Historical films about Rus - the artistic models of the era

Since the religious, creative and moral components of the cultural appearance of an ethnos can not but carry the imprints of past epochs, those works of art in which historical events have not only been reconstructed are of particular importance, but also the attitude of various strata of society to them. Artistic works of this type include historical thin. Films about Russia, and especially - a film epic. Due to their panoramic character, the plot-specific definiteness and richness, the graphic authenticity will take - the details of time and the recreated psychological atmosphere of the era, the viewer has the opportunity to discover the wonderful world of Ancient Rus.

Historical reference

The history of Ancient Rus is considered to be the history of the Old Russian state beginning in 882 and the beginning of the Tatar-Mongolian invasion. Traditionally, this period reflects historical films about Russia. According to the opinion of the overwhelming majority of specialists, Russia, originally conceived as a tribal union of distinct Eastern Slavic tribes, by the ninth century turned into a real early feudal power.

Aesthetics and poetics

Aesthetics and poetics, which are saturated with historical films about Ancient Rus, consist in the fact that the story-play and entertainment components reflect the time of the heroes of the work. The opposite reaction to the aesthetic expressiveness and the socio-historical context of films about the past is the feeling of empathy for the viewer of screen characters. The interconnected components that make up the basis of each historical picture are not only the time and place of action, but also the acting skills of the performance of historical actors, their atmosphere of existence in the cultural and social context of the era.

Substantial depth

In determining the value that historical films about Rus bear, the semantic load, the main idea and the symbolism of the film narration about the past are of great importance. The most successful films, according to the declared parameters, are:

• "Alexander Nevsky" (1938), the film is a masterpiece. No wonder everyone still remember the ardent speech of Prince Alexander, uttered by the lips of Nikolai Cherkasov, and the music of the great Sergei Prokofiev. Although most contemporary film critics view this creation through the prism of Stalin's socialist order, the artistic value of the picture does not belittle it.
• "Andrei Rublev" / "Passion for Andrew" (1966), the most recognized film of the director A. Tarkovsky, is among the best film productions of world cinema. Immediately after the release of the film, the picture aroused a lot of criticism from art historians and critics who reproached the author for inaccuracies and the obvious modernization of Ancient Rus.
• "The Legend of Princess Olga" (1983). This film is characterized by a non-linear narrative, static action, emphasis on sensory perception and the extraordinary expressiveness of the video sequence. Its structure is built on the principle of alternative historical reality and the search for truth at the same time.

Artistic model of the era

Historic films about Rus in the majority have both substantial depth and artistic expressiveness, which are provided by a set of creative principles. Among them, the principle of the chronotopic reproduction of events and fates, the conceptualization of artistic narration and well-founded interpretations of the past. Each film director in his own way, uniquely realizes the above principles during the creation of his film masterpiece. Examples of such films can serve as the following historical feature films about Rus:

1. "Primary Russia" (1985). It is noticeable that the historical and adventure drama was created with enviable dedication and diligence. The visual part, the actors' play, the expression in the presentation of the story - everything, merging together, picks up to the bone.
2. "Vasily Buslaev" (1982) - a wonderful film by film director G. Vasilyev. His plot is based on the history of life and military exploits of the epic Russian hero V. Buslaev. Strange, but this film adaptation of the epic was declared as a film for children.
3. "Theophany, Drawing Death" (1991). The picture is saturated with an atmosphere of beliefs, myths, rituals and everyday life of various Slavic tribes. The director combined historical reality and a dark mystical fantasy, a mystical component is present throughout the plot.
4. "The old tradition. When the Sun was God "(Poland, 2003). The film is interesting because it tells about an era, attractive and very remote - the era of the beginning of the formation of the Slavs.
5. "Alexander. Battle of the Neva "(2008). The director managed to recreate past events that took place many centuries ago.
6. "Yaroslav. A thousand years ago »(2010). A chic folk-action film, a fairy tale for the Internet generation, who forgot ancient epics and chronicles.

Formation of the historical picture of the country

Historical films about Rus practically always differ by a high coefficient of moral evaluation, including historical figures, their politics, their actions. Directors tried to identify a bright line in their character, make emphasis on it, emphasize and bring to the viewer. Each picture, dedicated to a certain personality or historical event, makes an impressive contribution to the culture of the country, forming its historical picture. But there are exceptions, when the author in the search for innovative techniques is fond of and inadvertently distorts historical facts or the significance of this or that person from the distant past. In the films listed below, there are such trends.

1. "The Tomb of the Lion" (1971).
2. "Yaroslavna, Queen of France" (1978).
3. "Prince Igor" (1969).
4. Yaroslav the Wise (1981).
5. "Daniel is Prince of Galich" (1987).
6. "The Life of Alexander Nevsky" (1991).
7. "Prince Yuri Dolgoruky" (1998).
8. "The saga of the ancient Bulgars: Ladder ..." (2005).
9. "Rusichi" (2008).

Audience success

The spectacular success that accompanies historical films about Russia can be explained by many reasons: a literate script, the originality of the author's interpretation, the play of talented actors. But all these components do not guarantee the viewer's interest in the history of the ethnos in full: the pictorial expressive series reflected in the paintings of the era, the national character and the way of life is very important.