8 foreign directors who love Soviet cinema (PHOTOS)
1. Quentin Tarantino
The director of ‘Pulp Fiction’ (1994) claims to be delighted with the movies by Sergei Eisenstein. “It is impossible not to love his work. His ‘Alexander Nevsky’ is simply unreal! The battle scene on the frozen lake alone is a masterpiece!” the director admitted in an interview.
Tarantino’s list of favorite Soviet movies includes ‘Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears’ (1979) by Vladimir Menshov. This was the first Soviet movie for which a then 15-year-old Quentin bought a ticket to go to the cinema. “I remember, when I saw this title, I thought: the movie, like all Russian cinema, will probably be painful and difficult! But, I went, watched it and, imagine, I liked it!”
The future director’s first acquaintance with Soviet cinematography actually happened at the age of seven, when he saw ‘Amphibian Man’ (1961) on TV. Tarantino didn’t even suspect that it was filmed in the USSR, since the movie was dubbed.
2. Peter Greenaway
The English director also calls Eisenstein his idol and believes that it was he who invented modern cinema.
“I discovered Eisenstein when I was 16 and he became my idol, my guide in life. I was always interested in why Eisenstein’s first three great movies – ‘Strike’ (19xx), ‘Battleship Potemkin’ (1925) and ‘October’ (1928) – were so different from his last three – ‘Alexander Nevsky’ (1938), ‘Ivan the Terrible’ (1944) and ‘Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot’ (1958). The first are very intellectual, the last are more human. They are more about people than about ideas.”
3. Lars von Trier
The Dane dedicated his movie ‘Antichrist’ (2009) to Andrei Tarkovsky and, later, admitted that he could have given such a dedication to each of his works. “I came to cinema through Tarkovsky, it was he who opened the door to cinema for me, since his film was the first one that allowed me to understand this art form. I consider Tarkovsky my teacher.” And he added: “Firstly, if I hadn’t dedicated it to Tarkovsky, everyone would have said that I stole everything from him. And, secondly, Tarkovsky is the closest thing I have to religion. He is my god.”
By the way, von Trier managed to show his debut movie, ‘The Element of Crime’ (1984), to his idol.
4. Hayao Miyazaki
In 2007, a poster of the Soviet cartoon ‘The Snow Queen’ was hung in the Ghibli Studio theme park in Nagakute, Japan, with Miyazaki’s signature: “My destiny and my favorite movie.”
The director sincerely admitted that Lev Atamanov’s cartoon changed his life. Miyazaki was working at the Toei Doga studio at the time and was thinking about leaving animation, but then he saw ‘The Snow Queen’ (1957). It reminded him of the happiness his profession brings, as well as the opportunity to create his own magical worlds. He constantly listened to the audio recording of the cartoon, although he did not understand Russian, and worked to it playing in the background.
5. Tarsem Singh
About Tarsem Singh's movie ‘The Fall’ (2006), his colleague David Fincher had the following to say: "This is what would have happened if Andrei Tarkovsky had made ‘The Wizard of Oz’."
Tarsem himself admitted that he admired the style of Andrei Tarkovsky and Sergei Parajanov. "They had a huge influence on me. Photographers often say: If you want to convey depth, you need to turn to Tarkovsky, while Parajanov conveys this depth in a unique way."
The influence of Russian directors is clearly visible in the music videos that Tarsem shot – especially in ‘Losing my religion’ by R.E.M. and ‘Sweet lullaby’ by Deep Forest. And, of course, in movies. For example, in the fantasy ‘Mirror, mirror’, the director specially built a birch grove in a snowy forest – like in Tarkovsky's ‘Ivan's Childhood’ (1962).
6. Danny Boyle
The director admitted that he chose his profession after watching Elem Klimov's ‘Come and See’ (1986). He was also greatly influenced by Tarkovsky's ‘Solaris’ (1972), which inspired him while working on ‘Sunshine’: "For Western directors, Andrei Tarkovsky is the god of cinematography." According to Boyle, he is one of those directors who formed the foundation of modern cinema.
Alexander Sokurov's ‘Russian Ark’ (2002) is also perfect for him from a technical point of view.
7. Steven Spielberg
"One of the great qualities of Russian cinema is the mastery of showing something small, deeply personal, against the backdrop of incredible, enormous activity around. The Russians tell the story of one love, but they surround it with thousands of people, horses, artillery and explosions shaking the air."
Spielberg considers Mikhail Kalatozov's ‘The Cranes Are Flying’ (1957) one of his favorite movies.
8. Nuri Bilge Ceylan
The Turkish director, winner of the Grand Prix and the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, confesses his love for Tarkovsky's work. His ‘Mirror’ (1975) and ‘Andrei Rublev’ (1966) are Ceylan's absolute favorites on the list of all-time movies.
"After watching his movies, you can no longer look at the world the same way. Your worldview immediately changes!”