Galina Vishnevskaya

Life in art based on the plays of A. Ostrovsky: "Talents and Admirers", "Forest", etc.

Ahmad Donish, a scholar and educator, an outstanding Tajik writer and thinker of the 19th century, envoy of the Bukhara Emirate to Russia, who did much to bring the Russian and Tajik peoples closer together and to introduce progressive democratic ideas to Central Asia—the authors dedicate this film to him.

Elderly Aleksandra visits her Russian soldier grandson, Denis, at the Chechen war front, providing comfort as she tours his army. All the while, Denis ponders the reason for her unexpected appearance.

A possible impostor torments a newly crowned medieval czar who may have ordered the real successor's death.

A young woman, married to a wealthy man, but miserably lonely; trapped within a world ruled with an iron fist. Katerina is driven by a lust for life and for love. Her husband, though, is impotent; her father-in-law a tyrant. No wonder, then, that she longs to free herself from this yoke. When Sergei starts work on the family estate, she sees in him a chance for salvation. However, their subsequent affair marks the beginning of a descent into crime.

Petrov to Kazarnovskaya

Eugene Onegin, a jaded young dandy from the big city of St. Petersburg, travels to the country to ingratiate himself into the affection of a dying uncle. There he meets the idealistic and romantic poet Vladimir Lensky, who introduces him to the daughters of a local landowner.

Katerina Izmailova is a filmization of Dmitry Shostakovich's long-suppressed 1936 opera. Galina Vishnevskaya stars as Katerina, a bored 19th century farm wife. At the behest of her grungy lover, Katerina murders her husband and her father-in-law. She and her new beau are both sent to Siberia, where the lover almost immediately takes up with a younger woman. Banned by Stalin for its bleak portrait of Soviet life, Katerina Izmailova was not given a Russian staging for over 40 years; its Metropolitan Opera debut did not occur until 1994.

Tony Palmer directs this documentary exploring the life and work of the celebrated English composer, conductor and pianist. Britten is particularly well known for his operas, which include 'Peter Grimes' and 'Death in Venice'. Palmer discusses the life experiences that influenced Britten's work, such as the turmoil of World War II, which horrified his pacifistic nature, and reflects on the role of an artist in such troubled times.