English butler, is hired by a rich woman from New Mexico to refine her husband and headstrong daughter. The complications increase when the town believes the actor/butler to be an earl and President Roosevelt decides to pay a visit.

Lupin the Third: From Siberia with Love

September 1992 •Japanese

Notorious thief Lupin the Third aims to steal the lost treasure of the Romanov royal family with his criminal associates along for the ride. The treasure is an immense quantity of gold hidden underground in the vaults of a mysterious Texas bank. But to obtain the gold, Lupin and his friends will have to face down both the Mafia and Rasputon, the telepathic descendant of the mad monk Rasputin. Lupin again eludes inspector Zenigata with the help of a mysterious blonde named Judy Scott, as Rasputon manipulates the world's leaders to put every obstacle in Lupin's path.

Jimmy the Gent

March 1934 •English

An unpolished racketeer, whose racket is finding heirs for unclaimed fortunes, affects ethics and tea-drinking manners to win back the sweetheart who now works for his seemingly upright competitor.

A Wedding

August 1978 •English

Muffin's wedding to Dino Corelli is to be a big affair. Except the ageing priest isn't too sure of the ceremony, only the families actually turn up as the Corelli Italian connection is suspect, security guards watch the gifts rather over-zealously, and Dino's grandma expires in bed just as the reception starts. Could be quite an occasion.

Straight-Jacket

February 2004 •English

In 1950's Hollywood, movie star Guy Stone must marry a studio secretary in order to conceal his homosexuality. Sally has no idea her marriage is a sham, though, and turns Guy's life upside-down. However, soon after the wedding, Guy develops feelings for a writer named Rick.

Welcome to Norway!

March 2016 •Norwegian

A couple decide to open a home for refugees in the remote cold mountains of Norway.

A Sammy in Siberia

April 1919 •English

A bumbling American soldier saves a girl from a bunch of Cossacks.

Chinese Puzzle

December 2013 •French

Xavier is a 40-year-old father of two who still finds life very complicated. When the mother of his children moves to New York, he can't bear them growing up far away from him and so he decides to move there as well.

We Were Dancing

April 1942 •English

A penniless former princess weds an equally cash-strapped baron, so they support themselves by becoming houseguests at the homes of wealthy American socialites.

They Had to See Paris

September 1929 •English

Oklahoma mechanic Pike Peters finds himself part owner of an oil field. His wife Idy, hitherto content, decides the family must go to Paris to get "culture" and meet "the right kind of people." Pike and his grown son and daughter soon have flirtatious French admirers; Idy rents a chateau from an impoverished aristocrat; while Pike responds to each new development with homespun wit. In the inevitable clash, will pretentiousness and sophistication or common sense triumph?

Beekeeper

October 1991 •Russian

The historical-revolutionary film by Dmitry Frolov, permeated with the romanticism of the revolutionary events of 1917, echoing the moods of August 1991. Since the film was shot the day after the victory over the coup plotters in the USSR in August 1991. All thoughts of the beekeeper - quotations from Lenin's works.

Elmer Steps Out

February 1934 •English

To avoid getting a speeding ticket Walter poses as an expectant father rushing to see his wife; when the cop follows him, he's forced to come up with a wife and child.

Battleship Potemkin

December 1925 •Russian

A dramatized account of a great Russian naval mutiny and a resultant public demonstration, showing support, which brought on a police massacre. The film had an incredible impact on the development of cinema and is a masterful example of montage editing.

October (Ten Days that Shook the World)

May 1928 •Russian

Sergei M. Eisenstein's docu-drama about the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. Made ten years after the events and edited in Eisenstein's 'Soviet Montage' style, it re-enacts in celebratory terms several key scenes from the revolution.

Lenin in Paris

November 1981 •Russian

Revolution: New Art for a New World

March 2017 •English

Drawing on the collections of major Russian institutions, contributions from contemporary artists, curators and performers and personal testimony from the descendants of those involved, the film brings the artists of the Russian Avant-Garde to life. It tells the stories of artists like Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich - pioneers who flourished in response to the challenge of building a new art for a new world, only to be broken by implacable authority after 15 short years and silenced by Stalin's Socialist Realism.

Doctor Zhivago

December 1965 •English

The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.

Lenin: The Train

April 1990 •English

March/April 1917. The first world war is already a couple year to pace. A sealed train with Russian emigrants keeps on driving from Zürich Germany and Sweden to Sint-Petersburg. The outlaws stand under the guidance of Vladimir J. Lenin. Two senior officers support the revolutionary bomb "to ensure that everything runs smoothly. Yet there are some unpleasant clashes between Socialists and enthusiastic workers who are worried about the war. During train travel there comes an end to Lenin's affair with the gracious Inessa, and his wife Nadja is prepared take back him. The triumphant entrance in St. Petersburg will exceed all expectations....