Figure 1.--The Tsarevich Alexi appears wearing this formal military uniform in the 1986 American movie "Rasputin". This appears to be a white uniform. I don't recall ever seeing him photographed in such a uniform. |
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Readers have suggested a few Russian movies, but HBC know little about Russian films and the Russian film industry. In fact the films primarily know to HBC are foreign films dealing with Russia. Many of these films are historical films set in the World War I era and dealing wit the Russian imperial family. We have virtually no information on actual Russian films dealing with te every-day life of average Russians. Hopefully as we require more information we will gain some insights into the clothes worn by Russian boys and their Young Pioneer uniforms.
HBC has only limited information on individual Russian films or foreign films about Russia.
The Finnish documentary, "The 3 Rooms of Melancholia", is a poweful, beautifully made, almost poetic film addressing the continuing Chechen conflict. While the film crew is Finnish and other Europeans, the film is about Russia. The film adresses how the dreadful conflict in Chechnya has affected children. The production is notable for its very limited dialog abd a musical score which works with the images rather than overwealming them. I am not sure just who the children are, but their performances are exceptional.
A Russian reader has mentioned the Soviet film The Adventures of Elektronik to us. We know virtually nothing about the movie. It was made at Odesskaya Kinostudiya, Odessa, USSR, 1979. A reader tells us that it was an extremely popular movie. Apparently much of it is set at a school. Hopefully our Russian readers will tell us more about th film. The children wear school uniforms. Our Russian reader tells us that for two decades (1970s-80s) that the Soviet school uniform was virtually unchanged. So it was available in any shop selling goods for children. But in very warm days the official uniform was optional.
Elem Klimoff, 1985.
While made in America, the novie based on Boris Pasternak's novel is the single most widely seen film about Russia. It could not be seen in the Soviet Union and was only availble to Russian after the collapse of Soviet communism in 1992. I remember taking a Soviet visitor to see the film and he was visably moved, asking "Why can't we see this movie?"
Nicholas And Alexandra was the movie version of the book written by Robert Maskie. Well made film on the fall of the Tczar. The Tczaravich Alexis wears a white sailor suit with short pants and knee socks. Until World War I began, Alexis almost always did wear sailor suits. Onnce the War began he wore an ordinary-looking Army uniform.
Andrei Tarkovsky, 1963.
The story of the virtually illiterate monk Rasputin and the Russian royal family is one of the most often told tales of World War I. This 1996 made for TV movie prominently features the Tsarevitch Alexis and the many uniforms that he wore. Alexis usually wore a sailor suit, except for formal occasions. After the War began in 1914, he began wearing army uniforms.
Often cited as the first Soviet sound film. It deals with the orphaned, homeless children left in the wake of the Revolution and the subsequent war between the Reds and Whites. The film focuses on the difficult job of trying to educate the children.
This is a lovely little film made during the Soviet era. It is about a little 7 year old boy named Sasha. He is studying the violin and has trouble with bullies. He dresses like a British boy with short pants, kneesock s, and "T" strap sandals. Unlike British boys in the 1970s, Sasha wears patterned shorts and kneesocks. Most other boys wear long pant, but some wear shorts. Another violin student wears a large white collar and short pants with long stockings. A little boy being bullied hat Sasha helps wears shorts and long stockings as well. There was a short scene before his violin class when Sasha makes friends with a little girl tht has a huge hair bow. Sasha makes friends with a steam roller driver. His cultured mother disapproves when Sasha comes home with his hands all greassy.
Pavel Chukhrai, 1999.
The movie "A White Sail Gleams" is a movie based on the novel by Soviet writer Valentin Kataev (1897-1986). He was a notable Soviet-era Russian novelist and playwright. Somehow managed to craft insightful works describing Soviet social conditions without violating the standards of Soviet censors. Very few notable authors were able to accomplish this. One of his most beloved books is Beleyet parus odinoky/A White Sail Gleams (1936). Russian readers will immediately recognize both the book and the date, Kataev published it in the midst of the Great Terror. It was a popular success in Russia and immediately turned iinto a movie (1937). Here is a screenshot from the film. The story is set in Tsarist times. It is about the revolutional events of 1905 from the point of view of two small boys - one Petya, from the family of a school teacher, and second Gavrik, son of a poor fisherman.
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