8 Soviet movies about time travel that you can watch FREE ONLINE
Absolutely everything was possible in these movies: the appearance of aliens, the existence of dragons, trips to other planets and other crazy realities. And even love through the ages.
1. ‘Ivan Vasilievich Changes Profession’, 1973
This Soviet megahit is based on Mikhail Bulgakov's play with sparkling humor. Engineer Shurik Timofeev invents a time machine and a portal to the 16th century opens in his apartment. Tsar Ivan the Terrible ends up in modern Moscow. And, while he listens to modern songs on a cassette recorder, observing an unknown city from the balcony, a social activist named Bunsha and a burglar named Georges Miloslavsky fall into the past…
Leonid Gaidai's comedy has remained one of the most popular Soviet movies for over half a century – with dancing in the tsar's palace, searching for burnt-out transistors for a time machine in an ordinary store and overly vigilant neighbors, to name just a few crazy scenes.
2. ‘The Escape of Mr. McKinley’, 1975
Mr. McKinley is panic-stricken about the future, believing that a catastrophe may occur, in which all living things will perish. In order to wait out a possible cataclysm, he decides to sneak into a special vault – a salvatory, where people are put into anabiosis with the help of a special colloidal gas. Having achieved his goal, he wakes up 250 years later, but understands that there is no safe future in the new world. The story about the fear of the unknown unfolds to the music of legendary Soviet artist Vladimir Vysotsky and ‘The Beatles’ and the plot twists won’t let you get bored.
3. ‘June 31’, 1978
This musical about the search for love through time almost didn’t reach audiences. It was initially not released, due to the fact that dancer Alexander Godunov, who played the court musician, fled during the tour to the West.
According to the plot, on the lunar day of June 31, an artist named Sam from the 21st century sees Princess Melisenta from the 12th century in the mirror and immediately falls in love with her. With a little magic, he travels to her in the Middle Ages.
A fantasy with music, dances performed by Bolshoi Theater artists, intrigues and the search for the Philosopher's stone instantly captivated the audience. There was a place for knightly duels, commercials with a medieval princess and, of course, a happy ending.
4. ‘Guest from the Future’, 1985
A movie based on the novel by Kir Bulychev about how, in the future, as well as in the past, there is a place for adventure. Schoolboy Kolya Gerasimov finds a time machine and travels to year 2082, where tourists from Alpha Centauri walk around Moscow, the zoo is inhabited by animals from distant planets and the spaceport can be reached by air taxi. True, there are still space pirates in the future who are after a device that can be used to read minds. Kolya takes it to the past, but a girl named Alice and those same pirates go after it – and him.
5. ‘The End of Eternity’, 1987
Fans of Andrei Tarkovsky will surely notice familiar landscapes – the movie was shot in the same locations as ‘Stalker’ (1979). This is a sci-fi drama based on the novel by Isaac Asimov about the experiment of the Eternity Corporation's experiment to close the time loop. A stellar cast, music by Eduard Artemyev, a gloomy ending that differs from the literary one – the movie turned out to be aesthetic and philosophical.
6. ‘Purple Ball’, 1987
Another story based on the book by Kir Bulychev about the inquisitive girl Alice with evil aliens and fairy-tale creatures. The protagonists find an ancient spaceship, the owners of which planned to take over Earth with the help of an enmity virus. They hid a bacteriological weapon encased in a purple ball on the planet a long time ago and, soon, it will be triggered. There is only one chance to save the world: go to the Age of Legends, the time of dragons and wizards, and defuse the purple ball. The movie is charming in its own way, including thanks to the special effects.
7. ‘New Adventures of a Yankee in King Arthur’s Court’, 1988
An American pilot finds himself in the Middle Ages, makes a career at court and becomes a knight. The movie based on Mark Twain’s book appeared at the height of perestroika, perhaps that’s why it is filled with reflections on a person’s search for their place in life. It is, rather, an incredibly stylish philosophical parable set to music by famous musician Oleg Karavaichuk.
8. ‘Mirror for a Hero’, 1988
A movie about the Soviet “Groundhog Day”. The protagonists get sent back 38 years to July 8, 1949, and try to adapt to the realities of that time. And, at the same time, to understand how to escape from this vicious circle: by doing nothing or by interfering in the development of events. One of the heroes goes on a trip across the country on a motorcycle, while the second tries, time after time, to achieve the closure of the emergency mine.
