2024 highlights & 2025 plans

Esther Jolliffe, film Studies masters graduate, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this biopic of the first tsar of Muscovy, which was voted 102nd greatest film of all time in the 2012 Sight and Sound Critics' Poll. Listeners in the UK can buy This Thing of Darkness: Eisenstein's Ivan the Terrible in Stalin's Russia by Dr Joan Neuberger from Cornell University Press, via our uk.bookshop.org affiliate link. 10% of the sale will go towards covering the costs of running the show and you'll also be helping out independent bookshops! Visit our uk.bookshop.org affiliate store here! Expect SPOILERS from about 13 minutes in until the end. Ivan the Terrible: part I stars Nikolai Cherkasov, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Serafima Birman, and Mikhail Nazvanov. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/russophilesunitemoviepodcast Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite A list of podcast episodes in which Dr Joan Neuberger discusses This Thing of Darkness can be found here. Find out more about #PodRevDay, a way to support your favourite podcasts: www.stephfuccio.com/podrevday The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or: open.spotify.com/artist/1cXWmfhuDWyfKfsYADk96F If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

25 Loka 201846min

Alex Taylor, writer and performer, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this big screen version of the beloved stage musical, itself an adaptation of a story by Russian-Jewish writer Sholem Aleichem. Expect SPOILERS from about 15 minutes in until the end.  CONTENT WARNING: the movie depicts anti-Semitic attacks and persecution. Fiddler on the Roof stars Topol, Norma Crane, Leonard Frey, Molly Picon, Paul Mann, Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, Neva Small, Paul Michael Glaser, and Raymond Lovelock. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/russophilesunitemoviepodcast Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify. If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

11 Loka 201852min

Edward Evans, English language teacher, lapsed chemist, occasional YouTuber and long-time Moscow resident, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this 'Red Western'/'Eastern'.  SPOILERS from about 19 minutes in until the end. The White Sun of the Desert stars Anatoly Kuznetsov, Spartak Mishulin, Pavel Luspekayev, Kakhi Kavsadze, and Lidiya Smirnova. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow and rate us on Podchaser: www.podchaser.com/russophilesunitemoviepodcast Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify. If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

27 Syys 20181h 17min

Lyn Seren, Russophiles Unite regular and Bill & Ted enthusiast, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this knockabout time-travel comedy caper. Expect SPOILERS from about 7 minutes in until the end. Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession stars Yuri Yakovlev, Alexandr Demyanenko, Leonid Kuravlyov, and Natalya Seleznyova. Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or: open.spotify.com/artist/1cXWmfhuDWyfKfsYADk96F If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

13 Syys 201826min

Carrie Pitts, former Moscow resident and self-described 'emergency back-up guest', joins Ally to discuss this late '80s Russian cult favourite.  We were fortunate enough to see it on the big screen as Kino Klassika put it on as part of their #YouthOnTheMarch season of Soviet New Wave films. Expect SPOILERS from about 9 minutes in until the end.  CONTENT WARNING: the movie features scenes domestic violence, and, as we discuss during this episode, an extremely insensitive casting decision. Assa stars Tatyana Drubich, Stanislav Govorukhin, and Sergei 'Afrika' Bugaev. It also features a memorable cameo by Kino frontman Viktor Tsoi. Much of the soundtrack was written by another Russian rock star, Boris Grebenshchikov. Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify. If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

30 Elo 20181h 14min

Mark Bullen, author, former police officer, and expert on Russian organised crime joins Ally Pitts to discuss iconic '90s neo-noir crime drama Brother. It stars Sergei Bodrov Jr, Viktor Sukhorukov, Svetlana Pismichenko, Yury Kuznetsov, and Sergei Murzin. CONTENT WARNING: In the film, it is implied that a male character rapes a female character off-screen. SPOILERS from about 32 minutes in until the end. Mark's book Thief in Law, which is a guide to the tattoos and culture of Russian-speaking organised criminal gangs is available from Schiffer Books in the United States: www.schifferbooks.com/thief-in-law-a-guide-to-russian-prison-tattoos-and-russian-speaking-organized-crime-6499.html Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify. If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

16 Elo 20181h 15min

Sarah Roberts, artist and podcaster,, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this early Soviet silent sci-fi adventure. SPOILERS from about 11 minutes in until the end. Aelita stars Nikolai Tsereteli, Valentina Kuindzhi, Yuliya Solntseva, Nikolai Batalov, and Pavel Pol. Check out Sarah's artwork here: http://sarahkathleenroberts.com/ The outro music is by Gamers in Exile, from their alternative soundtrack to the film and is used with their kind permission. The full version can be found here: https://youtu.be/CBnlTge6S4o Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: https://ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ Or: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cXWmfhuDWyfKfsYADk96F If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/   Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-107ZzmUqmI

2 Elo 20181h 11min

Ayna Niyazova, artist and illustrator, joins Ally Pitts to discuss this Oscar-winning epic period drama that depicts the series of calamities that led to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty. SPOILERS from about 25 minutes in until the end. Nicholas & Alexandra stars Michael Jayston, Janet Suzman, Laurence Olivier, John McEnery, Michael Bryant, and Tom Baker. Support the show/fund Ally's caffeine habit at: https://ko-fi.com/russophilesunite The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants. You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ Or: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1cXWmfhuDWyfKfsYAD… If you'd like to get in touch and tell us what you thought of the film and/or the podcast episode, it would be great to hear from you! Here are some ways you can do that: Twitter: @RussophilesU Email: russophilesunite@gmail.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/russophilesunite Instagram: www.instagram.com/russophiles_unite/ Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/Ally_Pitts/ Find Ally's other podcast appearances at: https://www.podchaser.com/creators/alistair-pitts-…

17 Heinä 20181h 27min