Soviet Georgian actress Sofiko Chiaureli. ‘The Color of Pomegranate’ (1972) (21 May 1937 – 2 March 2008)

Soviet Georgian actress Sofiko Chiaureli was born May 21, 1937 in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR of the USSR. Her mother was actress Veriko Andzhaparidze and her father – founder of Georgian Musical Comedy Theatre named after Vaso Abashidze, a theater director, artist and filmmaker Michael Chiaureli. Sofiko had two brothers. One of them, Otar Chiaureli, later graduated from the Tbilisi Academy of Arts and became a documentary filmmaker. The second brother of Sofiko, Ramaz Chiaureli, graduated from the Directing Department of State institute of Theatrical Art in Moscow. He directed performances “Far from Moscow” and “Twelfth Night”, and was also engaged in the documentary. Both brothers of Sophiko mysteriously gone from life when they turned 49 years old.
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Part-time KGB agent, Soviet actress Larisa Kronberg Sobolevskaya

Soviet actress Larisa Kronberg
Recruited by the KGB, film actress Larisa Kronberg managed to charm and seduce the tempered in the political battles French diplomat Maurice Dejean. He was an ambassador to the Soviet Union in late 1955. Indeed, for the beautiful blue-eyed actress it was a matter of technique. Thus, during one of Maurice Dejean’s visits to Larisa, “a jealous husband” burst into the apartment of Larisa. So-called “husband”, in fact, was a part-time KGB agent. Furious “husband” attacked the diplomat with his fists and began to threaten with the court. To avoid a scandal, Dejean had to ask for help from Moscow acquaintances, who were happy to provide it – in exchange for cooperation with the Soviet intelligence services.
For participation in the operations of recruitment of the French Ambassador Maurice Dejean Soviet secret services awarded Kronberg with Swiss watches made of gold and diamonds. They say, having learned about this story, General de Gaulle, pushing aside the ambassador, only said, “Well, Maurice, instead of working all you did was f…..”.
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Movie poster, 1961 Soviet romantic comedy The Girls

1961 Soviet romantic comedy The Girls directed by Yuri Chulyukin has always been one of the most loved films for the people of the USSR. We are still struck by the amazing acting and story-line. We laugh at a pig-tailed young girl – Tosya, an orphan (actress Nadezhda Rumyantseva), sympathize her friends – roommates, marvel at the power of love and what it can do to a man. Tosya assigned as a cook for the camp, shows she has her own ideas of how a romance should be conducted. In the film are discussed topical issues of the day. They are masterfully written by a director in the characters’ lives. Each of Tosia’s friends has her own complicated situation. Anfisa can not find love and thinks that because of her beauty, men don’t take her seriously. Vera has a difficult situation with her husband, he has changed, and tries to return her. In today’s world, the problem of Vera has become a classic.
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Soviet American actress Anna Sten (December 3, 1908 – November 12, 1993)

Soviet American actress Anna Sten

When in 1935, French actor, cabaret singer and entertainer Maurice Chevalier (1888 – 1972) was asked to list the 10 most beautiful women in the world, he named Anna Sten, Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, French actress Annabella, Loretta Young, Merle Oberon, Clara Bow, Kay Francis and others. In Hollywood, the mid-1930s Anna became famous for her ability to pick up clothes. American film producer and studio executive Darryl Francis Zanuck (1902 – 1979) said that she dresses better than anyone he had ever seen. A female director Dorothy Arzner (1897 – 1979) filmed Anna Stan in drama “Nana”, put her on a par with Garbo, Miriam Hopkins, Katharine Hepburn and Ruth Chatterton in his list of the most glamorous actresses. Soviet American actress Anna Sten was born Anna Petrovna Fesak, on December 3, 1908 in Kiev, the Russian Empire.
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80 years to the legendary 1936 Soviet film Circus

1936 Soviet film Circus
Right 80 years ago, May 25, 1936 on the first show in the Green Theater of Gorky Park in Moscow have gathered more than 20 thousand people. The administration was forced to use Moscow mounted police to keep order – all who wanted to watch the comedy film could not fit an open area for the audience. To say that the film enjoyed a huge, well-deserved success with the audience – to say nothing. The film was adored by many generations of Soviet people. Music from the film, created by outstanding composer Isaac Dunaevsky is known to every Russian, and the role of Mary is one of the best film works of great Diva of Soviet Hollywood – Lyubov Orlova. In 1937 the film was awarded the Grand Prix in Paris at an international exhibition, and in 1941 – the Stalin Prize.
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When the Trees Were Tall – 1961 Soviet drama film directed by Lev Kulidzhanov. The film was screened at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival

Our old Soviet films have always been some kind of simplicity and ease (probably the best example of this is “I Walk Around Moscow” simple story eventually grew into a masterpiece of cinema), but, nevertheless, they always have something native, some piece of the soul, something one can’t find in foreign films. “When the Trees Were Tall” belongs to such films. And what does the title “When the Trees Were Tall” mean? The main character is recalling her childhood, saying that she remembers that the trees were tall. If the movie is about forgiveness, of redemption of sins, then, perhaps, the time when the trees were big, is the altar of purity and holiness, because little children are pure and innocent …
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Soviet Cult film Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears

Soviet Cult film Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears
In February 1980, was released the Soviet cult film by Vladimir Menshov “Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears” – a lyrical story about the lives of three friends provincials who came to conquer the capital. A year later, the American Film Academy has awarded its highest film award – “Oscar”, considering it the best foreign film of the year. “The thing that attracted me – it’s a great move, when Katerina gets an alarm clock and falls asleep crying and wakes up in a few years and wakes up her adult daughter. I even thought at first that I just missed a few pages. And when I realized that it is a decision – to jump in 20 years, I was impressed by the idea.” Such happiness that these films were, and every second it is possible to touch the beauty that has been already created. The film is permeated by the breath of the era. Feel Moscow of the 1950s as it was – bustling, colorful, variegated. Moscow was then still the capital of Russia and the Soviet state.
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