Mission To Moscow - DVD

Russian filmmaker Alexander Sokurov (THE SUN) broke boundaries with his dreamlike vision of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, RUSSIAN ARK. It's the first feature-length narrative film shot in a single take (on digital video, using a specially designed disc instead of tape). Russian Ark is shot from the point-of-view of an unseen narrator, as he explores the museum and travels through Russian history. The audience sees through his eyes as he witnesses Peter the Great (Maksim Sergeyev) abusing one of his generals; Catherine the Great (Maria Kuznetsova) desperately searching for a bathroom; and, in the grand finale, the sumptuous Great Royal Ball of 1913. The narrator is eventually joined by a sarcastic and eccentric 19th century French Marquis (Sergey Dreiden), who travels with him throughout the huge grounds, encountering various historical figures and viewing the legendary artworks on display. While the narrator only interacts with the Marquis (he seems to be invisible to all the other inhabitants), the Marquis occasionally interacts with visitors and former residents of the museum. The film was obviously shot in one day, but the cast and crew rehearsed for months to time their movements precisely with the flow of the camera while capturing the complex narrative, with elaborate costumes from different periods, and several trips out to the exterior director of photography, was responsible for capturing it all in one single Steadicam shot. To celebrate the film's 10th Anniversary, RUSSIAN ARK has been remastered in HD for the first time ever.

Alexey Balabanov's classic film is a vehicle that provides insight into an area of our world that is once again in turmoil. A must have film for any collection of international cinema, CARGO 200 provides a political perspective well worth revisiting. The critics unanimously acknowledge CARGO 200 as one of the most significant films to come out of Russia, and many consider it Russian director Alexey Balabanov's (Brother, Of Freaks And Men) best film. A gritty thriller based on actual events, CARGO 200 is set in 1984 provincial Russia, where the gloom of Soviet life has reached extreme depths. Balabanov presents an unremittingly dark and unflinching portrait of the decline of the Soviet era. The title refers to the Soviet term for military corpses returning from Afghanistan. Guaranteed to shock even the most strong-stomached of viewers, CARGO 200 is one of the most controversial movies ever to emerge from Russia. Russian language with English subtitles

A novel by Leo Tolstoy provides the source for the rowdy and romantic silent-era adventure, The Cossacks, presented to today's audiences in a superb print and with a colorful orchestral score by Robert Israel. john Gilbert, the screen's famed "Great Lover," portrays Lukashka, son of a Cossack Chieftain. Mocked for his peace-loving ways, the young Cossack proves he's made of sterner stuff when he outrides and overwhelms enemy Turks who'v