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How The Union’s People Ended the Cold War
May 13
The end of the Cold War was a shock and a relief, but few saw it coming. Outside the Soviet Union, the nuclear threat seemed… Read more -
The Front
Apr 16
As a Woody Allen fan, I started this movie with a positive attitude. And I have to say that I wasn't disappointed at all. The… Read more -
Thoughts on The Diamond Arm
Apr 9
This must be one of the funniest movies we've seen in this course. The characters' actions were certainly very comical at times. It was an… Read more -
Don’t Look At All
Apr 2
Don't Look Back left me with much less appreciation for Dylan. I have never been a fan, but I recognized his sizable fandom at the… Read more -
Ivan’s Childhood in One Word: Confusing
Mar 5
The movie's description on Hulu, where I watched it, was of a promising story of a boy whose childhood was ruined by WWII. I thought… Read more
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The Front
May 10
I find it interesting that so many people were disappointed with the actual political content of the film when it was made. It seems… Read more -
Baikonur
May 10
The part about Baikonur that made me think the most was Gagarin's decision to leave Baikonur and return to the antiquated lifestyle of his youth… Read more -
The Bony Leg
Apr 8
I thought Diamond Arm reflected a shift in focus away from international problems to more domestic ones. Before it seemed like the films were full of… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
Apr 2
Well, the word communist was mentioned once in this film, in the last two minutes while they were discussing the classification of Bob Dylan as… Read more -
Peaceful Coexistance
Mar 18
Personally, I like having this as a final film before we leave on spring break. On top of it being slightly hysterical, there were… Read more
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Diamond Arm
May 10
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union was constantly behind the United States in terms of movie quality, as 'Diamond Arm" shows. Watching this film… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
May 10
If I had to choose which of the films we saw this year I liked the least, it would be "Don't Look Back", the main… Read more -
Baikonur
May 10
When watching a film, a typical viewer does not just view the the personalities of the characters and their actions, but also the setting, giving… Read more -
Why Do We Have A Nuclear Triad In The First Place?
May 3
Ever since the atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima in 1945, the United States has maintained a quantitative superiority in nuclear weapons over other world powers… Read more -
AN UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY
Apr 15
When I first heard of "The Front", I assumed that it would be about the Eastern Front in World War 2, based solely on the… Read more
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The Front
May 7
To revisit the film that I neglected to write a post on in a timely manner, The Front is a Martin Ritt film from 1976… Read more -
Final Paper
May 3
Mharnois_CWCPaperRevised Read more -
Baikonur
Apr 30
I think "whimsical" is a good word to describe this film. The juxtaposition of the Kazakh lifestyle with the modernity of space exploration is a… Read more -
The Diamond Arm
Apr 15
I think this is my favorite movie we've watched yet. The characters are SO vibrant and over-the-top, which may have rubbed some people the wrong… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
Apr 8
Like others, I found myself pretty alienated by Dylan in this film...I spent all of spring break watching it in 20 minute intervals because I… Read more
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Baikonur
May 6
I believe that Baikonur represents the failure for the human race to meet expectations people had growing up during the space race. Children envisioned space… Read more -
The F-Bomb
Apr 16
The Front has a lot of right things in the right places, meaning the Front conveys its argument persuasively because it had the right actors,… Read more -
Diamond Arm
Apr 9
Last semester I saw "Operation bl" presumably by the same director. It is not the funniest thing you will ever see but the actors are… Read more -
I won’t look back.
Apr 2
It took several days for me to get through this documentrary. I use to be passive of Bob Dylan and his songs, but now seeing his tour… Read more -
The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming….
Mar 18
Yes indeed, the Russians are coming (take a shot). In a submarine off the coast of an civilized yet isolated U.S. island the Russians contemplate… Read more
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Baikonur
May 5
I like that we were able to watch a film by (or at least partially by) people from a former Soviet Republic. The main characters… Read more -
The Front
Apr 14
The Front is a film that critically examines McCarthyism in the entertainment industry during the 1950s. I thought that the film was a good start in… Read more -
Diamond Arm
Apr 7
I found Diamond Arm to be quite entertaining. I have seen a few Soviet comedies now and I wonder if all of them contain a… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
Mar 31
When I finished this film, I found that I liked Bob Dylan much less than I originally liked him. I can't place my finger… Read more -
The Russians are Coming
Mar 17
I was largely unimpressed by this film. Like Dr. Strangelove, the film was absurd. But unlike Dr. Strangelove, the absurdity felt silly and pointless. The… Read more
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Baikonur
May 5
Baikonur, a 2011 film directed by Veit Helmer, is the first post-Soviet work we have watched. Taking a light hearted and engaging look at… Read more -
Apr 14
The Front, a 1976 film directed by Martin Ritt and starring Woody Allen, is perhaps best described as a "comedy-drama." However, at points I… Read more -
The Diamond Arm
Apr 7
The Diamond Arm, a 1969 film directed by Leonid Gaidai, is the first soviet comedy we have looked at in this course. Though much… Read more -
The Russians are Coming
Mar 19
The Russians are Coming, the Russians are Coming is a 1966 film directed by Norman Jewison. It satirizes the reactionary and hostile relationship that… Read more -
Dr. Strangelove
Mar 11
Though last week Ivan's Childhood very effectively portrayed the human costs of war and the potential darkness of the human experience I found this… Read more
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Baikonur
May 3
Baikonur, our final viewing for this course, is markedly different from the other productions we've watched this semester, both in the era - Baikonur was released… Read more -
The Front
Apr 11
Walter Bernstein's 1976 The Front almost approaches Socialist Realism in its exaggerated message of "doing the right thing." That said, the movie's premise is still believable, and… Read more -
Diamond Arm
Apr 5
It's easy to draw parallels between Diamond Arm and our other recent comedy viewing, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Both are intelligent comedies with a… Read more -
Dont Look Back
Apr 1
As the first documentary film we've looked at, Dont Look Back is thus the only picture free of Russian-American conflict, either in the previous portrayals of… Read more -
Русские идут!
Mar 16
It's interesting to watch the quality of Cold War productions increase as we move forward chronologically. The Russians Are Coming is most aesthetically pleasing than the… Read more
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Baikonur
May 1
I think it goes without saying that this film is most certainly the most unique of the ones we have seen this semester. Its modern… Read more -
The Front (1976)
Apr 16
This film is discusses one of my favorite subjects in American history: Hollywood's blacklist. As a personal fan of Arthur Miller and his works related… Read more -
Soviet Life Magazine No. 12 (Issue 267) December 1978
Mar 21
The goal of this issue is to inform readers of the country of Siberia. "The rates of progress in opening up Siberia are growing… Read more -
Soviet Life Magazine No. 11 (Issue 266) November 1978
Mar 21
This cover illustrates a demonstration in honor of the anniversary of the October Socialist Revolution in 1917. This was huge feat overall in the… Read more -
The Russians Came and Left
Mar 19
"Holy mackerel, girl what was it? A stick up?" Like Dr. Strangelove, this film focuses on the comedic side to the "Thaw" period. It gives… Read more
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Baikonur
Apr 29
This film certainly stands apart from the films we've watched this semester. Baikonur is set in Kazakhstan, and features very little interaction with Russians no interaction with… Read more -
The Front
Apr 14
This film says a lot about how sentiments about the Cold War and communism had changed in the United States since the 1950s. In The… Read more -
Songs About Hares: The Diamond Arm
Apr 7
Our first Russian comedy! It's interesting how many similarities there are between the character of Senya from this film and Walt Whittacker from The Russians… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
Mar 28
Don’t Look Back, the 1967 film about Bob Dylan’s tour in London, is a peek into the mindset of 1960s youth. Dylan questions everything. Whenever… Read more -
“Everybody on Island Is Crazy!!”
Mar 17
This week's film, The Russians Are Coming, The Russians are Coming! is my favorite that we've watched so far this semester. Not only was it… Read more
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Baikonur
Apr 28
Baikonur (2011) is the first film we’ve looked at that primarily concentrates on neither the Americans nor the Russians. Instead, this film gives us a… Read more -
The Front
Apr 15
The Front paints a clear picture of what the TV and film industries faced at the height of McCarthyism. The devastating affects of the Black… Read more -
The Diamond Arm
Apr 7
I found The Diamond Arm (1968) less entertaining than the comparable American comedies of the 1960s Dr. Strangelove (1964) and The Russians are Coming! The… Read more -
Don’t Look Back
Mar 31
Don’t Look Back shows us both the charming, gentle side of Dylan as well as the hostile one. From the first interview in the film… Read more -
Soviet Life Presentation 3: Sayan Complex
Mar 21
Happy Soviet workers constructing the Sayan apartment complex in Siberia Read more
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Combating Communism on the Home Front
Apr 15
Morgan Aguayo Arlene Forman RUSS 222 April 14, 2013 Combating Communism on the Home Front Through prison alarms and police sirens, convict Vince Ryker makes… Read more -
Keep a Good Head and Always Carry a Lightbulb
Apr 1
The documentary Don't Look Back (1967) was an enlightening window into Bob Dylan's early life as a flourishing young musician. While I thought… Read more -
The Norwegians are Coming!
Apr 1
Clearly Kubrick’s genius satirizing the Cold War in Dr. Strangelove resonated with director Norman Jewison, who soon released The Russians Are Coming, the Russians… Read more -
Strange Love Indeed
Apr 1
I can definitely see why the release of Stanley Kubrick’s film, Dr. Strangelove (1964), captured the attention of cinematic audiences around the world. Even… Read more -
A Traumatic Childhood
Mar 5
Of all the Soviet films we've viewed thus far, Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood (1962), is the first one to appear conventionally modern to me. I actually appreciated… Read more
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America’s Most Unlikely Hero
Apr 12
The Front is interesting as a Cold War film because it directly criticizes McCarthyism and the Red Scare, which were a big part of earlier Cold… Read more -
The Diamond Arm
Apr 6
I enjoyed this film more than The Russians are Coming, but it is far, far away from being one of my favorites we have watched… Read more -
Prisoners of Power/ Inhabited Island/ Обитаемый остров: A 1969 Science Fiction Novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky
Apr 4
The dystopian world of Prisoners of Power, originally entitled Inhabited Island, is identifiable as Soviet in numerous ways. The novel critiques many aspects of Soviet… Read more -
Give the anarchist a cigarette.
Mar 23
I have no idea what to make of Dont Look Back, and to be honest I think Bob Dylan would have some objection to… Read more -
The Russians Are Coming
Mar 16
The Russians Are Coming the Russians Are Coming is the first film we have watched in a while that has Russians and Americans in direct… Read more
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Vladimir Vysotsky
Mar 31
Since the BB links aren't working, here are the links to Vysotsky's songs: 1. "Song of a Friend": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn6B5baMAn0 Next comes the mix at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zGf4hlzgYg&list=RD02Vn6B5baMAn0… Read more -
Do Think Twice, It’s All Right
Mar 31
A few questions to consider as you view (or review) the movie: 1. In what way (or ways) does the opening scene fit with… Read more -
Ivan Denisovich
Mar 6
Here are some questions to consider as you read Solzhenitsyn's novella: 1. What kind of a man is Ivan Denisovich (Shukhov)? Why might Solzhenitsyn have… Read more -
For Your First Post
Feb 14
You can write about the Soviet films we have seen or the new film "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." In either case you can discuss… Read more